The Book of Numbers’ wilderness journey is about YHWH dwelling with Israel, fulfilling the Abrahamic covenant, the means to humanity’s exodus out of exile (Exo. 29:45-46). Only YHWH has life, and only by His dwelling with humanity can humanity have life. Sukkot is all about how YHWH is filling His good creation with life, living images of Himself designed to make Him present. During the Numbers sukkot liminal experience, Israel bore YHWH’s throne like the four cherubim, moving according to the will of YHWH. It is YHWH who is enthroned in the believer’s mind, directing every thought and action, two as one, going up to the mountain of God. Likened to a refuge, the Sukkot Numbers sojourn blocked the approaching enemy by justice through atonement. When humans are put right, a new creation, the glory of God shines forth, bearing His image to the world.

The justice of a building requires a measuring line to make it upright (perpendicular) and to set things to prevail in order. Without the line of justice, creation devolves into confusion (tohu), lacking the ability to support life (Isa. 34:11). A visual blueprint of making just is found in Ezekiel’s temple architecture, marked by geometric and numeric perfect proportions of five, rendered holy by YHWH’s glory. Five is the common denominator of the rainbow’s seven whole-color light frequencies¹. Five squared (5²) quantifies the perfections of holiness, and cubed (5³), the sanctuary’s sacred space filled with YHWH. Because the law of the temple is absolute holiness, the unapproachable light of His Presence, Ezekiel’s temple of eternity, is solely built without human hands. Per the righteous upright measurements of His holiness, YHWH’s eternal designs for creation are brought to reality, ordered and complete in Him, never given over to lifelessness.

While the portable tabernacle was a tent made for moving with the tribes about the wilderness (12 × 40 = 480), the temple represented the establishment and permanence of YHWH dwelling in the Land with Israel. Solomon began the temple construction in his fourth year in the second month of Ziv², 480 years after the Israelites had come out of Egypt, and he completed it in the eleventh year in the eighth month of Bul³, a total of seven years (1Ki. 6:1, 37-38). In the seventh month of Ethanim⁴, Solomon dedicated his man-made temple to YHWH seven days before Sukkot (2Ch. 7:8-10). This blog discusses the significance of the dedication of Solomon’s temple before the Feast of Sukkot.

Why did Solomon bypass the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Feast of Weeks, choosing to dedicate the temple in the seventh month, seven days before the autumn seven-day Feast of Tabernacles, a festival that celebrated the way YHWH had successfully led the tribes forty years through the wilderness to a rest from all their enemies? When Solomon had finished all the work for the house of YHWH, he brought in the silver and the gold and the furnishings which his father David had dedicated and put them in the treasuries of YHWH’s house (1Ki. 7:51). In the seventh month before the Feast, Solomon brought up the ark of YHWH from Zion, the City of David, and the old tabernacle and all the holy furnishings that were in the tabernacle (1Ki. 8:4). All the work that Solomon did from the day of the foundation of YHWH’s house until he finished it was well-ordered (2Ch. 8:16). Dedicating the house of YHWH officially established Israel as one nation in the Land of Promise under one king, worshiping one God (after David had conquered all their enemies), fulfilling the covenant promises given to Abraham and to Israel the night they left Egypt on the self-same day (see Blog 38). The temple’s establishment instituted proper worship of YHWH based on the covenant between Israel and YHWH. The two covenant tablets, one for Israel and one for YHWH, were the only things inside the ark, binding YHWH’s Presence upon His throne to His ten words and, therefore, justice and mercy. The king’s blessing upon Israel had its roots in the God of Israel fulfilling what He promised, dwelling in the Land with them as a witness of His love for them.

After praising YHWH for the work of His hand in saving the nation of Israel to be His people, Solomon petitions Him seven times to keep them in His name throughout the future generations (1Ki. 8:31-53). The Israelites can always approach God through prayer at any time and in any situation, worshiping toward where YHWH has put His Name. From there, He will judge, forgive, and justify them, hearing from heaven when they confess their sin and turn to Him. Then, YHWH will again bless the land with fruitfulness and protect them from their enemies. Solomon asks God  that the Israelites deeply respect Him, obeying and serving the God of all blessings so that the nations will be drawn to worship YHWH. Only through YHWH can Israel defeat the enemy armies, and when Israel is exiled from the Land, Solomon prays that they will repent and seek Him. Even though God was enduringly faithful in His covenant obligation to Israel, Israel will not be. Yet through the promised Davidic seed, YHWH will not fail to do all He has promised, never forsaking nor leaving them, but turn their hearts to Him to walk in all His ways, keeping His commandments, statutes, and judgments given to their forefathers in the Pentateuch. When the nations see YHWH’s everlasting love for Israel, they, too, will be drawn to worship Him.

Takeaway:
Solomon’s dedication of the temple in the seventh month established the nation and the king under one God, no longer wanderers in the wilderness but dwelling in the Land. Solomon took the tent of the wilderness into the temple, emblematic of putting off our earthly tent and fitting as living stones in the temple of God, a house not made with hands, eternal. It underscores the importance of YHWH’s presence in each person’s life, to worship Him and be established forever.

Fun Factors:
1 Kings 6-7 contains the Biblical record of Solomon’s temple building, and chapter 8 is Solomon’s temple dedication. The numeric values of these verses are remarkable.

1 Kings 6 has 2067 letters (39 × 53) in 510 words (17 × 30, 8² +…+ 12²), totaling 159106, 2 × 19 × 53 × 79, 2 + 19 + 53 + 70 = 153. The sixteen divisors of 159106 sum to 259200 (the Great Year of the Precession of the Equinox is 25920 years).

YHWH’s word that came to Solomon concerning the temple he was building,1 Kings 6:12-13 has 126 letters (4² +…+ 7²) in 35 words (2³ + 3³), totaling 1338, 6(111 + 112); 111 = 3 × YHWH’s name constant 37, 112 = YHWH Elohim, pointing to God’s work of filling His good creation with us.

The description of the inner sanctuary, 1 Kings 6:20, has 71 letters (20^th prime) in 17 words (7^th prime, 1² + 4²), totaling 4321, 29 × 149, (2² + 5²)(7² + 10²) or (2² + 3² + 4²)(6² + 7² + 8²).

1 Kings 6:24, 38, and 7:6 each have 70 letters in 17 words, totaling the sum of two squares respectively, 6208 = 32² + 72²; 4500 = 30² + 60²; 3554 = 23² + 55², indicating living holiness.

1 Kings 7 has 3252 letters,12 × 271, 12(4² +…+ 9²) in 791 words, 7 × 113, 7(7² + 8²), totaling 267430, 470 × 569, 470(13² + 20²), pointing to the work of His hands (470) multiplied 20%, the firstfruits.

1 Kings 8 has 4368 letters in 1146 words, totaling 305993, 413² + 368² or (6² + 11²)(10² + 43).

1 Kings 8:31-53 of Solomon’s seven petitions have 1566 letters, 18 × 87, in 401 words, 1² + 20², totaling 123476, 220² + 274² or 4(110² + 137²), the atonement factor 137 = 4² + 11² (see Blog 110).