Character developed in Silence

What were David's two greatest sins? Most people would reply, "His adultery with Bathsheba and his taking a census of the people," and their answers would be correct. As a result of his sin of numbering the people, David purchased property on Mount Moriah where he built an altar and worshiped the Lord (2 Samuel 24). David married Bathsheba and God gave them a son whom they named Solomon (2 Samuel 12:24-25). Now we have Solomon building a temple on David's property on Mount Moriah! God took the consequences of David's two worst sins-a piece of property and a son-and built a temple! "But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more" (Romans 5:20, NKJV). This isn't an encouragement for us to sin, because David paid dearly for both of those transgressions, but it is an encouragement to us go on serving God after we've repented and confessed our sins. Satan wants us to think that all is lost, but the God of all grace is still at work (1 Peter 5:10).

The outer structure (vv. 1-10, 36-38; 2 Chronicles 3). The ancient world had a "short cubit" or "common cubit" of almost eighteen inches and a "long cubit" of almost twenty-one inches. The common cubit was used for the temple (2 Chronicles 3:3), which means that the structure was ninety feet long, thirty feet wide, and forty-five feet high. A porch thirty feet wide and fifteen feet deep stood at the front of the temple, and a courtyard for the priests surrounded the sanctuary. It was separated from an outer courtyard by a wall composed of stone blocks and wood (v. 36; 2 Chronicles 4:9). Jeremiah 36:10 calls the court of the priests "the upper courtyard," which suggests that it stood higher than the outer courtyard. The doors of the temple faced east, as did the gate of the tabernacle.