1 Kings 6:11

1 Kings 6:11 says, And the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying,  Verse eighteen adds, Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father: While Solomon was having the Temple built, the word of God came to him concerning it.  God's word was more about Solomon's life overall than just the Temple though.  God told Solomon if he would follow His statutes, execute judgment, and keep His commandments, that He would keep His promise that He had made to David.  If we today put our faith in Jesus Christ, Who was the fulfillment of the promise to David, we will be saved forever.  Verse thirteen continues, And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel.  God said that if Solomon did these things, then He would dwell among the people of Israel and not forsake them.  If we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, the Holy Spirit will indwell us and never forsake us.  Verse fourteen states, So Solomon built the house, and finished it.  After this word from God, Solomon completed the building of the Temple.  Whatever God calls us to do today, we should not stop until the work is finished.  Verse fifteen adds, And he built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar, both the floor of the house, and the walls of the cieling: and he covered them on the inside with wood, and covered the floor of the house with planks of fir.  The next few verses tell us about how the Temple was overlaid wit cedar and fir.  Verse sixteen continues, And he built twenty cubits on the sides of the house, both the floor and the walls with boards of cedar: he even built them for it within, even for the oracle, even for the most holy place.  The sides of the Temple and the floors and walls were covered with cedar, even the room for the oracle and the most holy place. Verse seventeen says, And the house, that is, the temple before it, was forty cubits long.  We are once again told of the length of the Temple.  Verse eighteen adds, And the cedar of the house within was carved with knops and open flowers: all was cedar; there was no stone seen.  Not only were the walls within covered with cedar, but the were carved with decorations as well.  The Temple would have likely been just as functional without the cedar and certainly would have been so without the carved decorations, but I believe that Solomon wanted it to be beautiful before God and anyone who saw it.  As Christians, we should always do our best to make our life beautiful before God and the world so that He might be magnified.  Verse nineteen continues, And the oracle he prepared in the house within, to set there the ark of the covenant of the LORD.  A place was prepared within for the Ark of the Covenant.  God's word needs to have a special place in our heart today.  Verse twenty states, And the oracle in the forepart was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in the height thereof: and he overlaid it with pure gold; and so covered the altar which was of cedar.  Not only was the inside of the Temple overlaid with cedar, part of it was overlaid with gold as well, including the altar.  We should give the best that we have to God today, and we should never refuse to do what He calls us to do just because it is going to cost us materially.  Verse twenty-one adds, So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold: and he made a partition by the chains of gold before the oracle; and he overlaid it with gold.  We are told of even more of the inside of the Temple being overlaid with gold.  Verse twenty-two continues,  And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the house: also the whole altar that was by the oracle he overlaid with gold.  Then, we are told that the whole Temple was overlaid with gold.  The Temple was to represent God to the people of Israel and all who saw it, so it was very ornate.  Though church buildings may be seen as representing God today, it is really the people who go to the church buildings who do, so I believe we should put more resources into reaching people and meeting their needs than into the buildings themselves.