The Temple Of God
BRD REFLECTION 2025
2 Chronicles 3 & 4 and Psalm 82 (NIV)
(Alvin Chua from LCEC)
READ:
2 Chronicles 3:1-17; 4:1-22 (NIV)
OBSERVE:
Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem in the second month of the fourth year of his reign. “He overlaid it with 600 talents (about 20,000 kg) of fine gold. The weight of gold for the nails was fifty shekels (0.57kg). And he overlaid the upper chambers with gold” (2 Chronicles 3:8b-9).
When I read these two chapters, one word first caught my attention: that was GOLD!
How much did it cost Solomon to build this magnificent temple of God?
It has been estimated that the following are some of the materials used:
– 100,000 talents of gold – approximately worth USD 330 billion today
– I million talents of silver – approximately worth USD 34 billion today
– A huge amount of precious stones
– A huge unknown quantity of bronze
The enormous amount of money spent on the Temple surpasses even the GDPs of some countries today! Certainly, Solomon and his nation must have had great reverence and love for God!
APPLY:
As I reflect on these passages, I wonder: how have I built the temple of God in my body and my life (1 Corinthians 6:19)?
Recently, I started investing in equities and bonds with a portion of my retirement savings. At first the returns were very encouraging. However as the US trade war began, the value of my investment plunged sharply.
I was emotionally affected. I began to break my commitment to fast every Wednesday and Friday during the Lent season, which I had kept to for five weeks. I also began to miss some of my daily morning devotions and swimming exercise.
Today, as I was doing my morning devotions, I even switched to the brokerage application for a moment to check market trends . After I read the Bible and prayed, God spoke to me while I was swimming: “What is more important to you, earthly gold or heavenly wealth?” Thanks be to God! I am at peace again.
DO:
God also reminded and warned me that though king Solomon had willingly spent an enormous amount of wealth to build the Temple, his life did not end well with God. Clearly, It is not the earthly treasure that God is looking at, but it is my life with Him that matters most.
PRAY:
Dear Father, equip me for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up, until we all reach unity in the faith and have the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. In the name of our Lord, Amen!
