When Solomon built the temple it took a massive amount of labor and material. Unlike the simple tabernacle, the temple was an extremely complex project. We can only imagine the manpower involved. He sent 30,000 men to Lebanon in 10,000 man one month shifts to cut the lumber, there were another 70,000 that carried material, and there were 80,000 just cutting the stones. On top of that it took another 33,000 to oversee the work of the 190,000. I can’t think of a single construction project of that magnitude in modern times. (Well perhaps the Great Wall of China may be an exception; standing on top of it I certainly got the impression it took a whole lot of folks to finish all 3,000 miles of it.)

1 Kings 5:17 At the king’s command they quarried out great, costly stones in order to lay the foundation of the house with dressed stones. ESV

Can you imagine the noise? But the Bible tells us that there was no noise!

1 Kings 6:7 When the house was built, it was with stone prepared at the quarry, so that neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron was heard in the house while it was being built. ESV

All the cutting and chiseling and grinding was done away from the temple. There was no noise at the temple itself, only the sliding of the perfectly shaped stones (dressed) as they were put in place. Each one perfectly fit in place as the temple went up in silence. And notice that they were not just perfectly shaped but they were costly stones. That makes us pause and think about the building of another temple.

The Word tells us that we are the “temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor 3:16) and that we are “living stones” (2 Pet 2:5). So as our temple is under construction where are we being cut, chipped, and polished so that there is silence at the temple? I’m pretty sure that while we are just a “tabernacle” at the moment, we are being shaped to fit in “The Temple” in heaven. And that’s taking place in a rock quarry just as it was for the costly stones for Solomon’s Temple.

Our quarry is the world we live in, the place where all of our rough edges are chipped away in order to make us fit perfectly into the heavenly temple. When we are finally moved from this quarry to that heavenly temple all the clamor associated with our shaping will be silenced and the work will be complete. But what about now?

Now, as the shaping is being done, we have to put up with the chiseling away, the polishing, and all the noise in the world that goes along with it. And in order to do that we have to trust the master craftsman who is doing the shaping. He is the only one who knows the exact dimensions of the finished product and He alone has the eye to determine the when they have been achieved. Only when He determines we are finished will He put His costly stones, His lively stones, in place. In the meantime we need to allow Him to mold and shape us to fit in the one place in His Temple that is reserved just for us. And while that is happening, those observing the work being done on us in the quarry will be amazed as these once chunks of rock slowly become costly, precious, perfectly fit stones. They will stand in awe of the work of the Master Stone Cutter and His ability to create perfection out of imperfection. It’s hard to take all the chipping and grinding during our time in the quarry, but if we will keep our eye on the goal and our faith in the One doing the shaping we will be put into place when we are ready.

So while we may be surrounded with a cacophony of sound, inundating us every day as the hammering and chipping takes place, in heaven there is only the Sound of Silence as each costly stone is being put in its perfect place in the foundation. A bride is being prepared whose wedding dress will be without spot or blemish. Her place in His Temple is waiting and she will be perfectly fit… a costly stone.