1 Kings 8:54

1 Kings 8:54 says, And it was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven.  Solomon had prayed on his knees with his hands spread to heaven, and when he was finished, he got up.  There are several ways that different people think we should pray today, but as long as we are humble before God, that is the main issue.  Verse fifty-five adds, And he stood, and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying,  After Solomon stood from praying, he the blessed all the people of Israel, or I believe asked God's blessing on them, since we really can't bless people.  Verse fifty-six continues, Blessed be the Lord, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.  Solomon began by asking that God be blessed by the people for His goodness and faithfulness in fulfilling His promises to them.  We should bless or praise God today as well, because He will always fulfill His promises to us as long as we are faithful to Him.  Verse fifty-seven states, The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us:   Solomon continued to ask that God be with them and not leave or forsake them.  As followers of Christ, the Holy Spirit is always with us and will never leave or forsake us.  Verse fifty-eight adds, That he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers.  Solomon then asked that the people incline their hearts toward God, so that they would keep His commandments, statutes, and judgments that He had given to their fathers.  God's law has not changed, and we as Christians must live under its authority.  Verse fifty-nine continues, And let these my words, wherewith I have made supplication before the Lord, be nigh unto the Lord our God day and night, that he maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel at all times, as the matter shall require:  Solomon asked that his words be close to God day and night, and that He hear the people any time they might inquire of Him.  One thing that we can be certain of is that God will be with us and hear us at all times when we call out to Him, because the Holy Spirit indwells us once we put our faith in Jesus Christ.  Verse sixty says, That all the people of the earth may know that the Lord is God, and that there is none else.  Solomon asked that God do this so that all the people on the earth, and not just those of Isarael, would know that He was God.  Our actions as followers of Christ today should lead others to acknowledge God, even if they don't know Him in a personal relationship.  Verse sixty-one adds, Let your heart therefore be perfect with the Lord our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.  Like Solomon asked of the people of Israel then we must make our hearts perfect with the Lord or walk by faith in Him.  Verse sixty-two continues, And the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the Lord.  Solomon and all the people of Israel then offered a sacrifice before the Lord.  The only sacrifice that we can offer to God today that really matters is the sacrifice of ourselves to Him by faith in Jesus Christ.  Verse sixty-three states, And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered unto the Lord, two and twenty thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord.  Solomon then offered a peace offering as they dedicated the house of the Lord.  As Christians, we should be dedicated to God and thereby live at peace with Him, even if we are at war with the world.  Verse sixty-four adds, The same day did the king hallow the middle of the court that was before the house of the Lord: for there he offered burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings: because the brasen altar that was before the Lord was too little to receive the burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings.  The same day, Solomon hallowed, or dedicated the middle of the inner court to God, because that was where sacrifices were made.  We need to dedicate the inner most part of ourselves to God, because we have sacrificed ourselves to Him.  Verse sixty-five continues, And at that time Solomon held a feast, and all Israel with him, a great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt, before the Lord our God, seven days and seven days, even fourteen days.  Solomon then had a great feast to God with all the people of Israel that lasted fourteen days.  Verse sixteen concludes, On the eighth day he sent the people away: and they blessed the king, and went unto their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the Lord had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people.  This says on the eighth day they went home, blessing Solomon with gladness in their hearts for the goodness that God had shown to David his servant through all that Solomon had now accomplished.  They saw this as a fulfillment of the promise God had made to David.  Whatever we accomplish as Christians today is a result of a promise made to Jesus Christ by is Heavenly Father.  Since the feast was divided into two seven-day periods, I assume this was at the end of the second one. We need to always thank God for the goodness that He has shown us by sending His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to die in our place.  We should do this individually and as a nation. 

