These are they which... have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple.
DO you remember what God had said that Solomon should build?
A house for the Lord.
This house would be called a temple, and it would be very beautiful.
Solomon had a great many things to build it of: gold, and silver, and iron, and brass, and stones, and wood; and he had a great many servants to build it. David, his father, had told him how to build it. How did David know how to build it? God had told David, and he had written it down.
Solomon did not build the temple upon Mount Zion, but upon another high hill in Jerusalem.
Solomon commanded a great many very large stones to be laid upon the ground for the beginning of the house; then he commanded his servants to cut down a great many trees, and he had some more wood which David had given to him. Solomon built the walls of stone, with wood inside and he put wood at the top; and Solomon covered the inside of the house with gold.
How beautiful the house must have been inside! How bright it must have shone when the candlesticks were lighted! for Solomon made ten candlesticks of gold, to give light to the house. Solomon put other beautiful things in the temple, besides the ten candlesticks. He put ten tables for bread, and a golden altar to burn sweet spices. And Solomon made a court round the temple, with a stone wall round the court: and he put in the court ten large basins of brass, to wash the animals in before they were sacrificed: and he made one basin larger than the rest: and he made twelve oxen of brass, and put this large basin on the backs of the oxen: and he had the basin filled with water for the priests to wash in.
In the court Solomon placed a very large brass altar that he had made. It was so large that a great many lambs, and bullocks, and goats, might be burned on it at the same time.
At last the temple was quite finished, and it was the most beautiful house in the world. It could not be moved about as the tabernacle had been in the wilderness: but Solomon never wished to move it from Jerusalem. It was a great deal larger than the tabernacle.
When it was finished, Solomon told all the people to come to the temple. The priests came, and they carried the ark into a room in the temple, called the Holy of Holies; and Solomon had made a great door to this room; and he had placed a great curtain or veil over the door, and he had made two very large angels of wood, covered with gold, and had placed them in this room, besides the two golden angels that were on the top of the ark. The large angels stood upright, and each had two great wings stretched out all across the room; the priests left the ark under the wings of the great angels, and no one could see into the room because of the great door, and of the curtain or veil which was over the door.
The other part of the temple was filled with priests, and with singers all clothed in white, and holding harps and other kinds of musical instruments in their hands—and some of the priests blew trumpets: and these were the words the singers sang—
`O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good: for His mercy endureth forever.'
As soon as the priests had left the ark in this room, and while the priests and singers were praising the Lord in the temple, the Lord Himself came down in a cloud and filled the temple, so that the priests and singers were obliged to go out of the temple and to stand in the court.
How glad Solomon was to see that the Lord was come into the house that he had built for Him! Solomon liked to see the brightness of the Lord, though he knew that the Lord filled every place.
Where did king Solomon stand? He had made a high place of brass, and he put it near the brazen altar in the court, and he stood upon this high place, so that all the people could see him.
And Solomon knelt down on this place, and spread wide his arms, and began to pray to God. His prayer was very long; but I will only tell you a little part of it. He asked God to hear all people who were unhappy, and who were sorry for their sins, and to forgive them.
When Solomon had ended his prayer, there came down fire from heaven, and burned up the beasts that had been killed and spread upon the altar. The fire did not hurt the people; it only burned the dead beasts on the altar. God sent the fire to show the people that He liked them to offer sacrifices to Him, and to pray to Him.
When the people saw the fire, and the glory of God all over the temple, they bowed themselves down to the ground, and praised the Lord, and said, 'He is good, His mercy endureth forever.'
At last the people went home to their own houses, but they very often came to offer sacrifices at the temple and to pray to God. Sweet psalms and sweet music might be heard at the temple both night and day.
That temple was a delightful place: because there people praised God, and because there they saw His glory.
There is a sweeter place, where I hope we shall go some day. There God shines brighter than the sun, and there are angels clothed in white, always praising Him. Shall you like to go there, dear children? Then what must you do? You must pray to God to forgive you your sins for the sake of the Lord Jesus, and then He will give you His Holy Spirit. Why will God hear your prayers? Because Jesus died on the cross for our sins; God promised His Son, that He would hear people's prayers. God cannot break His promise. My dear child, say to God, 'O keep Thy promise to Thy Son: forgive me for His sake: give me Thy Holy Spirit.'
Questions on Lesson 20
Of what did Solomon build the temple?
What beautiful things did he put inside the temple?
What did he put in the court for the animals to be washed in?
What did he put in the Holy of Holies?
Why were the priests obliged to go out of the temple, just after they had put the ark in the Holy
of Holies?
Who prayed aloud before all the people?
What did Solomon pray God to do?
How did God show that He was pleased with Solomon's sacrifices?
What used to be heard in the temple night and day?
Why is heaven like a temple?
How can you go to heaven?
Why does God hear people's prayers?