The Significance of the Temple in Establishing the City of Jerusalem

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In the early Jewish society, the temple was at the center of everything in the society. The temple played roles that ranged from religious activities (a center of blessings), to inseminating knowledge to the society (religious studies) and as a center of political power. With this minimal but complex reasons, the temple was therefore very significant and at the center of the Jewish society. However, from the time of Moses to the time of David, the Jews never had a temple.

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They used to depend on mobile worshipping centers, which were referred to as the tabernacle. The tabernacle housed the Ark of the Covenant in which the stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments were placed.

Eventually, after David, his son Solomon built the first temple, a permanent worshipping center for the Jews. Hence, it important to describe the first temple, which in this case is Solomon's temple and its place in the Jewish society and history. During his reign as the king of Jerusalem, David had wanted to develop a temple for God with the sole purpose of putting the Ark of the Covenant in a permanent place.

The Ark of the Covenant contained the 10 commandments and it had to be taken great care of. He was however forbidden to do so as explained in the book of 1 Chronicles, chapter 28. It is because he had fought many wars and shed the blood of many while conquering the city of Jerusalem. David's hands were considered impure hence the task of building a temple passed over to his son Solomon.

The bible describes Solomon's temple as the first temple.

Two books in the bible, Kings and Chronicles give an account of the Solomon's temple. According to scholars, it is the book of Chronicles that gives a full detail of accounts that were partially omitted in the book of Kings (Vaughn and Killebrew 178). The first temple was built in Jerusalem. The tabernacle was also located in Jerusalem since David had relocated it there with the intent of developing a temple for his Lord. Concerning what many scholars have uncovered regarding the first temple, the sequence of events during the construction of the temple remains to be debatable. There is no clear account that gives a clear picture of the series of events that took place during the temple construction. Some factors are however clear. From the Bible in the book of Kings, it is clear that Solomon was a man who loved beauty and this is exhibited when he imports decorations and other lavish materials from Lebanon (Chan par.7).

The online Jewish Virtual Library indicates that Solomon incurred expensive costs in developing the temple (par.4). The debt he owed King Hiram of Tyre forced him to settle his debts with more than 20 towns of Galilee (Jewish Virtual Library par.4). The book of Kings in chapter 9 supports this account. Solomon used all his available workers in the development of a strong and magnificent temple where God was to be worshipped. Despite the decorations made on the temple, the most important room of them all referred to as the Holy of the Hollies was just like that, with no piece of furniture at all.

This room stored the stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments in the Ark of the Covenant. The dimensions of the first temple vary with different accounts. From the description of the Bible, 180 feet was the dimensions (length) of the interior of the building. The height of the temple was 50 ft and the width was 90 ft (Jewish Virtual Library par.2). When the temple was finished, King Solomon inaugurated it with a sacrifice and a prayer to Almighty God. Chapter 8 of the book of Kings covers the prayer and events performed by Solomon during the opening of the temple (Jewish Virtual Library par.5).

Some online accounts indicate that Solomon invited non-Jews to worship in the temple. After the opening of the temple in Jerusalem, many factors changed. The Ark of the Covenant was stored permanently in the temple. Jerusalem as city that was earlier conquered by David was made the center of religious and political activities (Matthews 253). All the sacrifices that were meant for God were carried out in the temple. Until the temple was destroyed, sacrifices were the main divine methods of worship in the center (Jewish Virtual Library par.6). With the city as the main center of worship, population grew so first in Jerusalem and most activities were centered there making it a preferable city for many.

After the reign of Solomon, His son Rehoboam took over who under his tenure Israel divided into 2, with Jerusalem as the capital city of Judah in the south. Since the development of the first temple in Jerusalem, a number of great prophets have all originated from Judah (Matthews 255). During the reign of Josiah, the first temple played a greater role during his leadership where he localized all worship activities to the city of Jerusalem (Chan par.11). The Romans on different occasions orchestrated several unsuccessful attempts to bring down the temple. The attempt that was carried out in 587 BCE delivered the most devastating effects that left the temple down.

The Babylonians looted the temple all its valuables and set it ablaze. The Hebrew bible indicates that a servant of Nebuchadnezzar was behind the fall of Solomon's temple in Jerusalem. According to scholarly accounts, the fall of the Temple marked the end of the Monarchy rule form Jerusalem (Chan par.12). This particular article has analyzed Solomon's temple and its significance to the development of Jerusalem as a major city. This was the first Jewish temple, which was located in Jerusalem. The temple acted as the main religious center, which saw the influx of people in the city. The growth of population led Jerusalem to develop as a commercial city. Since the opening to the fall of Solomon's temple, sacrifices acted as the divine way of worshipping God. All religious rituals were carried out in the temple. Many expenses were incurred in decorating the temple. However, the most important room, the Holy of the Hollies lacked even single furniture despite housing the Ark of the Covenant. The first temple was therefore very significant to the establishment of Jerusalem as a religious city.