1 Kings 7:51, Thus all the work that King Solomon performed in the house of the Lord was finished. And Solomon brought in the things dedicated by his father David, the silver and the gold and the utensils, and he put them in the treasuries of the house of the Lord. 
	In this morning’s reading we have the description of the house that Solomon built for himself and the one he built for The Lord. Both were apparently magnificent in the every detail, as some of that is recounted within our chapter of reading. This had been a long and intricately marvelous task that had been bequeathed from David to Solomon. The son, therefore was under a tremendous burden of having to accomplish that which the father had set before him in order to so honor Yahweh, The Lord God Almighty! 
	We are witness to the end of the arduous task bequeathed to Solomon in this regard. Maybe, after the lengthy reading of the manifold splendor of both houses, we give a portion of the sigh of relief that Solomon must have set forth when all was done and the Lord was so blessed. The end of the task was at hand. 
This brings to mind what was involved when the tabernacle of the Lord was first built before God at the steps of Mount Sinai. All the work that was needed, was fully detailed, as we read chapter after chapter in the intricacy of the fabric and the gold work and the woodwork and all the implements and the basins and the rest of what was needed under the direction of Jehovah, Himself. 
Those workers were at it for so long, etching, and carving, and molding, and stitching, until finally, in Ex 40:33, the Tent of the Tabernacle was finished! Moses and the laborers and artisans could finally realize the manifest goodness of pleasing The Lord in the skills of their hands and their hearts as Moses hung that last veil that would complete the entire project.
Ex 40:33, And he erected the court all around the tabernacle and the altar, and hung up the veil for the gateway of the court. Thus Moses finished the work. 
	This would have been the similar satisfaction that was felt by Solomon and those other laborers and work-smiths and artisans who had been gathered from abroad to lend their skill to the building of the Temple of The Lord in Jerusalem. Imagine seeing the final pegs set into place and the installation of all the dedicated instruments and elements that had been gathered for all those decades by David. This had been for this precise purpose of bringing a place of honor and adoration and habitation for the glory of Jehovah in the very midst of His Chosen people. This was such a tremendous time of exaltation and exhilaration and absolute relief! 
	Maybe, in some sense, that is why, in Eccl Chapter 12, Solomon would write those passages which mean so very much to those who so love the Lord. All that can be done is done by the disciples of Jehovah, those who are dedicated and consecrated to live in accordance to that which will bring honor and adoration to His name and to His name Alone! There is so much that each day entails as time goes on. There are many trials and tribulations and circumstances that test the very fabric of that commitment and that consecration to our first love. 
	Let us read together verses 13 and 14 of this 12th Chapter. When we look back upon our lives, with the measured testing of what was accomplished by God in the witness that we bore before Him, this passage in Ecclesiastes is our measuring rod of truth and validity of purpose. This is just as it was with the manner of all that Solomon accomplished with the construction of the Temple of The Lord. For the purposes of emphasis, I will read it from the Amplified Bible.
Eccl 12:13-14, All has been heard; the end of the matter is: Fear God [revere and worship Him, knowing that He is] and keep His commandments, for this is the whole of man [the full, original purpose of his creation, the object of God's providence, the root of character, the foundation of all happiness, the adjustment to all inharmonious circumstances and conditions under the sun] and the whole [duty] for every man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it is good or evil.
	Yes, we do fail, sometimes far too frequently. However, we never give up with our trust set in Him to see us through every day of our sojourn on this terra firma. That is a key that we need to keep in the forefront of our hearts and minds. 
While we may not be able to perfectly reflect the glory of the One Who lives His life forth from us, we are empowered to overcome those failures and lapses through the wondrous might of the Holy Spirit! He indwells us and shows us the manner in which we should tread the paths of our manifested purpose of doing His will by His grace as He so directs and establishes His plan and His purpose in the scope and sequence of our lives.
The key measurement of what we do and accomplish will be set in the judgment of God to determine. He will assess every work, all the noble things that are put forth as witness to our relationship with Him, as well as those secret things that we think we can hide from our Omniscient and Omnipresent Lord God Almighty. 
The full breadth and essence of our time as ambassadors of the Kingdom of God on earth will be manifested as we are brought before Our Lord Jesus Christ on bended knee and declare that He is worthy of all glory and honor and praise and adoration! We will be kneeling before Him with every detail of our lives on full display to account for how much His kingdom was furthered as we lived as His representatives before all mankind,
Please realize that we will be gathered up together with all the saints to join the chorus of His eternal adulation. We will all be clothed with the whitest of robes and the sanctified bodies expressing our joy filled adoration. We need to keep our eyes on Him in every sense, despite the fact that we so often see only our miserable and lackluster failures. None of that will detract from the reality that He chose us! He chose you and me! That tremendous truth, alone, makes us rejoice in His perfecting work brought to completion in us.
	After this brief aside as to the manner in which we are to do everything in our lives as unto The Lord with His glory and His praise and His witness of Holiness and Awesome splendor at the forefront of our thoughts and determination, we want to see another expression of utmost joy that was expressed before God. This was when another temple was completed by His Chosen people. 
