Preparing for the first Temple
King David realised that he lived in a palace while the House of God was made of curtains:
Samuel 7:1 And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the LORD had given him rest round about from all his enemies; 7:2 That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains.
The prophet Nathan advised David to proceed with his plans:
2 Samuel 7:3 And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the LORD is with thee.
But the night after that conversation, God communicated with Nathan:
Samuel 7:4 And it came to pass that night, that the word of the LORD came unto Nathan, saying, 7:5 Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the LORD, Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in? . . . 7:12 When thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. 7:13 He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.
King David explains why God wanted the work of temple construction to be managed by his offspring. The House of God had to be associated with peace:
Chronicles 22:7 And David said to Solomon, My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God: 22:8 But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build an house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight. 22:9 Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about: for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days. 22:10 He shall build an house for my name; and he shall be my son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever.
Responding to his father's instructions, King Solomon constructed Jerusalem's first temple. Wikipedia provides the following information and illustration:
Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple was the first Temple in Jerusalem, according to the Hebrew Bible. It was built during Solomon's reign over the United Kingdom of Israel and was fully constructed by c. 957 BCE. It stood for almost four centuries until its destruction in 587/586 BCE by the Neo-Babylonian Empire under the second Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar II, who subsequently exiled the Judeans to Babylon following the fall of the Kingdom of Judah and its annexation as a Babylonian province.
Bible prophecy sometimes includes a dual fulfilment. Daniel 11 is an example. The original Kings of the North were the Seleucid monarchs. But Daniel 11 also jumps a long way forward in history to describe a latter-day King of the North. Daniel 11:40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north. Because Daniel 11:40-45 describes yet-to-be-fulfilled events and a future King of the North, the Bible's enemies attempt to view this yet-to-be-fulfilled prophecy as unfilled prophecy to attack Bible credibility. They demand that Daniel 11 relates only to the Syrian Wars between the Seleucid Empire and the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt. Daniel's use of the words at the time of the end shows there will be a future King of the North. This is an example of a dual fulfilment Bible prophecy. Daniel 11:40-45 is yet to be fulfilled!
1 Chronicles 22:7-10 includes interesting points about the King who builds God's House. God told David that He would establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever. We know that King Solomon's throne and the first temple had finite existences. That temple did not stand for ever. God has not broken His promise to King David. This is yet another dual-fulfilment prophecy. A King is coming who will establish the Third Temple in Jerusalem. We expect that it will be established on the site of King Solomon's original temple. This Third Temple will literally exist for ever, as God promised to King David circa 3000 years ago.
Ezekiel (chapters 40-48) describe Jerusalem's Third Temple. It is described after Ezekiel 38:8 that predicts Israel's 1948 rebirth and after Israel is threatened by Gog King of the North. Israel's king appears because Israel is threatened. This king will build the third temple after defeating the King of the North, fulfilling God's promise to King David in 2 Samuel 7:13. This king will introduce eternal peace:
Isaiah 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever.
This Jerusalem will be the eternal world capital. It is a recurring theme throughout Israel's Scriptures:
Isaiah 2:2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. 2:3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 2:4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
Next: The Miracle of Modern Israel