1 Kings 8:44

1 Kings 8:44 says, If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, whithersoever thou shalt send them, and shall pray unto the LORD toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house that I have built for thy name:  The people were told that if they were in battle and were about to engage the enemy, to look toward the Temple and pray.  We today do not need to look toward a specific place and pray, because the Holy Spirit is always with us, but we do need to always pray before engaging the enemy.  Verse forty-five adds, Then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.  Solomon asked God to hear their prayer and maintain their cause if they did this.  If we are praying in accordance with God's will, He will always hear our prayers and maintain our cause.  Verse forty=six continues, If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near;  Solomon then asked that if the people sinned, which all people will do, that God deliver them to the enemy and send them away.  We don't pray this prayer today, and even though we are saved forever if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, He may allow us to be defeated in this world if we fall back into sin in order to make us realize that He is aware of our sins.  Verse forty-seven states, Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness;  Solomon then talked about the people realizing their sin, repenting in the land of captivity, and asking God's forgiveness.  If we as Christians find ourselves held captive because of our sins today, we must first acknowledge our sins, then repent, and then ask God's forgiveness.  Verse forty-eight adds, And so return unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name:  Solomon continued by speaking about the people sincerely praying to God for forgiveness as they looked toward the Temple.  Again, we don't have to look toward a particular place today to find God's forgiveness, but we must sincerely call out to God in prayer in order to find it.  Verse forty-nine continues, Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause,  Solomon asked God to hear their prayers for forgiveness and be with them.  God will always hear the prayers of His people, and if we have sinned and are asking for His forgiveness, He will always forgive us.  Verse fifty concludes, And forgive thy people that have sinned against thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee, and give them compassion before them who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them:  Solomon asked God to then have compassion on His people who had been carried away in captivity because of their sins.  God has always reached out to people out of compassion, and I believe that if we as Christians sin once again that He is always waiting with compassion to forgive us as soon as we repent and turn to Him again.  Verse fifty-one says, For they be thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron:  Solomon said the people of Israel were God's chosen people that He had delivered from slavery in Egypt.  We as followers of Christ today are God's chosen people that He has delivered from the captivity of sin.  Verse fifty-two adds, That thine eyes may be open unto the supplication of thy servant, and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken unto them in all that they call for unto thee.  Solomon continued to ask God to hear and forgive His people if they sinned and repented, and He did then and always will.  Verse fifty-three continues, For thou didst separate them from among all the people of the earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou spakest by the hand of Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord GOD.  Solomon asked that God do this because He had separated the people of Israel to be His people. Today, we as followers of Christ have been separated from the rest of the world to be God's people, not because we are better than them by our own merit, but because God has redeemed us through the death of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, on the cross to bring us forgiveness for our sins.  Though He died for the sins of everyone, we must accept His gift of salvation by faith in order to be forgiven. 

1 Kings 8:33

1 Kings 8:33 says, When thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto thee in this house:  Solomon began to speak about times when Israel would turn away from God and return asking His forgiveness in the Temple.  When we stray away from God's will as Christians, we need to return to Him and ask His forgiveness, but we don't have to go to a particular place to do so.  Verse thirty-four adds, Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest unto their fathers. Solomon asked God to forgive the people when they came and asked forgiveness and to restore them to the land He gave their fathers.  When we come to God for forgiveness as Christians, He will always restore us to a right relationship with Him, but we never lose our heavenly home if we have sincerely accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord. Verse thirty-five continues, When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them:  Solomon then spoke about times when God would withhold the rain because of the sins of the people of Israel and they then repented.  We need to realize that our sins are going to bring at least spiritual if not physical consequences and that if we want the spiritual consequences removed, we need to repent and ask God's forgiveness.  Verse thirty-six concludes, Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, that thou teach them the good way wherein they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance.  Solomon asked God to forgive them in this case also and to bring the rain again and to teach the people how to walk in His way.  When God forgives us from straying away after we ask His forgiveness, we need to pray that He will teach us how to better follow His way.  Verse thirty-seven states, If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpiller; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be;  Solomon then expanded his request to include several physical calamities that might befall the people of Israel.  If we as Christians begin to turn away from God, we can be certain that He will move His protection from us, and we will need to ask His forgiveness to be restored.  We do not lose our salvation, but we do lose the earthly benefits of salvation if we are out of God's will.  Verse thirty-eight adds, What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house:  Solomon then made the request that this request apply to individuals as well as to the nation collectively if they all repented.  We know that forgiveness comes from each individual asking for forgiveness personally, but if as a nation all of God's people begin to repent and ask God's forgiveness, the whole nation will be affected.  Verse thirty-nine continues, Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;) Solomon then asked that God forgive them individually, which is really the only way to have God's forgiveness.  We cannot bring about forgiveness for anyone but ourself.  Verse forty concludes, That they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.  Solomon asked God to forgive His people when they repented in the Temple and restore them to Himself.  Again, though we must individually repent to find forgiveness, we don't have to go to a particular place to do so.  Verse forty-one says, Moreover concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name’s sake;   Solomon had been speaking about the people of Israel but then began to speak about the strangers who came to the Temple asking forgiveness from God and for His sake or glory.  This would include anyone not born as an Israelite.  Verse forty-two adds, (For they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy stretched out arm;) when he shall come and pray toward this house;  Solomon said that these strangers would come because they had heard about God's greatness.  If strangers to God are going to come to Him today, we as followers of Christ must share the gospel with them so that they can understand the greatness of God in His providing the free gift of salvation.  Verse forty-three continues, Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have builded, is called by thy name.  Solomon asked God to hear these strangers so that the whole earth would know about Him.  The Jewish people who lived at the time Jesus was on the earth and shortly after His death, burial, and resurrection should not have been surprised that the gospel was being preached to the Gentiles, because even Solomon knew that God was reaching out to all people and not just the people of Israel.  We must still reach out to all people with the gospel today as well. 

