Solomon Builds a Temple
October 26th, 2025 “Solomon Builds a Temple” Rev. Heather Jepsen
1 Kings 5:1-6, 8:1-13
We continue today with our study of the overarching narrative of the Biblical tradition. Last week we read about the anointing of David as the new king. His story is a long and convoluted one. He is anointed while Saul still sits on the throne. David’s kingdom is the result of a military coup, and he is famous for his battle prowess. Once on the throne, David vacillates between a heart for God and his own desires. He rapes his neighbor’s wife, and upon her pregnancy he kills his neighbor to hide his crime. David’s personal life is a literal mess and, as in so many families, deceit and violence continue in the generation that follows. While he was the most famous king in all of Israel, David was far from perfect.
In our reading for today we find one of David’s sons, Solomon, on the throne of Israel. There was much violence and haggling between the sons of David, but Solomon is the victor, and he takes the throne. Interestingly, Solomon is a son of Bathesheba, the woman David stole from his neighbor. Our God works well with irony.
In his deep faith, David asked if he could build God a house, but God declined, due to David’s violent and sinful nature. Now, David’s son Solomon seeks to fulfill his dad’s legacy by building a true temple for the Lord.
Solomon reigns in a time of peace so he feels like he has the time and resources he needs to get this temple built. In the first part of our reading Solmon is wheeling and dealing, making business deals with the neighboring Phoenicians. Legacy tells us that Solomon was wise, but he really wasn’t that great at leading the nation of Israel. This deal that he is working out is of greater benefit to Phoenicia than the Israelites. In fact, bad political alliances will end up being Solomon’s undoing.
Our reading skips all the details of building the temple and we jump to chapter 8 and the dedication of the building. Everyone is gathered, rich and poor, as the temple is for all people and they witness the ark of the covenant being brought into the place. Great sacrifices are made, and the ark is brought within the confines of the temple Solomon has built.
The set up here is like a throne for a man to sit on, and it is modeled after other thrones in the area at the time. The cherubim and their wings form like a giant chair and then the feet of God would be placed upon the ark of the covenant. The only items within the ark are Moses’ stone tablets featuring the ten commandments. The idea is that the foundation of the faith, the foundation of the throne of God, is the covenant God made with the people in the wilderness. The whole throne stands on the word of God.
Today is Reformation Sunday, and this would be a great place to preach a sermon on the Reformation. The Reformation was a return of the faith to a foundation built upon the word of God, like the throne here in the temple, but I’m not going in that direction today.
Once the ark is placed the glory of the Lord fills the temple. Unlike the bright glowing sunbeams we might imagine, the glory of the Lord is darkness. Like thick smoke or clouds, the temple is suddenly full of darkness, and the priests can barely see to make their way out of the place. Solomon then celebrates for he has built a house for God.
We’ve been discussing biblical authors and their time frame as we move through this story. Again, today we are reading from the Deuteronomistic Historian, one of the most prolific authors of the Old Testament, and he is writing a propaganda history to support David and his reign in Israel. Written around the year 622 BCE we again find a retelling of a historical event that happened nearly 400 years earlier. This is a story about the glories of the temple and its construction, presenting Solomon and his work in the best light possible.
But, if we look closely, we can see cracks in the façade. The building of the temple, while perhaps a noble gesture, is a huge strain on the nation of Israel. If you look back at chapters 6 and 7 you can see how lavish the temple was. Ceders brought in from Lebanon and carved by master craftsman, huge costly stones, lattice work and tapestry, bronze basins and tools, and gold everywhere. The temple is a hugely expensive and time-consuming endeavor. The cost of labor and materials would be astronomical.
And who pays for this? The people of Israel. Prior to construction of the temple, Solomon taxed the people in order to build himself a palace. It is only after his own throne is complete that he begins building a throne for God. I already mentioned that his deal with Phoenicia for supplies and workers wasn’t the best financial move. Later in chapter 5 we read that Solomon “conscripted forced labor out of all of Israel”. This temple is built on slave labor and taxes, which makes us wonder what God thought of such an offering. Remember God never asked for a temple. God was happy to simply dwell with God’s people.
Of course, the temple will not be the last monument to God built with slave labor, taxes, offerings, and even love. There are now countless places on the planet where God is worshipped and celebrated. People love to build things, and we love this idea of somehow having a place where we can hold on to God. Of course, God isn’t limited by geography or location, and God doesn’t need a temple. But just like having a church, having a beautiful place to worship is inspiring. Go into any cathedral and it just feels holy. I understand the longing we feel to create monuments to our faith.
The rub comes in the fact that God neither wants nor needs these monuments. God is everywhere in the world. God can’t be pinned down, labeled, or completely understood. The nature of God is mystery. We see that here as God is described as dwelling in thick darkness. The priests are closest to God when they can’t even see their hands in front of their faces. God is a dark cloud of mystery surrounding them. The glory of the Lord is darkness. It’s a wonder that theologians dare to write lengthy treatises on the person and nature of God, when to be closest to God as possible is to be completed blinded by darkness.
God is mystery and contradiction, and so God dwells within the temple that God didn’t want. So too, God dwells here in this church or any other places we might build for God. But God is not limited by our structures. The temple is the presence of God among the people, and it is also a metaphor, a symbol, for God’s presence. So too, our church is a sign and symbol of God’s presence in our community.
God is certainly here on Sunday mornings when we worship together, but God is just as present here on Tuesdays and Thursdays when vulnerable people gather to find resources. Our church becomes the presence of God in those people’s lives. So too, God is present when people drive by our church and notice our rainbow signs. Our church becomes the presence of God when we welcome the LGBTQ community with open arms. God dwells here among us in mystery and in love that is all encompassing. We know we don’t need the building to be the church. We just need each other and the love of God that flows between us and outward into the community of Warrensburg and beyond.
In our story for today, Solomon goes to great effort to build a house for God. It is left to us to wonder if this was truly an offering of faith, or if perhaps it was a way to cement Solomon’s own glory in the eyes of Israel during his lifetime and in the generations that follow.
As lovely as the gesture was, it is good for us to remember that God doesn’t need our churches. God isn’t limited by buildings we might make for God. Just as God isn’t limited by theologies we might construct about God. The nature of God is darkness and mystery, and yet God also dwells in our hearts. This building we have does not house God, and yet it also has the power to be the presence of God in our community.
As you go out into the world this week my friends I encourage to notice monuments to God. Look at our church and other churches in our town. What do the church buildings in our community say about who we believe God is. I also encourage you to listen with your heart, for the presence of God outside of church and beyond Sunday morning. Where might you find God in your life this week? May God meet us this day, both in mystery and in presence. Amen.
