Solomon’s Temple; Made by Man
God allowed Solomon to build a temple of stone but in doing so reminded Him that He had no intention of living on the earth. He did not need a temple of stone for His was a temporary residence on earth. When Stephen made his defense as recorded in Acts 7, he mentioned the tabernacle which God had asked for and the temple built by Solomon which He did not ask for. Here was Stephen’s conclusion, “However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says: ‘Heaven is My throne and earth is my footstool. What house will you build for me?”
Solomon completed the temple around 957 BCE. It was damaged by Shishak around 900 BCE. It was stripped of its furniture by Sennacherib in 700 BCE. Then it was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE.
God does not appear to be too jealous of Solomon’s temple, does He? No, He wasn’t. He allowed those three powers to desecrate it. Nevertheless, God allowed His Shekinah to enter the temple of Solomon for a period of time (contingent on their obedience). God continued to bless the Jews and show them mercy for a long, long time.
The day came, however, when God would put up with the Israelites’ behavior no longer. He warned them over and over, forgave them over and over, but their idolatry became too much for His mercy to overcome and so He abandoned the temple. It is important to note that the Babylonians did not drive God out of the temple. He left of His on accord and in a showy way (more on that later). Make no mistake, God’s exit from the temple was a powerful statement to the Israelites. They would not see the Shekinah of God again until His son appeared on this earth. That appearance of the Shekinah was totally rejected by the Jews.
Today, the Shekinah is available to anyone who will allow it entrance into their temple.
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