Station 9: Temple of Solomon

Before reading this poem, take a moment to tune into the Spirit.

Get comfortable where you are sitting. Feel free to light a candle or close your eyes. 

Take a few deep breaths and focus on the movement of the air gently expanding and contracting your lungs. 

Be still and know that this is the Spirit rushing through you.

When you are ready, begin by Meditating on the words of this Poem

A permanent Tabernacle;

this glorious edifice of

Gold and stone to house

Spirit and Truth.

A world gathers to worship,

horns prepare to play,

Priest’s incense at the ready,

when Divinity draws near.

In clouds of glory

and streams of light,

the weight of Reality

halts the rituals in their tracks.

Truth has moved in.

Tradition has moved out.

The ground shivers with holiness,

as God draws near to his people.

Take with You

The construction of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem was a communal project. Many nations contributed to building this house of worship. This foreshadows what Jesus would do in the future. 

From the Tyrians of Lebanon to King Hiram of the Phonecians, the Temple brought many people together. It was meant to be a “house of prayer for all people”. The layout of the Temple was similar to the layout of the Tabernacle that came before it. The Temple was teeming with life as people came together to worship and learn about the God of Israel.

During his ministry, Jesus would often do this same thing with desert places. Wherever Jesus went, he turned it into a Temple. He did this because he was the very presence of God living among us. 

In one account, crowds of people followed Jesus to a remote place. Jesus spent time teaching the people and healing their sick. But the reality of this desert place set in, when it started to get late and the crowd became hungry.  Jesus took a small child’s lunch and multiplied it for all to eat. 

Jesus turned wastelands into wellsprings.  They didn’t have to go to the Temple, the temple had come to them.

(1 Kings 6)