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Expanded Comments |
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| 1 Now Solomon purposed to build a house for the name of Jehovah, and a house for his kingdom. |
Build an house – The Temple which Solomon erected was a picture of the great Temple which God is erecting. CR359:6
"Which temple ye are." (1 Cor. 3:17) CR359:1
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| 2 And Solomon counted out seventy thousand men to bear burdens and eighty thousand men that were hewers in the mountains, and three thousand six hundred to oversee them.
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| 3 And Solomon sent to Huram the king of Tyre, saying, As thou didst deal with David my father, and didst send him cedars to build him a house to dwell therein, even so deal with me. |
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| 4 Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of Jehovah my God, to sanctify it to him, and to burn before him incense of sweet spices, and for the continual showbread, and for the burnt-offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the set feasts of Jehovah our God. This is an ordinance for ever to Israel. |
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| 5 And the house which I build is great; for great is our God above all the gods. |
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| 6 But who is able to build him a house, seeing the heavens and the heavens of heavens cannot contain him? who am I then, that I should build him a house, save only to burn incense before him? |
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| 7 Now therefore send me a man skilful to work in gold, and in silver, and in copper, and in iron, and in purple, and crimson, and blue, and that knoweth how to grave all manner of gravings, to be with the skilful men that are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my father did provide. |
To work in gold – Symbol of the divine nature. T18
And in silver – Symbol of the spirit nature--the Great Company. R4092:6*
And in brass – Copper, symbol of perfect human nature. T18
And in purple – Symbol of royalty. T34
And crimson – Of scarlet, symbol of the blood of the ransom. T109
And blue – Symbol of faithfulness. T30
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| 8 Send me also cedar-trees, fir-trees, and algum-trees, out of Lebanon; for I know that thy servants know how to cut timber in Lebanon: and, behold, my servants shall be with thy servants, |
Cedar trees – Symbol of everlasting human life. T109
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| 9 even to prepare me timber in abundance; for the house which I am about to build shall be great and wonderful. |
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| 10 And, behold, I will give to thy servants, the hewers that cut timber, twenty thousand measures of beaten wheat, and twenty thousand measures of barley, and twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil. |
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| 11 Then Huram the king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon, Because Jehovah loveth his people, he hath made thee king over them. |
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| 12 Huram said moreover, Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, that made heaven and earth, who hath given to David the king a wise son, endued with discretion and understanding, that should build a house for Jehovah, and a house for his kingdom. |
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| 13 And now I have sent a skilful man, endued with understanding, of Huram my father’s, |
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| 14 the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan; and his father was a man of Tyre, skilful to work in gold, and in silver, in copper, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson, also to grave any manner of graving, and to devise any device; that there may be a place appointed unto him with thy skilful men, and with the skilful men of my lord David thy father. |
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| 15 Now therefore the wheat and the barley, the oil and the wine, which my lord hath spoken of, let him send unto his servants: |
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| 16 and we will cut wood out of Lebanon, as much as thou shalt need; and we will bring it to thee in floats by sea to Joppa; and thou shalt carry it up to Jerusalem. |
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| 17 And Solomon numbered all the sojourners that were in the land of Israel, after the numbering wherewith David his father had numbered them; and they were found a hundred fifty-three thousand six hundred. |
And Solomon – Typifying our Lord. R1237:5
All the strangers – Foreigners (the Tyrians) and the enslaved Canaanites. R1237:1*
God has selected most of the Church from among those not Israelites according to the flesh. R1237:5
Typical of the fact that aliens, strangers, foreigners and enemies of the truth have the larger share in the work of preparing the antitypical Temple, although in their hammering, chiseling, melting and casting they little realize the glorious interests served. R3282:6
3,600 – Canaanites. R3282:6
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| 18 And he set seventy thousand of them to bear burdens, and eighty thousand that were hewers in the mountains, and three thousand six hundred overseers to set the people at work. |
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