1 Kings 6: Group Study Handout

How to use: read 1 Kings 6 aloud together, then take the questions in order. One page is enough for an evening.

Overview

In the four hundred and eightieth year after Israel’s exodus from Egypt, Solomon began to build Yahweh’s house in the fourth year of his reign (vv. 1-2). The Temple measured sixty cubits in length, twenty cubits in width, and thirty cubits in height.

Key verse

“In the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished throughout all its parts, and according to all its specifications. So he spent seven years building it.”
1 Kings 6:38 (WEB)

Outline

1 Kings 6:1–2 Foundation of the Temple
1 Kings 6:3–10 Dimensions and Design
1 Kings 6:11–13 Divine Assurance
1 Kings 6:14–28 Interior Construction
1 Kings 6:29–36 Artistic Details
1 Kings 6:37–38 Completion of the Temple

Discussion questions

In v1, what year does Solomon begin to build 'Yahweh’s house'?
What materials are used to cover the house in v22?
Yahweh’s word in v12: what does it mean to 'walk in my statutes'?
The measurement of the inner sanctuary in v20: why is it significant that it is 'twenty cubits' in length and width?
When have you made a commitment that required careful attention like Solomon’s 'statutes' in v12?

Go deeper

Passages that echo 1 Kings 6: Ezekiel 41, 2 Chronicles 3, 1 Kings 7.

Before next time: read 1 Kings 7.