When the first-time reader of 1 Kings reaches 1 Kings 7:1 he may think the narrative concerning the building of Solomon’s temple has come to an end at the close of chapter 6. This belief is in error. The first twelve verses of chapter 7 are an interruption of the material concerning the temple, and they give us a glimpse of some of the other building projects with which Solomon was occupied. The question may arise in the reader’s mind as to why the writer chose to interrupt his narrative.
In the previous chapter there is another interruption of the narrative of temple construction that shows us God’s promise to Solomon to dwell with his people Israel upon the fulfilment of God’s command to obey his commandments. We suggested at that place that the inclusion of that interruption with God’s promise contingent upon obedience reminds us that the later destruction of the temple, God’s dwelling place, did not serve as a violation of the promise because Israel did not obey the stipulation but rebelled against God time and again.
Does the interruption that is before us now also have a reason that the Holy Spirit desires for us to understand? If it does, then what is that reason?
Dale Ralph Davis believes that the reason for the twelve-verse interruption is given so that the importance of the Lord’s worship may be understood by a process of the de-emphasis of other building projects as compared to the importance of erecting a permanent place for the worship of God. Davis suggests that this understanding can be obtained by comparing the number of verses devoted to the construction of the temple in distinction to the number of verses given to the building of his house and other royal buildings. He adds that the discrepancy in emphasis is true even though the building projects of 1 Kings 7:1–12 took twice as long to complete as did the temple.1
Iain Provan has a different view of the reason for the interruption in the narrative. He believes that the fact that Solomon spent twice the time in the building of the royal complex than was spent in the construction of the temple shows that Solomon’s interest in the building of his own house was greater that his interest in building the temple.2
The viewpoints of Davis and Provan are not necessarily in contradiction. The inspired writer might wish to show by a process of de-emphasis that the temple for the worship of the living and true God was more important than a royal complex for the earthly king, while at the same time indicating, by reference to the time it took for the building of the latter (thirteen years compared to seven), that Solomon did not sufficiently understand the true importance of the temple.
1 Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished his entire house.