1 Kings 6:7: “And the temple, when it was being built, was built with stone finished at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built.”

July 9th, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

Near the Damascus gate there is still an old quarry that tourist can visit. Inside, guides point to stones with holes drilled in them, and explain how wooden pegs were driven into the holes and then soaked with water. The natural swelling of the wood would crack the stone along the carefully drilled line of holes, which were more than 32 feet long and measured out by a knotted rope. By today’s standards, that such a method could be used to square the stones for the foundation seems impossible.

All the stones for Solomon’s temple were finished before being delivered to the temple mount. By working the stones in the quarry below, it meant that there was peace and quiet on the mount. Why was the quietness of the construction of the temple important? It seems fitting for the sacredness of the job being performed, but perhaps it is also a statement about our own building projects in life. Could God be telling us that we should not make a lot of noise over what we are doing in His kingdom? The apostle Paul tells us that “a quiet and peaceable life” is something to be desired (1 Tim. 2:2–3). And “that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you” (1 Thess. 4:11).

There are people in life for whom everything is a crisis. They live from one explosion to the next. Perhaps it is the word quiet that exposes the real problem. The lack of it, the lack of simplicity, leads to constant upheavals. If we desire peace and quiet, then we must aspire to a simple life of obedience to God’s will.

“LORD, we want to serve you today with a life filled with Your peace. Please fill us now.”