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          all rights including any redistribution rights are reserved by
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          The Purpose of King Solomon's Temple
          By: W. J. "Bill" Malina MPS
          
          The whole system of rituals, legends, and allegories in
          Symbolic Masonry centers around the building of King
          Solomon's Temple.  Much emphasis is placed upon the
          details, both factual and allegorical, of the construction of
          that magnificent edifice, including details of how workers
          were utilized to carry out the various phases of its
          construction.  However, to my knowledge, nowhere in
          Masonry is it explained why the Temple was built, nor what
          its primary purpose was.
          The Temple was only a part of King Solomon's vast palatial
          complex.  It was located adjacent to King Solomon's
          personal palace and royal residence.  From about 960 to
          587 BC the Temple itself functioned as God's palace and as
          Israel's national center of worship.
          The Temple proper was shaped in the form of a long house
          (30 feet x 105 feet), and composed of three successive
          rooms, starting with a vestibule or porch in the east, then
          extending to the west. The roof of the vestibule or porch was
          supported by two large brazen pillars which were named
          Jachin and Boaz.  The vestibule or porch was only 15 feet
          deep.  The nave or middle chamber, called the Holy Place
          (Sanctum), was 30 feet wide, 60 feet long, and 45 feet high
          -- all by interior measurements.  The third or inner sanctuary
          or chamber, called the Most Holy Place or Holy of Holies
          (Sanctum Sanctorum), was a perfect cube, 30 feet wide, 30
          feet deep, and 30 feet high.
          In addition to the great house or Temple proper, there were
          three stories of side chambers for use as Temple
          storehouses, above which were recessed windows for the
          hall of the Holy Place, the middle chamber.  There were no
          windows in the Holy of Holies, the inner sanctuary.
          Every building, even if it is a simple toolshed or storage
          building, is built for a purpose.  King Solomon's Temple was
          no exception.  King David, as recorded in I Chronicles
          28:2-3, makes it clear that he had intended to build a
          permanent home for the "Ark of the Covenant of the Lord,"
          but that he was forbidden by God to do so because he was
          a man of war and was responsible for the death of many
          people.  David then makes it clear that his son Solomon was
          to be responsible for building God's house and courts. The
          Temple was designed to be the perpetual dwelling place of
          God, and, in effect, was intended to be a substitute or
          successor to the nomadic Tabernacle instituted in the
          wilderness at Sinai by Moses.  (See Exodus 25:8)
          In order to get the full impact of David's vision, it is
          necessary to get a clear understanding of just what the "Ark
          of the Covenant of the Lord" was.  Exodus 25:10-22 and
          37:1-9 give a detailed description of the Ark.  At this point,
          accepting that a cubit is approximately 18 inches, suffice it
          to say that the Ark was 45 inches long, 27 inches wide, and
          27 inches tall, a rather large rectangular or oblong box.
          In the Entered Apprentice degree, Masons are told that King
          Solomon's Temple was patterned or modeled after the
          nomadic Tabernacle or tent erected by the Israelites in the
          wilderness of Sinai.  If this is true, then the purpose of King
          Solomon's Temple would have been the same as that of the
          Tabernacle -- to provide a protected resting place for the Ark
          of the Covenant.
          Chapter 40 of the book of Exodus tells us that after the
          construction of the Tabernacle was completed, Moses
          placed the "Testimony" into the Ark of the Covenant and
          brought it into the Most Holy Place or Sanctum Sanctorum of
          the Tabernacle.  The "Testimony" referred to in Exodus
          40:20 is the second set of stone tablets containing the Ten
          Commandments given by God to Moses upon Mt. Sinai.
          When the Tabernacle was first instituted, it, of necessity,
          had to be portable.  It had to be portable because the
          Israelites were directed by God to migrate through the
          wilderness to a promised land flowing with milk and honey. 
          The Israelites spent 40 years wandering through the
          wilderness between Sinai and Jerusalem before they
          reached the promised land.
          The Ark not only housed the "Testimony," (the duplicate set
          of stone tablets containing God's law summarized by the
          Ten Commandments), it became a symbol of God's
          presence.  The Israelites believed that God actually dwelt on
          the Mercy Seat upon the top of the Ark of the Covenant and
          in between the extended wings of the two Cherubim.  In
          terms of modern Judeo-Christian thought, it might be said
          that the Ark of the Covenant was the most profound and
          important symbol of God's presence with His chosen people
          and of His involvement in their lives.
          The nomadic or Sinaitic Tabernacle was not exactly a small
          tent, nor was it easy to set up and take down.  It was 15 feet
          wide, 45 feet long, and 15 feet high, and was surrounded by
          a courtyard 75 feet wide and 150 feet long which was
          enclosed by a 15 foot tall curtain.  The Tabernacle itself was
          divided into two rooms or chambers divided by a curtain. 
          The larger room or sanctuary, called the Sanctum (the Holy
          Place), was 15 feet wide, 30 feet long, and 15 feet high. 
          The smaller room, call the Sanctum Sanctorum (the Most
          Holy Place or Holy of Holies), was a perfect cube, 15 feet
          wide, 15 feet long, and 15 feet high.  The Tabernacle was
          always erected in the west end of the courtyard.  The
          entrance to the courtyard, as well as to the Sanctuary or
