1 Kings 5:1–18 begins the narrative of Solomon’s project of building the temple. This structure was to be a permanent centre for the worship of God. This was to be a worship that took place according to the instructions of the Law of Moses.

Before dealing with the verse-by-verse interpretation of the text, it is well to draw our attention to two matters. The first of these matters concerns the worship prescribed by the Law of Moses. The second matter concerns the temple in particular.

We ought to remember that Old Testament worship as it was laid down by God in the Law was not an end in itself. The rites, ceremonies, and sacrifices were preparatory to the true worship that would be established through Jesus Christ by the ministry of the Holy Spirit. This worship is the worship of which Jesus spoke to the woman of Samaria in John 4: Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father…. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him (John 4:21–23).

The mention of Jerusalem implied the rites and ceremonies of the Mosaic covenant. Jesus tells us that this worship looks beyond itself to something better. Our study of the temple and its being built is to be with the knowledge that while this worship was established by the decree of God and had his authority as long as it lasted, it would be replaced by a worship that will never pass away.

We come next to speak in the same way concerning Solomon’s temple in particular. Just as the worship of the sacrificial system was not an end in itself, so also Solomon’s temple was not an end in itself. As we have seen in John 4 that Old Testament worship pointed beyond itself, in like manner we find in John 2:19 and John 2:21 that Jesus said, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’…. But he was speaking about the temple of his body.

Jesus called his body the true temple. There is also more to be said, for the New Testament teaches that the church is the body of Christ of which he is the head (see, e.g., Ephesians 1:23). The building of Solomon’s temple, therefore, ought not to be considered apart from the knowledge that it was intended by the eternal Triune God to be a type both of the Son of God in his death and resurrection and his church that would be built upon him.

If we were to ignore these matters, we would lose the proper vantage point from which the historical narrative ought to be viewed. We should always remember that the Old Testament Scriptures testify of Jesus (John 5:39).