The History of the Temple in Jerusalem: From Solomon to Herod
The Temple in Jerusalem stands as one of the most significant structures in biblical history, serving as the focal point of Israelite worship and the symbolic dwelling place of God among His people. Over centuries, Jerusalem witnessed the rise and fall of three distinct, yet interconnected, temple structures: Solomon's glorious First Temple, the more modest Second Temple built by Zerubbabel, and the magnificent reconstruction by Herod the Great. Each edifice played a crucial role in the spiritual life of Israel, reflecting God's covenant relationship with His chosen nation and ultimately pointing to the greater spiritual reality found in Jesus Christ.
Solomon's Temple: The House of the LORD's Glory
The vision for a permanent house for the LORD originated with King David, who, dwelling in a house of cedar, felt it unfitting that the ark of God should remain within curtains (2 Samuel 7:1-2). However, God revealed to David that it would be his son, Solomon, a man of peace, who would build the house (1 Chronicles 22:9-10).
Solomon commenced the construction in the fourth year of his reign, 480 years after the children of Israel came out of the land of Egypt (1 Kings 6:1). The building was a marvel of ancient architecture and craftsmanship, utilizing the finest materials. Hiram, king of Tyre, provided cedar trees and fir trees, and skilled craftsmen, in exchange for provisions from Solomon (1 Kings 5:6-11). The Temple itself was sixty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high, constructed of stone made ready before it was brought to the site, so that "there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building" (1 Kings 6:7).
The interior was lavishly adorned with gold, cedar, and olive wood. The most sacred part, the oracle or Most Holy Place, was twenty cubits by twenty cubits, overlaid with pure gold, and housed two cherubims of olive tree, each ten cubits high (1 Kings 6:20-28). After seven years of intensive labour, the Temple was completed (1 Kings 6:38).
The dedication of Solomon's Temple was a momentous occasion. The priests brought the ark of the covenant into the oracle, and as they came out, the glory of the LORD filled the house, so that the priests could not stand to minister (1 Kings 8:10-11). Solomon offered a magnificent prayer, acknowledging God's omnipresence yet His choice to dwell among His people (1 Kings 8:27-30). God responded with fire from heaven and His glory filling the house, establishing His conditional covenant:
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Despite this glorious beginning, Israel's history was marred by disobedience and idolatry. Over centuries, the Temple was plundered, defiled, and eventually destroyed. In 586 BC, as divine judgment for the nation's persistent sin, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, besieged Jerusalem, burnt the house of the LORD, and broke down its walls (2 Kings 25:8-9; 2 Chronicles 36:19). The treasures were carried away, and the people led into captivity, fulfilling the prophecies of Jeremiah.
The Second Temple: Zerubbabel's Restoration
Seventy years after the destruction of Solomon's Temple and the Babylonian captivity, as prophesied by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 29:10), God stirred the heart of Cyrus, king of Persia. In 538 BC, Cyrus issued a decree permitting the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the house of the LORD (Ezra 1:1-3). Led by Zerubbabel, the governor, and Jeshua (Joshua), the high priest, a remnant returned with the vessels of the house of the LORD that Nebuchadnezzar had taken.
Upon their return, the first act was to set up the altar and offer sacrifices (Ezra 3:2-3). In the second year, the foundation of the Temple was laid. This event elicited mixed reactions: some shouted for joy, while older individuals who remembered the glory of Solomon's Temple wept aloud, recognizing the comparative modesty of the new foundation (Ezra 3:12-13). The rebuilding effort faced significant opposition from adversaries, particularly the Samaritans, who sought to hinder the work through slander and intimidation, causing the work to cease for a time (Ezra 4:1-5, Ezra 4:24).
After years of dormancy, the prophets Haggai and Zechariah arose to stir the people and their leaders to resume the work (Haggai 1:1-8; Zechariah 4:6-9). Their encouragement, coupled with a renewed decree from Darius, allowed the work to proceed. The Second Temple was finally completed in the sixth year of King Darius, around 516 BC, roughly 70 years after the destruction of the First Temple (Ezra 6:15). Its dedication was celebrated with joy and sacrifices, though it lacked the ark of the covenant, the Urim and Thummim, and the visible glory of God that had filled Solomon's Temple.
Haggai's prophecy acknowledged the Second Temple's humble appearance compared to the former, yet promised a greater future glory:
The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.
This prophecy is understood by many to refer not to the physical grandeur of the structure itself, but to the divine presence that would grace it during the time of Jesus Christ, who taught within its courts.
Herod's Temple: A Monumental Expansion and Its Demise
The Second Temple, while functional, never attained the architectural splendour of Solomon's edifice. Centuries later, Herod the Great, an Idumean king appointed by Rome, undertook a massive renovation and expansion project of the Temple Mount and the Temple itself. Beginning around 20 BC, Herod's motives were complex: to appease his Jewish subjects, to demonstrate his power and wealth, and to leave a lasting legacy. This was not a new temple, but an extensive rebuilding and enlargement of Zerubbabel's structure, making it one of the most magnificent religious complexes of the ancient world.
Herod's Temple Mount was vastly expanded, creating a massive platform with retaining walls, including what is now known as the Western Wall. The Temple proper was significantly enlarged and beautified with white stones, gold, and other precious materials, though the Holy of Holies remained empty. The complex featured various courts: the Court of the Gentiles, accessible to all; the Court of Women; the Court of Israel for Jewish men; and the Court of Priests, surrounding the Temple building itself. It also included grand porticos, such as Solomon's Porch, and was overlooked by the Antonia Fortress, a Roman barracks.
Construction continued long after Herod's death, not being fully completed until around 63 AD, just a few years before its ultimate destruction. This was the Temple that Jesus Christ knew and frequented during His earthly ministry. He taught in its courts (John 7:14; John 8:2), cleansed it of money changers and those who made it a "den of thieves" (Matthew 21:12-13; John 2:13-16), and performed miracles there.
Despite its grandeur, Jesus prophesied its complete destruction. As His disciples marvelled at the Temple's stones and buildings, Jesus declared:
Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
This prophecy was tragically fulfilled in 70 AD, during the First Jewish-Roman War. The Roman general Titus besieged Jerusalem, and his legions, in their final assault, set fire to the Temple. The intense heat caused the gold within the Temple to melt and seep into the cracks of the stones, prompting the Romans to dismantle the structure stone by stone to extract the precious metal, thus fulfilling Jesus' words precisely.
The Temple's Enduring Spiritual Significance
The physical Temples in Jerusalem served as a tangible representation of God's presence among His people and the means by which sinful humanity could approach a holy God through sacrifice and atonement. However, these structures and their rituals were always shadows pointing to a greater reality. The sacrificial system foreshadowed the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
Jesus Himself declared a deeper truth concerning the Temple when He said, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." The evangelist John clarifies, "But he spake of the temple of his body" (John 2:19-21). Christ's resurrection established Him as the true and ultimate Temple, the perfect meeting place between God and man.
Furthermore, through Christ, believers themselves become living temples of the Holy Spirit:
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
The history of the Temples in Jerusalem, from Solomon's glory to Herod's magnificence and their eventual destruction, serves as a profound biblical narrative. It underscores the transient nature of earthly structures and the enduring faithfulness of God, who ultimately desires to dwell not in houses made with hands, but within the hearts of His redeemed people. In the New Jerusalem, the eternal city of God, there will be no need for a temple, "for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it" (Revelation 21:22).