1 Kings 7: Building for Posterity

1 Kings 7 continues the detailed descriptions of Solomon's temple and palace.  All narrative ceases at this point in Scripture as we are taken through every particularity of the build project.  And it is quite impressively elaborate and monumental.  A note in my commentary says it best:  "The ancients built for posterity."  This immediately brought to mind the sorry state of modern architecture.  Our structures, be they houses or office buildings or shops or even churches, are built quick and cheaply.  The idea of these structures still standing in a thousand years is comical.  They begin to show degradation in one person's lifetime.  And even when a structure is built to awe and impress, such as a government building or a large museum, the architecture has become so stripped of all beauty, seeking to "outmodernize" other buildings with starkness and sleekness and, essentially, emptiness.  So large and "impressive" structures might get some attention initially and titillate with their innovativeness; but will be forgotten or seen as eyesores a few generations from now.

Ancient buildings, however, were built to be beautiful and to endure for all future generations.  This is especially true for buildings of religious significance, such as Solomon's Temple.  The size and scope, the attention and even symbolism of each building material, all point to something bigger than ourselves.  These buildings are meant not to glorify human ingenuity, but to glorify God.  We see it in the Cathedrals of the Middle Ages, and of course the buildings of antiquity, from Egypt to Greece to Rome.  

I had the good fortune to visit Italy earlier this year with my family.  We toured Florence, Siena, and Rome.  And the beauty of the architecture is staggering.  These buildings were not built in a year or five years, but, sometimes, over the course of hundreds of years.  The intricacies and details captivate and inspire.  We could learn from the ancients that we are worthy of more than cheap and quick structures.  We ought to build so that a thousand years from now people will still be inspired by what they see wrought by previous generations.  Of course, we won't do that until we all agree on the purpose of beauty and art and why we ought to build glorious things.  Until we all agree that we ought to glorify God, our Creator, we will continue to sink to our baser instincts--the instincts to build cheap and quick so that we can turn a profit and move on to the next ugly building.