Page:The House of the Lord.djvu/23

Rh great structure in any capacity was an honor; and labor acquired a dignity never before recognized. Masonry became a profession, and the graded orders therein established have endured until this day. The erection of the Temple of Solomon was an epoch-making event, not alone in the history of Israel, but in that of the world.

According to commonly accepted chronology, the Temple was finished about 1005 B. C. In architecture and construction, in design and costliness, it is known as one of the most remarkable buildings in history. The dedicatory services lasted seven days—a week of holy rejoicing in Israel. With fitting ceremony, the Tabernacle of the Congregation and the sacred Ark of the Covenant were brought into the Temple; and the Ark was deposited in the inner sanctuary, the Most Holy Place. The Lord's gracious acceptance was manifest in the cloud that filled the sacred chambers as the priests withdrew: "So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud : for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God." Thus did the Temple supersede and include the Tabernacle, of which, indeed, it was the gorgeous successor.

A comparison of the plan of Solomon's Temple with that of the earlier Tabernacle shows that in all essentials of arrangement and proportion the two were so nearly alike as to be practically identical. True, the Tabernacle had but one enclosure, while the Temple was surrounded by courts, but the inner structure itself, the Temple proper, closely followed the earlier design. The dimensions of the Holy of Holies, the Holy Place,