Precious Stones Adorn The Temple

He adorned the temple with precious stones. And the gold he used was gold from Parvaim. 2 Chronicles 3: 6.

Solomon, David’s son, has been favoured with the honour of building the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, on Mount Moriah, where the Lord God had appeared to his father David. It is a magnificent structure that pleases the Lord. But Solomon does not leave the temple plain. He adorns it for the Lord, using precious stones. In those days, precious stones would not be found in common places. Precious stones were an indication of what was special.

It is like the use of marble in people’s homes. If a home has marble all around, on countertops and floors, bathrooms and kitchen, that is a sure sign that it is not the house of any ordinary citizen. The mere décor of the place tells a story of who lives there.  Solomon wanted the temple of God, the earthly house of the Lord God, where He promised to dwell among His people, to be fittingly adorned for the Almighty God. He was also particular in the gold he used and had it all come from Parvaim.  Now here are some obvious facts about the adorning of the temple.

The temple never adorned itself. There was a Solomon who carried out this work as its designer, organizer, foreman and decorator.

The temple never chose what it wanted to be its adornment. It was all the choice of Solomon, as he saw fit.

The temple never rebelled nor objected to its adornment. It simply accepted and was beautified as a bride adorned to meet her husband.

The Lord still wants His temples adorned with the most precious stones. You are the temple of the Lord, as stated in 2 Corinthians 6: 16: What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.

If the adornment of the place tells a story of its in-dwellers, then are you adorned, as the temple of the Lord God? And if so, with what have you been adorned?

The deception comes in many, who desperately try to adorn themselves, a work which is futile and vain, in the sight of God. It is God who has chosen to dwell in humans who have given themselves to Him. It is He who builds us up according to His pleasure. It is He who adorns His human temples with ‘precious stones.’ Do not ever be deceived about this. Just as the temple Solomon built was unable to adorn itself, so too it is impossible for you to adorn yourself for the Lord. You need a Solomon, as it were. Who is your Solomon? He is Jesus, the Son of God, who builds you up to be God’s temples. It is Jesus who adorns you, so the Lord is pleased with His earthly dwelling here below. 

Almighty and Omnipotent God, Creator and Lord, do You really find pleasure in the adorned human temple, prepared especially for You? Holy God, can a human temple truly and genuinely reflect Your very nature? Lord, this is so far beyond my pea brain scope and understanding, that I seek faith to believe and see it as a reality. Father grant me help please. Amen!

O adorning Son of the Father, You who have never failed Your Father, I know that You will never fail Him. In anything You do, You are pleasing to Him.  If indeed Lord, I am a temple of the One, True, Living God, will You adorn me?  What are the precious stones You bring, to find an abiding place within me?

I often hear heavy, large diamonds or some precious stones being referred to as a rock. One may look at the diamond in the ring of a billionaire and marvel at the size of the rock. The precious stone is called a rock. With such an understanding, you can say that Solomon adorned the temple of God with precious rocks.

With what precious rocks will Jesus adorn you and me? He puts in us the very precious rocks that adorned Him. If to adorn is to make beautiful, what qualities made Jesus beautiful? These are the rocks, the gems, the precious stones which delight our Lord God in His temples.

Selflessness – A selfless person is not selfish. This means that we are to do nothing, out of selfish ambition. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Philippians 2: 3

Thankfulness – A thankful person is ever ready to worship the Lord. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe. Hebrews 12: 28 

Oneness – A person who is one with Jesus, knows oneness with God. Jesus speaks about being one with the Father and prays for us to be one with them. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one. John 17: 22.

Newness - A person who receives newness no longer lives in the old ways of sin. He or she is to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4: 23 – 24. 

Emptiness – A person who knows emptiness is one who loses all of self, in order to do God’s will. This is the nature and likeness of Jesus, who, made himself nothing taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance of a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross! Philippians 2: 7 – 8.

The question is asked once again. Is this possible for you and for me? If at all, we are indeed temples of the Living God, are we being adorned, right here and now, while in human clay?  This is what Almighty, Sovereign, Father God says about all who remain faithful to Him, as spoken through His prophet Zechariah. And the LORD their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land. Zechariah 9: 16 KJV

Lord, please make me beautiful for You, in the stones You put in me. Amen!