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A Gallery of the Beautiful Work of Jesus the Master Carpenter on display in Solomon’s temple. By Edward D. Brill Copyright “For we are laborers together with God, ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.”  I Corinthians  3:9 It is the author’s sincere desire that the message of this book reach as many people

In the first chapter of the gospel of John (John 1:35-42), we find John the Baptist pointing out Jesus to two of his followers and declaring “Behold the Lamb of God!”  These disciples of John then began following Jesus.  Jesus noticed John’s disciples following Him, and asked them what they were seeking.  The men then

As I walked among the giants, my eyes turned upward toward the tips of their lofty limbs, and my thoughts turned toward God.  It was a bright clear day, yet the sunlight filtering down, way down through soft fern-like branches, bathed the forest floor in a dark emerald light.  I paused to think of God

The Architect’s Plan Principles of architecture. The temple as Solomon built it is more than a physical building.  It is an expression by our Creator of His perception of mankind.  “…ye are the temple of God…”  (I Corinthians 3:16)  Solomon’s temple was not a building devised by human intellect.    “Then David gave to Solomon

Trees “And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought.  And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.”  Mark 8:23, 24 Could it

The Foundation The most important part of any building is the foundation.  A good quality foundation is necessary for a good quality building.  Without a foundation, the building has no stability; it will fall.   When we look at the story of the construction of the temple, we can sometimes draw parallels between Solomon and

The Walls Are Alive! “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house…”  I Peter 2:5 At first this verse seems to contradict our previous conclusion, that those who are saved are represented by the wood used in the temple.  This verse clearly says that we are like lively stones used to build

What is That on the Wall? In the description of the temple, there were certain things that had carvings on them.  It is likely that these carvings were intended to have symbolic meaning.  The carvings were not the real thing, but were intended to portray something.  On the walls of the temple, there were four

The Carvings of the Master “… I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.”  Psalm 17:15b In the last chapter we established a theory for the meaning of the pleasant carvings.  In this chapter, we will take a closer look at the picture that seems to be depicted by each of the beautiful

The Craftsmanship of the Master “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”  Ephesians 2:10 In the last chapter we took a look at what the Master is carving in our lives.  In this chapter, we will discuss the craftsmanship

Characteristics of Wood This chapter describes some of my thoughts about the characteristics of the material we are and how that affects the way the Craftsman approaches His work in our lives: Every natural man who is not saved relies on a “layer of bark,” which is a layer of pride, to protect himself.  When

Mastery of the Impossible “Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them.  Full of splendor and majesty is his work, and his righteousness endureth forever.” Psalms 111:11 ESV What quality does mankind have that God would choose to shape those who trust Him into the very special image of

The Awesome Splendor of the Gold Imagine with me, walking into the temple building.  Immediately it is obvious that you have seen no other building like this.  You gaze in awe at the glittering splendor of a building that is entirely covered within with gold.  The porch, the floors, the walls, the ceiling, the furniture,

The Ark The focus of the temple was the Ark of the Covenant.  The temple was built with this wonderful piece of furniture as its centerpiece.  Nothing was so glorious as when the ark was brought into the building.  What does this mysterious box represent?  Why was it so special?  (Once again the author must

The Doors In the temple, there were two important sets of doors.  There was a set of doors at the entrance to the Holy Place and a set of doors at the entrance to the Holy of Holies.  What is their significance?  Why would there be two sets of doors, or any doors at all

Ministering to God “And the priests brought in the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord unto his place, to the oracle of the house, into the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims:…(…And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place:…the singers, all of them

Windows “And for the house he made windows of narrow lights.”  I Kings 6:4 From this verse, we know that there were windows in the temple, and that they were narrow.  As I mentioned in the preface, the windows were connected to the wall as an integral part of it, therefore they seem to be

Pillars on the Porch First let’s consider whether the porch was even meant to be symbolic or not.  We are not told of any carvings on the actual porch structure.  There were pillars on the porch with carvings on them that were apparently symbolic.  Since the pillars rested on the porch, does that connect the

Outdoor Furniture Outside the temple there were two major items made of brass other than the pillars; these were the altar and the sea.  Solomon did not have the ability to make the items of brass, and so he brought in a man named Hiram from Tyre to handle the casting of the brass items. 

Janitorial  “…for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.”  I Corinthians 3:17b As I mentioned near the beginning of this book, the temple was a special building, not because of the physical building, but because of the awesome special Person who dwelt within.  We need to be continually aware that our hearts

Remodeling Projects Remodeling projects usually accomplish a good thing by taking a building that has run down and changing it to improve it somehow.  However, if the person that is doing the remodeling doesn’t understand how to do it right or take the time to do it right, the remodeling project can be a mess

House of Joy “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”  Hebrews 12:2 Jesus is a joyful person.  As we look at this verse, we

Glory to God! “The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power:  for thou hast created all things, and for thy

This book would have never been written and brought to the public if it had not been for three pastors who faithfully ministered to me over many years.  Pastor David Zempel taught me how to look for Christ throughout the Bible.  He also showed me that God could even use a farm boy who was

What about Solomon? There is no doubt that Solomon was far from perfect; but was the intended picture of the temple adversely affected by his faults?  Obviously this is a very important question since if Solomon did not produce the temple accurately in accordance with God’s instructions to David, then it becomes unclear what the

Scripture verses used throughout this book are KJV unless otherwise noted. Preface Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 7 Chapter 10 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 16 Chapter 19 Chapter 20

The most important resource available to you is the local church.  There are people there who care about you and who will help you in your spiritual walk.  If you are not currently attending a church, it is important that you contact a local church that believes in the truth of God’s Word.  They will