Outline Studies in the Old Testament for Bible Teachers Part 14

act.

VI. =Dan. Per.= 1. Abs. pow. 2. For. wor. 3. Lux. cor. mor. 4. Bur.

tax. 5. Hea. cus. 6. Tri. jeal.

Questions for Review

Name five general aspects of Is'ra-el in Sol'o-mon's reign? What were the benefits of the peace at that time? What was the characteristic of Sol'o-mon's administration? What opportunity did the age give to a great empire for Is'ra-el? What were the sources of the wealth in Sol'o-mon's age? How was it a period of literary activity? What ancient legend ill.u.s.trates the dangers of Sol'o-mon's age? What were some of the dangers? Wherein did Sol'o-mon set aside the Is'ra-el-ite const.i.tution? What was the defect in the religion of Sol'o-mon's time? What evils resulted from the wealth of that time? What caused heavy taxation?

What heathen customs were introduced? What showed that tribal jealousy was still existing?

Hints to the Teacher and Cla.s.s

1. See that the outline of the lesson is learned, with all its divisions and subdivisions. Let a scholar place each division of the outline on the blackboard in the form given in the Blackboard Outline, and then let another scholar read it to the cla.s.s.

2. Have a map of Sol'o-mon's empire drawn, with each of the subject lands shown upon it. "Bound" the empire; that is, name the countries surrounding it.

3. Let the diagram of buildings on Mount Mo-ri'ah and O'phel be drawn by one pupil, and explained by another.

4. Let the Review Questions be studied until they can be answered correctly.

ELEVENTH STUDY

The Temple on Mount Moriah

The most famous of all the buildings erected by Sol'o-mon, though by no means the largest, was the temple. It is so frequently mentioned in the Bible, and was so closely connected with the religious and secular history, both in the Old Testament and the New, that a detailed study of it is needed.

I. =The Three Temples.= All these stood in succession upon the same site, and were arranged upon the same general plan.

1. _Sol'o-mon's Temple._ Built about B. C. 970, and standing until B. C.

587, when it was destroyed by the Bab-y-lo'ni-ans (2 Kings 25. 8, 9).

2. _Ze-rub'ba-bel's Temple._ After lying desolate more than fifty years the second temple was begun about B. C. 534, under Ze-rub'ba-bel, the ruler of the exiles returned from Bab'y-lon (Ezra 3. 8). This temple was far inferior in splendor to the first, but soon became the object of pilgrimage to Jews from all lands and the center of Jew'ish national and religious life.

3. _Her'od's Temple._ The second temple having become dilapidated, Her'od the Great undertook its restoration on a magnificent scale. The work was begun about B. C. 20 and was not completed until A. D. 64. In the lifetime of Je'sus it was not yet finished (John 2. 20). This temple was destroyed by the Ro'mans under Ti'tus, A. D. 70. Its site is now occupied partially by the Dome of the Rock, miscalled the Mosque of O'mar, in Je-ru'sa-lem.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

II. =The Situation.= The city of Je-ru'sa-lem stood upon hills separated by three valleys radiating in a fanlike order, from a point at the southeast. Northward runs the valley of the Kid'ron; northwest the valley of the Ty-ro'poe-on, now almost obliterated; almost westward, with a curve northward, the valley of Hin'nom. Between the valley of the Kid'ron and the valley of the Ty-ro'poe-on were two hills--on the north Mount Mo-ri'ah, and a little to the south a spur of lower elevation known as O'phel. On Mount Mo-ri'ah stood the temple, on O'phel the buildings of Sol'o-mon's palace. Later the temple area was enlarged to include both these hills. West of Mo-ri'ah, across the Ty-ro'poe-on valley, was Mount Zi'on, upon which the princ.i.p.al part of the city stood.

III. =The House of the Lord.= This was a building not large, but magnificent and costly; made of stone and cedar, and decorated lavishly with gold and precious stones. It consisted of four parts:

1. _The Porch_, a lofty tower facing the east. Two pillars, either in the tower at the entrance or standing apart before it, are named (1 Kings 7. 21). The interior dimensions of the porch were about 30 feet from north to south, and 15 feet east and west[14] (1 Kings 6. 3).

2. _The Holy Place_ was west of the porch, and was a chamber 60 feet long by 30 wide, and perhaps 30 feet high. In it stood, on the north, the table for "the s...o...b..ead"--that is, the twelve loaves shown before the Lord; on the south, the golden candlestick, or lampstand[15]; and at the western end the golden altar of incense.

3. _The Holy of Holies_, or "the oracle" (1 Kings 6. 19, 20), was a cube, each dimension being 30 feet. It had no windows, but received a dim light through the veil which separated it from the adjoining room.

