When Solomon built the temple, it took a massive amount of labor and material. 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 cannot think of a single construction project of that magnitude in modern times.
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 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?
Our quarry is the world we live in, the place where all our rough edges are chipped away 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 must put up with the chiseling, the polishing, and all the noise in the world that goes along with it. And 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 when it has 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.
Rom 8:28-29 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. ESV
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 is hard to take all the chipping and grinding during our time in the quarry, but if we 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. Jesus’ bride is being prepared and her wedding dress will be without spot or blemish. Her place in His Temple is waiting and she will be perfectly fit… a costly stone.