“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” (1 Kings 6:7 ESV).
That every massive stone used in the building of Solomon’s temple was “prepared at the quarry” was an astounding feat. For a worksite of such magnitude to be absent any hammering or chiseling would be just as amazing today as it was then. Both the designer and the builder had to be exacting in their precision and skill in order to accomplish this. Some stones weighed as much as one hundred tons, yet they were perfectly honed and fitted together. The temple site may have been quiet, but there must have been much noise at the quarry as each stone was hammered and chiseled out, shaping it perfectly for God’s house.
The apostle Peter tells us that God is building a new house and we are like “living stones being built into his spiritual temple” (1 Peter 2:5). God is both the Architect and the Builder of this spiritual temple (Heb. 11:10). Sometimes He is noisily chiseling away on us in the quarry and at other times He is quietly putting us into place. It is God who builds His house and we are being perfectly fitted for it.
We are not finished stones yet, but God is faithfully shaping us through seasons of trials and trouble. Yet they are the tools God uses to refine us. He is forming our character, smoothing our rough edges, and preparing us for the place He has in His spiritual house. We may not always understand the process, but we can trust the hands of the Master Builder. Let us be willing stones, surrendered to His shaping. One day, He will set us into place, and all will be made clear.
PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for being both our Architect and our Builder. We trust You even in times of trouble. Shape us with Your loving hands so that we may be fit for the place You’ve prepared for us. Use us as living stones in Your spiritual house, that we may bring glory to Your name. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.