This place was entered by the high priest only, and on but one day in the year, the day of atonement. The only article of furniture in the room was the Ark of the Covenant, containing the two stone tables of the law. The Ark doubtless was destroyed with the first temple, and in the second and third temples its place was indicated by a marble block, upon which the blood was sprinkled.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE TEMPLE]

4. _The Chambers_ were rooms for the priests, situated around the house, with entrance from without. They were in three stories, and were set apart for the residence of the priests while employed in the services of the temple. Each priest served two weeks in the year; not, however, two weeks in succession, but six months apart, and lived at his home for the rest of the time. In similar chambers around the old tabernacle E'li and Sam'u-el slept (1 Sam. 3. 2, 3).

IV. The =Court of the Priests= was an open, unroofed quadrangle surrounding the House of the Lord, but mainly in front, toward the east.

It was about 200 feet wide, north and south, by 275 feet long, east and west, a few feet lower in elevation than the floor of the temple proper.

Here stood the great _Altar of Burnt Offering_, upon which the daily sacrifice was offered, its site now shown under the Dome of the Rock; and near the door to the house _the Laver_ for was.h.i.+ng the sacrifices.

Sol'o-mon built also a great "_Sea_," or reservoir of water, standing on the backs of twelve oxen, all of "bra.s.s," probably copper (1 Kings 7.

23-26). This was broken up by the Bab-y-lo'ni-ans, B. C. 587 (2 Kings 25. 13), and was not replaced in the later temples.

V. Around the Court of the Priests was another and larger corridor, the =Court of Is'ra-el=, or "the men's court." In the later temples this was 320 by 240 feet in dimensions, 26 feet wide on the north and south, 24 feet wide on the east and west. The size of this court in Sol'o-mon's temple is not given, but was probably the same as in later times. This was the standing place of the wors.h.i.+pers (exclusively men) as they witnessed the service.

VI. These were the only courts around the first temple, as the s.p.a.ce to the south of the last-named court was occupied by Sol'o-mon's palaces, from which a magnificent flight of steps ascended to the temple area (1 Kings 10. 5). After these buildings were destroyed the latest temple, that of Her'od, included their site in additional courts and buildings for the wors.h.i.+p. East of the Court of Is'ra-el, and a little lower, stood the =Court of the Women=, 200 feet square, having a lattice gallery on the western side, from which the women could look on the services of the altar. This court was also called "the Treasury" (John 8. 20) from the gift boxes fastened upon the wall (Mark 12. 41, 42). In each corner of this court was a room said to be 60 feet square, with an open roof.

VII. Around all these buildings and courts, with Her'od's temple, but not with Sol'o-mon's, was the =Court of the Gen'tiles=, an irregular quadrangle of about 1,000 feet on each side (north 990, east 1,000, south 960, west 1,060). The wall on the east was surmounted by a double row of columns, and called Sol'o-mon's Porch (John 10. 23; Acts 3. 12).

The "Beautiful Gate" was from the Court of the Gen'tiles to the eastern side of the Court of the Women (Acts 3. 1), through which the people pa.s.sed on their way to the public wors.h.i.+p. The narrow corridor extending entirely around the Court of the Women and the Court of Is'ra-el was called "Chel"--that is, the sacred inclosure--and no one except an Is'ra-el-ite was permitted to enter it. The Court of the Gen'tiles was not regarded by the Jews as sacred, since foreigners were allowed within it, and in its area had grown up a market for the sale of animals for sacrifice and tables for the exchanging of foreign money.

Twice this court was purged of these desecrations by Je'sus (John 2.

13-17; Matt. 21. 12, 13).

The princ.i.p.al access to the temple in the time of Christ was a bridge over the Ty-ro'poe-on valley from Mount Zi'on. Of this bridge a fragment of one arch still remains, known as "Rob'in-son's Arch."

The immediate surroundings of the temple, in the New Testament period, were the following: 1. On the north stood the Castle or Tower of An-to'ni-a, erected by the Ro'mans for the control of the temple area.

2. On the east was the valley of the Kid'ron. 3. On the south and west lay the curving valley of the Ty-ro'poe-on.

Blackboard Outline

I. =Thr. Tem.= 1. Sol. 970-587. 2. Zer. 534. 3. Her. B. C. 20.

A. D. 70.

II. =Situa.= Vall. Kid. Tyr. Hin. Mts. Mor. Oph. Zi.

III. =Hou. Lor.= 1. Por. 30x15. 2. H. P. 30x60. 3. H. H. 30x30.

4. Chamb.

IV. =Cou. Pri.= 200x275. Alt. Lav. "Sea."

V. =Cou. Isr.= 240x320.

VI. =Cou. Wom.= 200x200. "Treas." Rooms.

VII. =Cou. Gen.= 1,000. "Chel." Market. Bridge.

Hints to the Teacher and the Cla.s.s

Let each pupil in turn draw on the blackboard one of the departments or courts of the temple, state its dimensions, and explain its uses.

Let a pupil recite the history of each temple.

Let one pupil state in what parts of the temple Je'sus walked and taught, and another events in the life of Saint Paul connected with the temple.

Review Questions