1 Kings 6:5-6 “And he made side chambers all around. The lowest story was five cubits broad, the middle one was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad.”
There are many things in the Scriptures that are so profound that to plumb the depths of them is clearly impossible. The Scriptures say of themselves that they are more precious than gold (Psalm 19:10). They speak of incredible treasures that are as high above us as the heavens are above the earth, yet God wants us to know about them – a knowledge that starts now but will extend throughout eternity. Which brings us to the passage above. It’s comprised of two verses which point to the storehouses that were to be built as a part of Solomon’s temple. These were rooms, built just inside the exterior walls, that were designed as storage places. Interestingly, these chambers increased in size as one proceeded from the first floor to the second and then the third.
In various places in the Bible, we are told about the purpose of these chambers. In Nehemiah we learn that they were a place where the tithes were stored. This included such things as “the grain offering, the frankincense, the vessels, and the tithes of grain, wine, and oil, which were given by commandment to the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests” (Nehemiah 13:5). In addition, we are told that “Solomon brought in the things that David his father had dedicated, the silver, the gold, and the vessels, and stored them in the treasuries of the house of the Lord” (1 Kings 7:51). Therefore, it was a place where the food for the servants of the temple was stored as well as a place full of the most precious and valuable things in the kingdom. So what’s this have to do with you and me? Anything?
First, we must remember that Solomon’s temple pointed to things that are much greater, spiritual realities that are much more wonderful than the physical. We have the temple of Christ’s body, the temple that is the Church, both the individuals that make up the Church and the entire body, collectively, and the ultimate dwelling place of God which is heaven. And just as Solomon’s temple was a place of wonderful treasures and provisions, so these other spiritual temples are also full.
Think of Jesus Himself, this One in whom “all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” (Colossians 1:19), and “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3). Surely those Who are in Him, which is true of every believer, receive with Him all the treasures of God; things like “the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16), “the joy of the Lord” (Nehemiah 8;10), “the peace that passes all understanding” (Philippians 4:7), forgiveness of sins, the love of God, and the list goes on and on, both infinitely and eternally. Praise His name!
But then think about the temple which is the body of every believer. The Bible tells us that it’s the place where God’s Holy Spirit dwells. How rich is this treasure? How can anyone fully explain it in words? What treasures of wisdom and knowledge, what power and might, what glory and majesty? And it’s all revealed to us in God’s Word. In Matthew 12:35 Jesus taught the following truth: “The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good.” It’s the truth that in our hearts we have the message of the gospel, the most precious message that’s ever been told. It’s this message that transforms the believer’s soul to not only be a storehouse of the treasures of this gospel, but a source from which those treasures can be shared with the world. We love because He first blessed us with the treasures of His love. We can share the treasure of forgiveness with others because we’ve already been blessed with it. And we can share things like God’s comfort, joy, and peace because we’ve already been blessed recipients of these things.
And then think of the treasures of heaven. Jesus said the following words about this place as recorded for us in John 14: “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?” Interestingly, this word “rooms” is variously translated “mansions,” or “dwelling places.” But in thinking about the chambers described in Solomon’s temple, it seems “rooms” may be the best translation of the word used by Jesus as He pointed to the heavenly dwelling place of God. Surely, it is in heaven that we have treasures that are incredible beyond all the imagination to our human minds. Jesus put it this way in His Sermon on the Mount: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21). What a picture we have here rooted in the tithes that Israel brought to Solomon’s temple. It’s a principle that continues to our present day as our giving of tithes and offerings will reflect where our real treasure lies.
And so we have the message of Malachi 3:10 regarding the giving of tithes. It was a message of rebuke to those who were, in essence, robbing God, by keeping the tithes for themselves: “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.”
You see, it is in our giving that a measure of our view of our treasures will be seen. If our treasures are those physical things we possess, then they are the things on which our hearts will be set. But if our treasure is truly in the place where God dwells, our giving will, in turn, reflect just that. A cheerful giver gives in gratitude for the awesome treasure that God has first given her or him. And that giving will be a reflection of that person’s view of the treasures that are in the storehouses of the dwelling place of God. And just as the storehouses of Solomon’s temple increased in size as one went from the first floor to the second to the third, our realization of the treasures that exist in God’s dwelling place are ever increasing as we get closer to heaven. You see, here on earth we have been promised that “my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). But more than that, Jesus said, “For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance” (Matthew 13:12). And “the one who has” is the one who has Him. God would have us to know that “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32). Indeed, we who believe are called the very “heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17). It’s more than one can even conceive, i.e., the wonderful treasures to be found in only one place: the dwelling place of God.
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