1 Kings 7:1-12
Solomon showed great zeal in the construction of the temple. It took him seven years, as against the forty-six years it took Herod to re-build it (John 2:20).
Now the king is busy with his own house, but without displaying the same urgency: it takes him thirteen years. We should learn to do first, to do well, to do zealously, whatever the Lord has given us to undertake for Him, before getting on with our own business.
A wise architect, Solomon builds three more houses after the temple: his own (v. 1); the house of the forest of Lebanon, with its porch (vv. 2-7); finally that for his wife, Pharaoh’s daughter (v. 8). Each of them speaks to us of a particular aspect of God’s relationships with men. If the temple is a picture of the Father’s house, Solomon’s personal dwelling suggests rather "the Son’s house", otherwise called the Church or the Assembly (Hebrews 3:6). The house of the forest of Lebanon speaks of the future place which Christ, King of Glory, will occupy in relation to Israel. There the throne of judgment is to be found. Finally, the house for Pharaoh’s daughter calls to mind His position as King over all the nations of the world.