Admin
|
Solomons Temple!
Posted : 26 Jan, 2010 09:05 AM
The awesome temple of God
In the time of King Solomon.....
David and Solomon, who were instrumental in the construction of the Temple of God in ancient times, were very knowledgeable in the fields of architecture and engineering. The Temple was to be �of great magnificence and fame and splendor in the sight of all the nations� (I Chron.22:5, NIV).
David himself prepared for the Temple 100,000 talents of gold and one million talents of silver. On today's market gold is valued at approximately $900 per ounce. A talent equaled 125 pounds, troy weight. Therefore, 100,000 talents equals 12,500,000 pounds. There are 16 ounces in a pound, so David collected 200,000,000 ounces of gold for the Temple. At a price of $900 dollars per ounce (which gold is already which was just a few years ago when this was written!), this means David gathered $180 BILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF GOLD FOR THE TEMPLE!
Therefore, David provided about $80 trillion worth of gold for the Temple of God. The silver he contributed was one million talents. Silver is approximately $5 per ounce. At this rate, therefore, the silver David gave for the Temple was worth an astounding $ONE TRILLION dollars!
Can you imagine such wealth? The ancient Temple of Solomon was truly the most magnificent, glorious, beautiful building ever constructed by man! (see I Chron.22:14). The Temple was built of great stones, cedar beams and boards, overlaid within with gold (I Kings 6:14-22; 7:9-12).
To construct such a magnificent edifice, Solomon had 30,000 men of Israel and 150,000 Canaanites working on the Temple, hewing timber and magnificent stones, and bearing burdens (I Kings 5:13-16; II Chron. 2:17-18; 8:7-9). Actual construction took seven years (I Kings 6:38). If Solomon had paid all these men at today�s wages, Solomon�s labor costs alone for seven years could easily have soared to the $32,500,000,000 ($32 1/2 billion) for the entire project! The actual wages paid out, of course, we do not know.
The construction of the Temple was so precise that the Bible records: �In building the temple, only blocks dressed at the quarry were used, and no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool was heard at the temple site while it was being built� (I Kings 6:7). Every part was carefully and precisely prepared at some distance from the building site. But when each part, each timber and stone, was laid, it fit
perfectly! Can you imagine what a headache such a building would give contractors today?
Obviously, men like David and Solomon were not mere �ignorant shepherds,� as some critics and skeptics today would like to believe. Nor are they mere figments of the imagination. They existed! And they ruled mighty kingdoms. Far from being ignorant shepherds, David and Solomon were immensely rich KINGS of the greatest historical empire the world has ever known. The net worth of either of them was far more than the wealthiest nation on the earth, today!
In the heyday of Solomon, we read, �silver was considered of little value� (II Chron.9:20). �The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones� (verse 27). �The king had a fleet of trading ships manned by Hiram�s men� (v.21). �King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth� (verse 22).
Post Reply
|