1Kings 8:22

1 Kings 8:22 says, And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven:   Solomon stood before the altar for all the people to see.  We also need to stand before the altar of God so all people can see that we stand with and worship God.  Verse twenty-three adds, And he said, LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart:  Solomon then proclaimed God to be the only God, who acted in mercy toward His people, and Who had a covenant relationship with them.  As Christians, we should proclaim this truth to the world today.  Verse twenty-four continues, Who hast kept with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him: thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.  Solomon said that the things God promised to David with His words, He fulfilled with His hands, or by His acts.  This promise was completely fulfilled when Jesus Christ came and died to bring forgiveness for our sins by the act of dying on the cross.  Of course, we must accept His sacrifice for it to have meaning to us.  Verse twenty-five states, Therefore now, LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me.  Solomon asked God to fulfill His promises that there would never be a time when a descendant of David did not sit on the throne of Israel, and as already stated, this was fulfilled when Jesus Christ came to be the eternal King.  I am not sure what the people of Israel believe today, since there is no king of Israel, much less a descendant of David, and this is the promise of the Old Testament and they do not accept the New Testament.  Verse twenty-six adds. And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father.  Solomon asked God to let His word be verified, and we can be certain that it always has and always will be.  We simply must accept it by faith, and the first step in doing so is to accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.  Then we need to live under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  Verse twenty-seven continues, But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?  Solomon asked if God would live on earth in the building that he had made since even the heavens couldn't contain Him.  The answer is that it couldn't, nor can any church building today.  Verse twenty-eight says, Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee to day:  Solomon asked God to hear his prayer that day, and as followers of Christ, God will always hear our prayers.  Of course, our prayers should always be made based on what God's will is or is at the time and not just on our desires.  Verse twenty-nine adds, That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place. Solomon asked that God be present in the Temple day and night, even though he knew God could not be contained in it.  We as Christians have the Holy Spirit living within us, but He certainly isn't contained by His presence with us.  Verse thirty continues, And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive.  Solomon asked God to hear the prayers of people that were made in the Temple from His throne in Heaven, and to forgive them when they asked.  God does hear us from His throne in Heaven today and will always forgive us if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord,  Verse thirty-one states, If any man trespass against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house:  Verse thirty-two adds, Then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.  Solomon asked that God reward those who lived by His commandments and punish those who didn't.  Spiritually, this is not determined by our own righteousness, which will always fail us, but on the righteousness of Jesus Christ.  We already have the gift of everlasting forgiveness if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.  

