1 Kings 7:1 - Meaning and Application

No king ever had such skill and gift for building as Solomon, and he used it well. He began with the temple, building for God first, and after that his other buildings brought him comfort. The surest way to lasting prosperity is to begin with early devotion to God (Matthew 6:33).

He built a house for himself (1 Kings 7:1), where he lived (1 Kings 7:8). His father had built a good house, but it was no fault in Solomon to build a better one, fitting the wealth God had given him. Much of life’s comfort depends on having a pleasant home. He spent thirteen years on this house, while he finished the temple in a little more than seven years. That does not mean he worked more carefully on his own house, but that he was less eager and less focused on it than on God’s house. He was in no hurry to finish his palace, but he was impatient to see the temple completed and ready for use. We should also put God’s honor ahead of our own comfort and pleasure.

He also built the house of the forest of Lebanon (1 Kings 7:2), which some think was a country retreat near Jerusalem, named for its pleasant setting and the trees around it. I think it was more likely a house built in Lebanon itself, where Solomon, with so many chariots and horses and with chariot cities spread out as his travel points, could often go with ease, even though it was far from Jerusalem. It does not seem that his throne was at this house of the forest of Lebanon (1 Kings 7:7), and it was fitting to keep his shields there, like a storehouse. Scripture also notes his buildings not only in Jerusalem, but in Lebanon (1 Kings 9:19), and the tower of Lebanon, which faces Damascus (Song of Solomon 7:4), was likely part of this house.

A special account is given of this house because it was built in Lebanon, a place known for cedars. So the pillars, beams, and roof were all cedar (1 Kings 7:2-3). Since it was meant for open views, it had three rows of windows on each side, opening opposite each other, or as the wording may mean, view against view (1 Kings 7:4-5). Those who have to live in the country can take comfort from this, because some of the greatest rulers have found their happiest days in country retreats.

He also built a porch with pillars in front of one of his houses, either the one in Jerusalem or the one in Lebanon, and this porch was very famous (1 Kings 7:6). It may have been used as an exchange, a guard-room, a place for waiting servants, or simply for display and grandeur. Solomon himself speaks of Wisdom building her house and carving out her seven pillars (Proverbs 9:1), to shelter those who are said to watch daily at her gates and wait at her doors.

At his house in Jerusalem, he built a large hall, or porch of judgment, where the throne was set up, like a king’s bench, for hearing cases. People brought their disputes before him there, and the whole place was lined with cedar from floor to roof (1 Kings 7:7). He also made another court inside the porch, closer to his house, built in the same style, for his servants to walk in (1 Kings 7:8).

He built a house for his wife, where she held her own court (1 Kings 7:8). It is said to be like the porch because it was built of cedar like the porch, though not in the same shape. It was probably near his own palace, though if it had been as near as it should have been, Solomon might not have multiplied wives as he did.

The great splendor of all these buildings is carefully noted (1 Kings 7:9 and following). The materials were the best of their kind. The foundation stones were costly because of their size, four or five yards square, or at least that long (1 Kings 7:10). The stones used in the building were costly because of the work put into them, since they were cut, sawn, and finely shaped in every way (1 Kings 7:9, 1 Kings 7:11). The court of his own house was like the court of the temple (1 Kings 7:12, compare 1 Kings 6:36). He liked the pattern of God’s courts so much that he made his own court after that model.