INSIGHT FEATURE The History of the
First Temple Written by Kevin Howard
The Temple of the Lord was not like a shrine commonly
used for the veneration of a deity. It was
much more than a holy place or place of worship.
The Temple was a habitation and dwelling. It was
called the House of God more than eighty times in
Scripture. This lofty title described the Temple of
the Lord in all of its historical forms: the Wilderness
Tabernacle (Judges 20:18), the First Temple (2
Chronicles 7:5), and the Second Temple (Ezra
5:2). It was also Jacob’s designation for the
Heavenly Temple in his vision of the Lord standing
atop the angel-filled stairway that reached to
heaven (Genesis 28:17).The First Temple spanned a total of 374
years from its construction by Solomon
in 960 B.C. until its destruction by the
Babylonians in August, 586 B.C. is
article will trace the chronological history of
the First Temple through the reigns of Judah’s
first fifteen rulers.Judah’s kings were part of the Davidic
royal dynasty. Their authority to rule was
based upon God’s covenantal oath to David.
Most of these kings were in the direct lineage
of the Messiah, a descendant of David
(Matthew 1:6-11), who is called “the root and
the off spring of David” (Revelation 22:16; cf.
Isaiah 11:1). . .