1 Kings 8:12

1 Kings 8:12 says, Then spake Solomon, The LORD said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.  Solomon said that God had said He would dwell in the thick darkness of the cloud, but today He lives in the light of Jesus Christ.  The cloud then was not an indication of God's displeasure, but of His presence.  The Holy Spirit indwelling us is the indication of God's presence in our life today.  Verse thirteen adds, I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever.  Solomon said he had built God a house, a settled place, where God could abide forever.  This was opposed to the Tabernacle, which moved from place to place.  Still, God could not be confined to a specific place, and we should not attempt to confine Him to church buildings today.  Verse fourteen continues, And the king turned his face about, and blessed all the congregation of Israel: (and all the congregation of Israel stood;)  Solomon turned around and blessed the whole congregation of Israel while they stood.  I believe a more accurate statement would be that he asked God's blessing on the people there.  God provides the blessings that we receive.  Verse eighteen states, And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which spake with his mouth unto David my father, and hath with his hand fulfilled it, saying,  David said that God Who had spoken to his father David should be blessed because He had fulfilled promise.  We cannot be saved simply by the fact that our father or mother was, but we must have a personal relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ in order to be saved.  He will always fulfill His promises to us if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.  Verse sixteen adds, Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build an house, that my name might be ; but I chose David to be over my people Israel.  Solomon said God had said since He brought the people of Israel out of Egypt, He had not chosen any city to dwell in, but that He did choose David to be their king.  Today, God still doesn't live just in one particular place, and He has made Jesus Christ is our King forever.  Verse seventeen continues, And it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel.  Solomon said it was David’s desire to build a house for God.  Whatever we desire to do for God today, we must first make sure that it is what He wants.  Verse eighteen declares, And the LORD said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thine heart to build an house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart.  Solomon said that God told David that he did well in his heart for wanting to build a house for God.  If we are to do something special for God today, it should be with a purity of our heart.  Verse nineteen adds, Nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house unto my name.  Solomon said God told David that even though his desire was good that he wasn't going to be allowed to build a house for God.  God may not allow us to do something that we desire to do for Him.  I believe that the ultimate house of God that He referred to here was not the Temple, but Jesus Christ Himself, since Jesus Christ referred to Himself as the Temple that would be destroyed and rebuilt in three days.  Verse twenty continues, And the LORD hath performed his word that he spake, and I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel.  Solomon said that he had been raised up to replace David his father and fulfill god's promise that David's descendant would build a house for God, but we know that the ultimate fulfillment of that promise came with Jesus Christ, a descendant of David.  We will never be more than servants of God when we put our faith in Jesus Christ.  Verse twenty-one concludes, And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of the LORD, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.  Solomon said he had made a place for the Ark of the Covenant which God had made with the people of Israel when He brought them out of Egypt.  The covenant between God and mankind has always been based on salvation through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and when we accept Him as our personal Savior and Lord, we are not to try to confine Him to one place.  We are to carry His word into all the world.

1 Kings 8:1

1 Kings 8:1 says, Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion.  After the Temple was completed, Solomon assembled all the heads of the tribes of Judah to bring the Ark of the Covenant from Jerusalem to the Temple.  Wherever we may have been worshipping before we accepted Christ, we now should gather at the foot of the cross.  Verse two adds, And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.  All the men of Israel gathered for a feast, and we should gather together to worship God today and to feast on His word.  Verse three continues, And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.  The elders of Israel came there, and the priests took up the Ark.  Then, only the priests could move the Ark, but today, as followers of Christ, we are all a part of the priesthood of God, and there is nothing about the salvation of Christ that is off limits to us.  Verse four states, Altogether they brought up the ark of the LORD, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites bring up.  The people worked together in bring the Ark and the holy vessels that were in the Tabernacle to the Temple.  We as Christians need to work together today to bring the gospel to the world.  Verse five adds, And king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel, that were assembled unto him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be told nor numbered for multitude.  Solomon and all the congregation of Israel sacrificed an uncountable number of sheep and oxen before the Ark.  The only sacrifice that we can offer to Christ today that really matters is ourselves.  Verse six continues, And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims.  The Ark of the Covenant was placed in the oracle, the most holy place in the Temple under the wings of the cherubim.  We need to have Jesus in our heart, which then becomes the most holy place in our life.  Everything we do must be centered on Jesus Christ.  Verse seven says, For the cherubims spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.  The cherubim then covered the Ark and the staves used to transport it.  The Ark of the Covenant was separated from most people, but the gospel is available to all, and instead of keeping it away from the world, we are commanded to share it with everyone we meet.  Verse eight adds, And they drew out the staves, that the ends of the staves were seen out in the holy place before the oracle, and they were not seen without: and there they are unto this day.  The staves were drawn out, since the Ark would not be moving.  Likewise, Jesus Christ came to bring salvation to all who put their faith in Him, and this way to salvation will never move.  He is the only way.  Verse nine continues, There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.  All that was in the Ark of the Covenant was the two stone tablets that God wrote His law on for Moses.  We need nothing other than Jesus Christ to have salvation today, and when we accept Him as our personal Savior and Lord, His word is written in our hearts.  Verse ten states, And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD,  When the priests came out of the holy place, the cloud representing God's presence filled the Temple.  Since our body is Temple of the Holy Spirit as followers of Christ, our hearts should be filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit, Who is the One Who signifies God's presence in our life.  Verse eleven adds, So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.  The priests could minister to the people from the Temple, because it was filled with the glory of God.  We, on the other hand, should minister to people around us because we are filled with the Holy Spirit.   

