Why The Need of Solomon For His Temple-Taking Precedence Over People's Welfare?

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                

Designed by Thomas Newberry (England, Birmingham 1811-1901). Nineteenth-Century Architectural Model of King Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem, 1883. Gilded wood, gilded carton pierre; gilded silver, gilded bronze; enamel, linen, 26 x 46 x 48 in. (66 x 117 x 122 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift from Albert Kalimian, in honor of Victoria Kalimian and in memory of Rouhollah Kalimian, 2019 (2019.66.1a–o–.95)

                                                                                       

According to Jewish tradition, the Temple of Solomon, also known as "the First Temple," was built by King Solomon (961-920 BCE) long ago on the spot where God created Adam, the first man. Solomon, known for his wisdom, had become manic in finishing the Temple, taxing his people overzealously for the money for the project and then even using unpaid forced labor for the work,  

In Exodus 25, (1-27) Moses was told by HaShem (G-d) that they shall make a Sanctuary for Me---so that I may dwell among them---like everything that I show you, the form of the Tabernacle and the form of all its vessels  and so shall you do.  Moses (1391-1271 BCE) lived 3,412 years ago.  He was the deliverer of the Israelites from bondage in Egypt who had been there for 400 years.  Kings Saul and David could not come through with the Temple's construction, so now it is up to Solomon to carry it out.  Israelites had been preparing for the event since the time of Moses.                                        

The Ark of Covenant; the  chest in which the 2 Tablets of the Law were kept.  It's made of acacia wood, both inlaid and covered with gold. This stood for the covenant between G-d and His people.  The sacredness of the ark was such that even the high priest could behold it but once a year and even then, only under a "cloud of incense." (Lev.16:1-6) 

Solomon knew that they needed the Temple as a central edifice for their Divine worship in Israel that they used till 70 CE.  It was situated on Mt. Moriah in Jerusalem.  It was a shrine for the Ark, the sacred vessels and offerings with a court for worshipers.  It consisted essentially of a hall, shrine, and inner sanctum called the holy of holies.  In the courtyard offerings for Sacrifices took place where the masses came to sacrifice, atone, and confer, especially on holidays during the 3 Pilgrimage Festivals when attendance at the Temple was obligatory on all males.  It's income was from grants by royalty and aristocracy, individual contributions, war-booty, and half-Shekel contributed by every adult Jew which from the time of King Joash of Judah (837-798 BCE)  was devoted to the repair of the Temple. He had been kept hidden in the Temple for 6 years by his aunt Jehosheba who was the wife of the high priest, Jehoiada. His grandmother, Athaliah, had slaughtered all the members of the House of David, but didn't get him.  When he was crowned king, he had his grandmother put to death for murdering his family.  This was the central shrine of Judah.  Then it was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BCE.                                   

As the people were unhappy and desperate by the time Solomon passed away in 920 BCE, his son and heir, Rehoboam (933-917 BCE) whose mother was Naamah, an Ammonite, refused to accede to the popular demand for relief from taxation, and the kingdom split in two shortly after his accession.                                               

   Naamah, Queen of Judah.  She was an Ammonite, and, as such, one of only two of all the Queen Mothers of Israel or Judah who was a foreigner (the other being Jezebel). She was also the only one of Solomon's wives to be mentioned, within the Hebrew Bible, as having borne a child.  Naamah is mentioned in Bava Kamma 38b wherein it states that Moses had previously been warned by God not to make war upon the Ammonites, Molech worshippers, for Naamah was to descend from them.  She was said to be the daughter of Hanun, king of the Ammonites in Greek biblical texts and rabbinical literature.  

The Bible records King David’s nineteen sons, besides his sons by his concubines (1 Chronicles 3:9). Rehoboam, Solomon’s only son, had twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters (2 Chronicles 11:21)! We’re told about those.

Solomon’s first wife, Naamah, an Ammonite, gave birth to Rehoboam a year before Solomon became king (see 1 Kings 14:21). He had two daughters, Taphath and Basemath, probably also by Naamah.

  Only the states of Judah, Simeon and most of Benjamin remained loyal to Rehoboam.  The Israelites returned home in rebellious anger. Rehoboam sent the head of that day's Internal Revenue Service to either collect some overdue revenues or negotiate. The Israelites assassinated him. Fearing the northern ten tribes' secession, the Judeans raised an army and prepared to go to war against their northern brethren. At that point, G-d directly intervened by sending a prophet to deliver the message contained in verse 1 Kings,12:24.

"Do not go up and fight with your brethren, the children of Israel;  let each man return to his home, for this matter was brought about by Me".  They obeyed and turned back from going to war.                                                                          

What Jeroboam of Israel did then was to establish idol worship for political reasons.  His thinking was along the lines of" now the kingship may revert to the house of David.  If this people will go up to bring offerings in the Temple of Hashem in Jerusalem, the heart of this people will revert to their lord, to Rehoboam, king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam, king of Judah. 

I would say that Jeroboam suffered greatly from insecurity.  He's just gone from being the superintendent of forced labor to being the king, and Rehoboam has been the prince, now the Royal king of his opposition.  But what in the world was Rehoboam suffering from pertaining to his blindness in making a rational decision about his father's overtaxing to the point of rebellion? Where has he been?  How could he miss the point of his religion?  Evidently he never paid attention.   

Solomon was concentrating on this singular subject of building the Temple, and all else had slipped his mind.  He had become obsessive about completing this task, feeling the responsibility of completion.  

                                                        

Solomon was a man with a harem of 1,000 wives and concubines.  His realm extended from Egypt to the Euphrates River in Mesopotamia and was the most energetic in the entire region. He was all wrapped up in the Temple, nothing else; ignoring people's needs that needed to be considered.    

Shishak of Egypt exploited the opportunity to invade the country and plunder the Temple.  Shishak, Shishaq or Susac was, according to the Hebrew Bible, an Egyptian pharaoh who sacked Jerusalem in the 10th century BCE. He is usually identified with the pharaoh Shoshenq .    

                                                                 
  But the building was destroyed four hundred years later. It was replaced with the Second Temple, which was built by groups of exiled Jewish people returning to Jerusalem in 538-515 BCE from Babylon. This was carried out during periods of Simon the Just, Judah the Maccabee, Simon the Hasmonean, and Herod.  The site of the Temple is considered one of the holiest places in the world, and is significant to Jews, Muslims, and Christians across the globe, but mostly to the Jewish people.                                             

This in turn was completely destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE.  

Resource:

The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia

Tanakh, Stone Edition

https://www.metmuseum.org/blogs/metkids/2020/solomons-temple-model-judaica

https://www.imj.org.il/en/wings/shrine-book/model-jerusalem-second-temple-period?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=second%20temple&utm_campaign=g&device=c&gclid=CjwKCAjwyvaJBhBpEiwA8d38vLMX7NuK4LmuJXyy_rXlUmqqMQ2wH5sTJo4Ih7G-p5cUNp7GHst9TRoC_QEQAvD_BwE