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How Solomon Missed His Chance
Part of what led Solomon to oppress his people was that he
failed to keep the spirit of self-sacrifice. At Sinai, when Moses told
the people of God’s command, “Let them make Me a sanctuary,
that I may dwell among them,” “everyone came whose heart was
stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing,” and brought offer-
ings. Building the sanctuary required a large amount of precious
and costly material, but the Lord accepted only freewill offerings.
“From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take
My offering” was the command to the congregation.
Exodus 25:8
;
35:21
;
25:2
.
David made a similar call to selfsacrifice when he asked, “Who
then is willing to consecrate himself this day to the Lord?”
1 Chron-
icles 29:5
. Those who constructed the temple should always have
kept this call to consecration in mind.
For constructing the wilderness tabernacle, God gave special
skill to certain men whom He chose. “The Lord has called by name
Bezalel ..., of the tribe of Judah; and He has filled him with the
Spirit of God, in wisdom and understanding, in knowledge and in all
manner of workmanship ... to do all manner of work of the engraver
and the designer and of the tapestry maker, ... and of the weaver.
... Bezalel and Aholiab, and every gifted artisan, in whom the Lord
has put wisdom and understanding.”
Exodus 35:30-36:1
. Heavenly
intelligences cooperated with the workmen whom God Himself had
chosen.
To a large degree, the descendants of these workmen inherited the
talents given to their ancestors. But gradually, almost imperceptibly,
they lost their hold on God and their desire to serve Him unselfishly.
They asked higher wages because of their superior skill in the finer
arts. Often they found employment in the surrounding nations. In
place of their ancestors’ noble spirit, they became covetous, grasping
for more and more. To gratify their selfish desires, they used their
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