1 Kings 7:38

1 Kings 7:38 says, Then made he ten lavers of brass: one laver contained forty baths: and every laver was four cubits: and upon every one of the ten bases one laver.  We are told more about the lavers, or large basins.  Matthew Henry says that they needed these to be physically clean when coming into the Temple, just as we must be spiritually clean when coming before God today.  Verse thirty-nine adds, And he put five bases on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house: and he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward over against the south.  The lavers were divided with five on the right side and five on the left.  This would have given the people greater access, and people today have plenty of access to Jesus Christ.  He is not found in just one place, and He is the only One who can make us spiritually clean.  Verse forty continues, And Hiram made the lavers, and the shovels, and the basons. So Hiram made an end of doing all the work that he made king Solomon for the house of the LORD:  When Hiram finished these, he had completed the work on the Temple that he was doing for Solomon.  When Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose again, He completed the work of salvation done for the Heavenly Father on behalf of every sinner.  It is completed, but it is up to each individual to accept salvation.  Verse forty-one states, The two pillars, and the two bowls of the chapiters that were on the top of the two pillars; and the two networks, to cover the two bowls of the chapiters which were upon the top of the pillars;  The next few verses tell us more about how the Temple looked and functioned.  Verse forty-two adds, And four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, even two rows of pomegranates for one network, to cover the two bowls of the chapiters that were upon the pillars;  Verse forty-three continues, And the ten bases, and ten lavers on the bases;  Verse forty-four says, And one sea, and twelve oxen under the sea;  Verse forty-five adds, And the pots, and the shovels, and the basons: and all these vessels, which Hiram made to king Solomon for the house of the LORD, were of bright brass.  We are told that all these implements were made of bright brass.  Verse forty-six continues, In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarthan.  These were cast, or made, in the plain between Succoth and Zarthan.  Verse forty-seven concludes, And Solomon left all the vessels unweighed, because they were exceeding many: neither was the weight of the brass found out.  Solomon did not weigh the vessels because there were so many of them, nor did he weigh the brass.  There were plenty to do the work, so the weight was unimportant.  We do not know the physical weight of the cross, only that it was heavy, and the spiritual weight was even heavier, but it was enough to complete the task of redemption.  Verse forty-eight states, And Solomon made all the vessels that pertained unto the house of the LORD: the altar of gold, and the table of gold, whereupon the shewbread was,   The vessels used inside the Temple were made of gold.  Verse forty-nine adds, And the candlesticks of pure gold, five on the right side, and five on the left, before the oracle, with the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs of gold,  The candlesticks, lamps, and tongs were made of pure gold.  Though not made of gold, our hearts should be as pure as we can get them when we worship God.  Verse fifty continues, And the bowls, and the snuffers, and the basons, and the spoons, and the censers of pure gold; and the hinges of gold, both for the doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and for the doors of the house, to wit, of the temple.  Everything within the Temple was made of pure gold.  There never will be such a Temple again, but we don't need one.  The heart of each believer is the Temple of the Holy Spirit today, and it is much more precious than any silver or gold.  Verse fifty-one concludes, So was ended all the work that king Solomon made for the house of the LORD. And Solomon brought in the things which David his father had dedicated; even the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, did he put among the treasures of the house of the LORD.  When the Temple was completed, Solomon brought in all the things that David had dedicated.  When the work of redemption was completed on the cross, Jesus Christ brought in everything necessary for salvation.