Topical Bible: Temple: Solomon's: Forbidden by God Because David Was a Man of War

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The Temple of Solomon, also known as the First Temple, holds a significant place in biblical history as the first permanent structure built for the worship of Yahweh in Jerusalem. The vision for this temple was initially conceived by King David, a man after God's own heart (1 Samuel 13:14). However, despite his deep desire to build a house for the Lord, David was forbidden by God from constructing the temple due to his history as a warrior and the bloodshed associated with his reign.

Divine Prohibition

The divine prohibition against David building the temple is explicitly stated in the Scriptures. In 1 Chronicles 22:8 , God communicates to David, "You have shed much blood and fought many wars. You are not to build a house for My Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in My sight." This passage underscores the reason for God's decision: David's life as a man of war rendered him unsuitable for the task of constructing a sacred space dedicated to peace and worship.

David's Preparation

Despite the prohibition, David played a crucial role in preparing for the temple's construction. Understanding the importance of the temple for the future of Israel, David made extensive preparations to ensure that his son Solomon could fulfill this divine mandate. He gathered materials, including gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone, and organized the Levites and priests for their future roles in temple service (1 Chronicles 22:2-5, 14-16).

David also provided Solomon with detailed plans for the temple, which he received by divine inspiration. In 1 Chronicles 28:11-12 , it is recorded, "Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the portico of the temple, its buildings, storerooms, upper rooms, inner rooms, and the room for the mercy seat. He provided plans for all that the Spirit had put in his mind for the courts of the house of the LORD and all the surrounding chambers, for the treasuries of the house of God and of the dedicated things."

Solomon's Commission

God's choice of Solomon to build the temple is affirmed in 1 Chronicles 28:6 , where God declares to David, "Solomon your son is the one who will build My house and My courts, for I have chosen him to be My son, and I will be his father." Solomon, known for his wisdom and peaceful reign, was deemed the appropriate leader to undertake this monumental task.

Under Solomon's leadership, the temple was constructed with great splendor and precision, as described in 1 Kings 6-7 and 2 Chronicles 3-4. The temple became the central place of worship for the Israelites, housing the Ark of the Covenant and serving as the focal point for religious festivals and sacrifices.

Significance

The construction of Solomon's Temple marked a pivotal moment in Israel's history, symbolizing the transition from a nomadic, tribal society to a centralized kingdom with a permanent place of worship. It represented God's dwelling among His people and served as a tangible reminder of His covenant with Israel. Despite David's inability to build the temple himself, his preparations and Solomon's subsequent construction fulfilled God's plan for a house where His name would dwell.

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2 Samuel 7:4-12
And it came to pass that night, that the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying,
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1 Kings 5:3
You know how that David my father could not build an house to the name of the LORD his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until the LORD put them under the soles of his feet.
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1 Chronicles 22:8
But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, You have shed blood abundantly, and have made great wars: you shall not build an house to my name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight.
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1 Chronicles 28:3
But God said to me, You shall not build an house for my name, because you have been a man of war, and have shed blood.
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Library

How, Upon the Death of Solomon the People Forsook his Son Rehoboam ...
... Upon this Rehoboam, Solomon's son, assembled a great congregation of ... to be his servants;
but he was forbidden of God ... It was a man that built the temple: I have ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/chapter 8 how upon the.htm

The First Kings.
... The temple he built was a monument of ... by his unbounded prosperity, and indulging
in forbidden pleasures ... with the Scriptures, especially the proverbs of Solomon. ...
/.../headley/half hours in bible lands volume 2/the first kings.htm

Book 8 Footnotes
... but that at the tabernacle was equally forbidden by Moses ... [22] This youth of Jeroboam,
when Solomon built the ... his twenty years building of the temple and his ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/book 8 footnotes.htm

The Oration on Holy Baptism.
... he led Him up to the pinnacle of the temple and said ... And behold a Greater than Solomon
is here [4090] in the ... of the Sacrament, and that is not forbidden to the ...
/.../cyril/lectures of s cyril of jerusalem/oration xl the oration on.htm

The Unity of the Divine Essence in Three Persons Taught, in ...
... speak what is ineffable, and pry into what is forbidden. ... mind can have any doubt
as to Solomon's meaning, when ... in the same sense, that we are the temple of the ...
/.../calvin/the institutes of the christian religion/chapter 13 the unity of.htm

Tit. 2:06 Thoughts for Young Men
... tempted Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, and ... years; when He was found in
the temple, He was ... You will find, as Solomon did by experience, that earthly ...
/.../chapter xix tit 2 6 thoughts.htm

The Annunciation of Jesus the Messiah, and the Birth of his ...
... enjoined us about incest, and forbidden the betrothed ... in the solemn grandeur of the
Temple, between the ... their birth: Isaac, Ishmael, Moses, Solomon, Josiah, and ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter iv the annunciation of.htm

The Flight into Egypt and St. John the Baptist in the Desert
... saw in the care of Anna in the Temple a boy ... whether from humility or because the
angel had forbidden Him to ... work full of the wisdom of Job, Moses, and Solomon. ...
/.../emmerich/the life of the blessed virgin mary/xvi the flight into egypt.htm

A Holy Life the Beauty of Christianity: Or, an Exhortation to ...
... a blemish to the rest, and as Solomon says, 'One ... is to be dead to those things forbidden
in the ... They could frequent the temple, keep their feasts, slay their ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/a holy life the beauty.htm

The Holy City; Or, the New Jerusalem:
... and answereth to Jerusalem in the days of Solomon; her second ... saw come to measure
the city and temple, had in ... this stone, than in the light of God, though both ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/the holy city or the.htm