          Holy Place, was always in the east.  It is traditionally
          believed that the Tabernacle, along with the courtyard
          enclosure, was taken down every morning and set up again
          in the evening.  There were, of course, times when the
          Tabernacle remained in one place for extended periods of
          time.  Little wonder that it took 40 years to get from Sinai to
          Jerusalem.
          If it is true that King Solomon's Temple was patterned after
          the Tabernacle and that Masonic Lodges are patterned after
          King Solomon's Temple and symbolically situated east and
          west, the symbolism is inaccurate.  In the Tabernacle and in
          King Solomon's Temple the entrances into all of the
          chambers were in the east.  In modern Masonic Lodges the
          Master sits in the east and there are no entrances in or near
          the east, except, of course, for fire exits or escapes. 
          Normally, the entrance into a modern Masonic lodge room is
          a door in the west and to the south of the Senior Warden. 
          The attentive Bible student will note other discrepancies
          between King Solomon's Temple and the symbolic Masonic
          lodge room, however, they are not pertinent to the subject at
          hand.  The discrepancies do not and should not be allowed
          to detract from the moral lessons that are taught by the
          rituals of Masonry.
          The nomadic or Sinaitic Tabernacle was not the first tent to
          be used as a protected resting place for the Testimony (the
          Tablets of the Law containing the Ten Commandments). 
          The first was the "Tent of Meeting" mentioned in Exodus
          33:7-11.  Presumably the two stone Tablets of the Law were
          kept in that tent until they were put into the Ark of the
          Covenant and placed into the Sanctum Sanctorum (the Most
          Holy Place) of the Sinaitic Tabernacle.
          After the Ark of the Covenant was taken across the Jordan
          River and used in the conquest of Jericho, it was taken to
          and temporarily located at Gilgal, Schechem, Bethel, and
          Shiloh where some sort of temple was built to house it. 
          Whether the temple at Shiloh was a replica of the original
          tabernacle, or whether it was a permanent or
          semi-permanent structure is not known.  The Ark was there
          captured by the Philistines who took it to Ashod, Gath, and
          Edron.  The Ark created such havoc among the Philistines
          that they decided to return it to the Israelites at
          Bethshemesh.  From
          Bethshemesh the Ark was taken to Keriath-Jearim where it
          remained in comparative neglect until King David brought it
          to Jerusalem.
          II Samuel 6:17 tells us that David constructed a third
          tabernacle or tent for the Ark in Jerusalem, where it
          remained until it was placed in the Sanctum Sanctorum (the
          Most Holy Place) of King Solomon's Temple.
          Throughout the first part of the Old Testament there are
          variations of the name of the Ark of the Covenant.  The first
          time it is mentioned in the book of Exodus it is called "Ark of
          the Testimony." (Exodus 25:22)  Some of the other names
          used for it are: "Ark of the Lord," "Ark of God," and most
          ornately "Ark of God which is called by the NAME, the very
          name of the Lord of Hosts who is enthroned above (or
          between) the Cherubim." (II Samuel 6:12 NAS)  In this
          instance "NAME" was used as a substitute for the ineffable
          and unpronounceable name of God represented by the
          letters "JHVH" or YHWH."  The long compound name of the
          Ark is reminiscent of I Chronicles 28:3 where the proposed
          Temple is referred to as, "a house for my (God's) name."
          The Scriptures make almost no mention of the Ark of the
          Covenant after the reign of King Solomon.  There is no
          Biblical evidence that the Ark was taken to Babylon when
          the Temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 587 BC,
          nor that it was ever returned.
          The exact pronunciation of God's name was a secret or
          mystery to the early Israelites.  God's name is usually written
          with the letters "JHVH" or "YHWH," to which we add vowels
          and come up with "Jehovah" or "Yahweh."  The meaning of
          God's name is made clear in Exodus 3:13-14 when God
          speaks out of the burning bush and tells Moses that His
          (God's) name is, "I AM THAT I AM."
          Throughout the years, the letters "JHVH" and "YHWH" have
          caused a lot of religious controversy over their pronunciation
          and/or meaning.  Their importance lies in the premise that
          they are intended to represent the unexplainable and
          mysterious nature and existence of God.  It can, therefore,
          be concluded that the incomprehensible name of God and
          His mysterious existence are one and the same.  Then, if
          this is true, the symbolism of the Ark of the Covenant of the
          Lord is "Emanuel" -- God with us.  Therefore, the underlying
          purpose for building King Solomon's Temple had to have
          been to erect a house or home for the essence of God's
          omnipresent nature, to emphasize that He is always present
          with and among His chosen people.
          When the purpose for the building of King Solomon's
          Temple is clearly understood, it is evident that the purpose
          for Freemasons building their personal and individual
          spiritual temples is symbolic of preparing a place for the
          essence and presence of God to dwell in the midst of their
          lives.  To be a dynamic force in peoples' lives, God must
          dwell in their most holy place, their own personal sanctum
          sanctorum -- in their hearts.
          
          Bibliography
          
          The NIV Study Bible; Zondervan Bible Publishers, Grand
          Rapids, MI
          Master Study Bible; Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, TN
          Holman Bible Dictionary; Holman Bible Publishers,
          Nashville, TN
          New Bible Dictionary; Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 
          (Second Edition) Wheaton, IL