_The House of the Lord._
By REV. J. L. HURLBUT, D.D., AND R. S. HOLMES, A.M.
The Temple on Mount Moriah was the result of long growth. 1. It began
with _the Altar_, erected of loose stones wherever the patriarchs
journeyed, and bearing its bloody sacrifice as a prefiguration of Christ.
2. Next came _the Tabernacle_, a movable tent, designed for a nomadic
people, and symbolizing God’s dwelling-place among his people. 3. When
the Tabernacle was fixed at Shiloh, a more substantial structure, by
degrees, took the place of the tent, surrounded by rooms in which the
priests lived, and standing in an open court. 4. This, in the age of
David and Solomon, furnished the ground plan for the Temple on Mount
Moriah.
There were three temples. 1. _Solomon’s Temple_, dedicated 1000 B. C.,
and destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, 587 B. C. 2. _Zerubbabel’s Temple_,
begun by the Jews on the return from captivity, B. C. 536, and completed
in 20 years. 3. _Herod’s Temple_, begun 30 B. C., as the second temple
was in a ruinous condition, but not fully completed until 65 A. D., five
years before its final destruction by Titus. The latter is the one to be
briefly described in this lesson. It consisted of several courts and an
interior building. The dimensions named below are not precise, as the
length of the cubit and the thickness of the walls are uncertain.
I. _The Court of the Gentiles_ was an open plaza, or quadrangle, not
square, but of about 1000 feet on each side. It was surrounded by a
high wall, and entered by six gates, of which three were on the west,
toward the city, and one on each of the other sides. On the eastern side
extended a double colonnade, Solomon’s Porch, and on the south another,
Herod’s Porch. As this was not regarded a sacred place, it was considered
no sacrilege to have a _market_ upon its marble floor, especially for the
sale of animals for sacrifice.
II. On the northwestern part of the Court was the _chel_, or sacred
enclosure, a raised platform 8 feet high, surrounded by a fence, within
which no Gentile could enter. Its outer dimensions were about 630 by 300
feet. It was entered by nine gates, four each on the north and south, and
one on the east. Upon the platform of the chel rose an inner wall 40 feet
high and 600 by 250 feet in dimensions.
III. The space enclosed by this lofty inner wall was divided into two
sections, of which the eastern was a square of about 230 feet, called the
_Court of the Women_, on account of a gallery for women around it. It had
four gates, of which the one on the east was probably the Gate Beautiful.
In its four corners were rooms, used for different purposes connected
with the services; and upon its walls were boxes for the gifts of the
worshipers, from which it was often called “the Treasury.”
IV. _The Court of Israel_ occupied the western part of the enclosure,
and was about 320 by 230 feet in size. Another court stood inside of it,
so that it was simply a narrow platform 16 feet wide, from which male
worshipers could view the sacrifices. In the southeastern corner was the
hall in which the Sanhedrim met, and where Stephen stood on trial. In the
wall around this court were rooms used for storage, for baking bread, for
treasuries, etc. This court was entered by seven gates, on the north and
south each three, and one on the east.
V. _The Court of the Priests_ was a raised platform inside the Court of
Israel, and separated from it by a low rail. It was 275 by 200 feet in
size. Upon it stood the altar, the laver, and the Temple building.
VI. _The Temple_ itself was the only covered building on the mountain. It
consisted of a lofty vestibule, having a front 120 feet high; a series
of rooms three stories high for the priests, and within these the house
of God, divided into two rooms, the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies,
separated by a veil. The outer room was 30 by 60 feet in size, the inner
30 feet square and of the same height. In the Holy Place stood the table
for the show-bread, the golden candlestick (properly a lamp-stand), and
the golden altar of incense. In the Holy of Holies there was no ark in
the New Testament period, but only a stone upon which the high-priest
laid the censer when he entered the room, on but one day in the year, the
great Day of Atonement.
Notice, that each department of the Temple stood at a different
elevation. Thus the platform of the chel was 8 feet above the pavement of
the Gentile’s Court; the floor of the Women’s Court was 3 feet higher;
that of the Court of Israel was 10 feet higher still; the Court of the
Priests 3 feet above that of Israel; and the floor of the house was 8
feet above the Court of the Priests. Thus there was a constant ascent to
the one entering the Temple.