Would you like to read James McNaught’s novel Sinking Sand”? click here: Sinking Sand
(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
1 Kings 6:1–10, “And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD. And the house which king Solomon built for the LORD, the length thereof was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits. And the porch before the temple of the house, twenty cubits was the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house; and ten cubits was the breadth thereof before the house. And for the house he made windows of narrow lights. And against the wall of the house he built chambers round about, against the walls of the house round about, both of the temple and of the oracle: and he made chambers round about: The nethermost chamber was five cubits broad, and the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad: for without in the wall of the house he made narrowed rests round about, that the beams should not be fastened in the walls of the house. And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building. The door for the middle chamber was in the right side of the house: and they went up with winding stairs into the middle chamber, and out of the middle into the third. So he built the house, and finished it; and covered the house with beams and boards of cedar. And then he built chambers against all the house, five cubits high: and they rested on the house with timber of cedar.”
Israel had a carefully calculated calendar and they kept good records of their history so that they could know when to plant and harvest their crops. Their calendar was based both on the sun and the moon for both play an important part in deciding when to plant and when to harvest. They had a civil calendar with the new year occurring in the autumn (in the northern hemisphere) however the religious new year occurred in the spring (see Ex 12:1–2, “And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.”) When it came time for Solomon to begin building the Temple, they knew exactly how long it had been since the first Passover and, in accordance with the Lord’s command to Moses, they calculated the time since they were first established as a nation before the Lord. The measurements were precisely calculated according to the instructions given by the Lord. The ratios used in the Temple were later used in Europe to build the majestic cathedrals. The Temple also had store rooms around about so that all the essential equipment needed to conduct the full ceremonial procedures of their religion could be carried out effectively and efficiently. The building was finished with the finest materials and was an extremely beautiful building.
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