This report of delight in the completed work before God took place after the period of the captivity when Judah had been taken into bondage by Babylon. This was because they had continually and vilely turned away from Jehovah and given themselves to the gods of the nations surrounding them. They had set the truth of Jehovah aside and sought to be just like those who were so lost in sin and trespass before the eternal holiness of Yahweh. Accordingly, everything had been taken from them and destroyed by those surrounding nations. 
	Please open to Ezra 6:14-16, where we have the detailed accomplishment of joy in the Lord expressed as the refugees of Judah were once again allowed to return to Jerusalem and build another temple unto the honor and the glory of Jehovah Most High. 
This was because God had worked in answer to the prayers of Ezra and others who longed to be once more in the place where God so chose to dwell on this earth. It was with hearts of humility and repentance and shame for all that had been done in offense to Yahweh, that these refugees found the ability to rejoice once more as the work of pleasing and blessing The Only True and Living God was finally finished.
	Ezra 6:14-16, And the elders of the Jews were successful in building through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they finished building according to the command of the God of Israel and the decree of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. And this temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar; it was the sixth year of the reign of King Darius. And the sons of Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the exiles, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.
	Note how the exiles, whether officials, or priests, or Levites, or ordinary shepherd citizenry were all celebrating after the work of their hands with regard to the dedication of the finished temple as the House of The Lord. There were not the listing of those specific artisans such as had been provided and assigned by Jehovah to both Moses and Solomon. We do not have all the intricate detailing of the temple laid out before the people. There was not the massive undertaking of the years of intense artistry in the weaving and the carving and the goldsmithing of the previous temple. We do not read about the flowery and ornate items that were represented through the work of the craftsmen. 
Rather, it is a simple statement throughout ordered by the king that the Israelites were to receive the things that were needed and that the gold and silver items that had been taken would be restored if they were still within the treasury. This was a scaled down version of the temple built by Solomon. This temple was built with greater simplicity and less grandeur than the previous one. 
However, the people were just as thrilled to have that place of honor to God as they had turned their hearts back to Him wholly and fully. They were thankful to once again come to the place that represented the dwelling of Jehovah among those few who were left of His Chosen nation.
	These earthly temples, along with the one that would eventually be built by Herod, were all inherently symbolic of the one that would be constructed for all of eternity by The Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah, and the Creator of all that is created. Please open to the Book of Zechariah wherein the detailing of this final and permanent dwelling place of the Triune God with His people is prophesied. What a joyous manifestation of the heart of Jehovah to His beloved children is recounted in this establishment of the living temple of God within the hearts and beings of His people. 
	We will read verses 6-14 of the 4th Chapter of this book of Zechariah. Zech 4:6-14, Then he answered and said to me, "This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel saying, 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the Lord of hosts. 'What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring forth the top stone with shouts of "Grace, grace to it!"'" Also the word of the Lord came to me saying, "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will finish it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. "For who has despised the day of small things? But these seven will be glad when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel — these are the eyes of the Lord which range to and fro throughout the earth." Then I answered and said to him, "What are these two olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left?" And I answered the second time and said to him, "What are the two olive branches which are beside the two golden pipes, which empty the golden oil from themselves?" So he answered me saying, "Do you not know what these are?" And I said, "No, my lord." Then he said, "These are the two anointed ones, who are standing by the Lord of the whole earth." 
	It is The Lord Who will build this house, the true temple of God within the fabric of the hearts of those who love and adore and trust and obey Him. These are the ones who know the reality that the work of God is trustworthy and true. The fact of the manifest power of God in operation is declared with the validity of the declaration…'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the Lord of hosts. 
	So is it that the true temple of God is set within the course of the lives of those who are so called and built together through the working power of the indwelling Holy Spirit of God. This temple is not set within the confines of some earthly structure, but within the living and vital life of the Church of the Lord. We bring before all others the reality that Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten of the Heavenly Father lives now and evermore as the Lord of all creation! He is right now, this very instant, seated on the throne of Heaven showing forth His plan and His purpose as the nations move in full accordance with His will! 
	Our eyes need to see the reality that in the midst of the chaos and the tohu, there is the building and settling power of God working to bring eternal shalom into its rightful place within the people to whom He has given life! It is by the Omnipotent power of the Holy Spirit, that lives are saved and brought into the Beth Ab of the Heavenly Father! We reiterate once more, with all praise and glory and adoration to God for all that He is doing …'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the Lord of hosts.  
As we will consider next time, Lord willing, the preparation and the commitment of the Father is what brought forth the finalization of the temple and its utensils of service and honor. The Heavenly Father set everything into place in order to fulfill that which was required for the Only Begotten Son to establish and build that living temple of worship and adoration and indwelling by the Triune Godhead. This was symbolized in the manner in which the father, David, made every preparation for Solomon to complete that first temple with all the gold and silver that was consecrated and set apart for the service of the worship of Yahweh within the temple structure of God on earth! So be it!
Thus all the work that King Solomon performed in the house of the Lord was finished. And Solomon brought in the things dedicated by his father David, the silver and the gold and the utensils, and he put them in the treasuries of the house of the Lord. Amen. 

This morning’s benediction is Ps 145:1. I will extol Thee, my God, O King; And I will bless Thy name forever and ever. Amen.