THE THIRD TABERNACLE
Table of Contents Yet another tent of sanctuary was made and used in Israel prior to the erection of the great Temple. This we may call for convenience the Third Tabernacle; it was erected by David the king, in his own city, as a shelter for the Ark of the Covenant. As already cited, the scriptural record tells of the capture of the Ark by the Philistines, and of its return to Israel. This incident occurred during the latter part of the administration of the Judges, before Israel had bowed to a king in Canaan.[22]
Throughout the reign of Saul, the Ark remained under the roof of a private dwelling; wherein, however, a priest was maintained for its care and ministry. One of the early acts of David after he became king, was to plan the removal of the Ark to a more suitable situation. In the course of this removal, Uzzah was stricken, because without authority he essayed to take hold of the sacred vessel; and this manifestation of Divine displeasure so affected David that he delayed his purpose of setting up the Ark in his own city and placed it in another private house-that of Obed-edom the Gittite.[23] While the Ark remained beneath that roof the household was blessed and prospered. In course of time the original plan was carried into effect and the Ark was set up in a tent specially prepared for its reception in the City of David: "And they brought in the ark of the Lord, and set it in his place, in the midst of the tabernacle that David had pitched for it: and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord."[24]
Thus, during the reign of David there were two places regarded as sanctuaries; and the worship of the people was divided. Solomon appears to have acknowledged the sanctity of both places-the resting place of the Ark at Jerusalem and the place of the Tabernacle of the Congregation at Gibeon.[25] Through him both shrines were again brought together.[26]
THE TEMPLE OF SOLOMON
Table of Contents Scarcely had the Ark of the Covenant been deposited at the capital of the kingdom-the City of David,-when the king became desirous of erecting for its accommodation a more enduring shelter than the tent in which it had been installed with pomp and ceremony. It appears that the conscience of the king was troubled by the thought that he was better housed than was the sanctuary of the Lord: "Now it came to pass, as David sat in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Lo, I dwell in an house of cedars, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord remaineth under curtains."[27] It was David's desire to build a suitable House for the Lord and Nathan the prophet at first encouraged the undertaking. The Lord spake to Nathan however, and directed him to decline the king's proffered gift. Although Jehovah had been without a fixed place recognized by the people as His, though as He said He had not dwelt in a house amongst Israel, but had gone from tent to tent and from one tabernacle to another,[28] though as the context implies, the Lord had been neglected in the long delay attending the erection of a house to His name, nevertheless David could not be honored with the commission or even the permission to build such a house for he was accounted a man of blood.[29] Let us not undertake to judge the extent of David's offending; to do so would be to usurp the Divine prerogative; it is enough for us to know that even the gift of royalty may be declined if there be aught requiring reconciliation between the mortal and his God. David, however, was permitted to provide means and to gather material which afterward should be used in the erection of the Temple,[30] moreover, the very site on which the great building was subsequently erected was chosen and sanctified through his agency. A great pestilence had fallen upon Israel, and the Angel of the Lord, sent forth with the warrant of destruction, was seen by David, standing, sword in hand, on Mount Moriah at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.[31] That spot, hallowed by the presence of a heavenly messenger, though that messenger was the Angel of Death, was marked by the erection of an altar, as the Lord directed through the prophet Gad.[32]
As David realized that his years of life were few, he laid upon Solomon, his son and chosen successor, the solemn charge to build the house he had been forbidden to build. The king dwelt pathetically upon his own disqualification, and then repeated the Lord's promise of acceptance at the hand of Solomon. The scriptural record runs thus:
"So David prepared abundantly before his death.
"Then he called for Solomon his son, and charged him to build an house for the Lord God of Israel.
"And David said to Solomon. My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build an house unto the name of the Lord my God:
"But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build an house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight.
"Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about: for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days.
"He shall build an house for my name; and he shall be my son, and I will be his father: and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever.
"Now, my son, the Lord be with thee; and prosper thou, and build the house of the Lord thy God, as he hath said of thee.
"Only the Lord give thee wisdom and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel, that thou mayest keep the law of the Lord thy God.
"Then shalt thou prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfill the statues and judgments which the Lord charged Moses with concerning Israel: be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed.
"Now, behold, in my trouble I have prepared for the house of the Lord an hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver; and of brass and iron without weight; for it is in abundance: timber also and stone have I prepared; and thou mayest add thereto.
"Moreover there are workmen with thee in abundance, hewers and workers of stone and timber, and all manner of cunning men for every manner of work.
"Of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is no number. Arise therefore, and be doing, and the Lord be with thee.
"David also commanded all the princes of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying,
"Is not the Lord your God with you? and hath he not given you rest on every side? for he hath given the inhabitants of the land into mine hand; and the land is subdued before the Lord, and before his people.
"Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God; arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of the Lord God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of the Lord."[33]
David gave Solomon detailed instructions as to the design and specifications of the house and its appurtenances, the plan of the porch and that of both the main structure and the accessory buildings, "and the pattern of all that he had by the Spirit." Furthermore he gave directions as to the ministry of the various courses of Priests and Levites, "and for all the work of the service of the house of the Lord, and for all the vessels of service in the house of the Lord."[34]
The actual work of construction was begun in the fourth year of Solomon's reign, and the Temple was ready for dedication in the twelfth, or about 1005 B. C. At the inception of the labor, Solomon entered into an agreement with Hiram, a neighboring king, whereby the resources of Tyre and Sidon were annexed in the great undertaking. Through this alliance the splendid forests of Lebanon were made accessible; cedar, and fir, and other trees were felled and floated by the thousand to the most convenient point for land transportation to Jerusalem. It had been previously explained to Hiram that the demand would be a heavy one, for, as Solomon had said: "The house which I build is great: for great is our God above all gods."[35] Sidonian hewers were put to work,-the most skilful of all known woodmen; and the timbers of Lebanon were supplied in abundance. The extent of the demand may be judged from the enormous payment proffered and made by Solomon.[36]
Israelitish workmen were employed in great numbers, both in co-operation with the Sidonians and at home. Thus we read:
"And King Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men.
"And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses: a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home: and Adoniram was over the levy.
"And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens, and fourscore thousand hewers in the mountains;
"Beside the chief of Solomon's officers which were over the work, three thousand and three hundred, which ruled over the people that wrought in the work.
"And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house.
"And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders did hew them, and the stonesquarers: so they prepared timber and stones to build the house."[37]
For the successful employment of such great numbers of workmen an effective system of organization was necessary; we are not surprised,...
