The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1908-12-12

At last the magnificent temple
| was completed David had desired to
build it, but was withholden by God.
But he drew the plans and specifica-
| tions and collected immense quantities
Of material that went into it's construc-
ton, including gold and silver bullion
to the amount of four and one-half
billion, or forty-fve hundred millions
of dollars. Now the grand edifice has
been finished, and the vast army of
workmen have been paid off and dis
charged. Our lesson deals with the
beginning of its use for religious pur-
| poses.
In contemplating the temple one is
astounded, not only at the costliness
of the materials used, but at the num-
Der of workment employed, the time
consumed in its erection, and it's in
significance as to size. For it was
only ninety feet long and thirty feet
wide-the regulation size of a store
house in Hattiesburg. It's walls were
forty-five feet high. And yet one hun
dred and fifty thousand men( not in
GLIDING the levy of thirty thousand,
who labored by reliefs in the Tyrian
mountains). had been employed there
on, and more than seven years had
elapsed from the laying of the foun-
dation stone to it's dedication. Esti-
mated at the usual standard the value
of the precious metals used, almost
staggers belief. Perhaps 1t was a time
of "cheap money" While we read of
no financial panic, evidently there was
great shrinkage in the value of sill
yer, at least, later in Solomons reign.
For we are told that he "made silver
in Jerusalem to become as stones"
Let us try to form a mental picture
of this noted structure. The temple
| itself was divided into two rooms, one
being just twice the length OF the
other The western, or rear room,
was thirty feet square, aid the
ceiling was thirty feet from the floor.
The front or larger room was thirty
feet wide, sixty feet long, and forty
five feet to the ceiling. The whole in
side of both rooms was floored, lined
and ceiled with costly wood. both cy.
press and cedar being used, and the
whole was overlaid with gold and
then decorated by various patterns,
all in gold and precious stones. The
finishing OF the smaller room alone re-
quired more than seventeen million I
dollars worth of fine gold, exclusive |
of the cherubim. At the front or east
ern end was a porch, supported It is
thought, by two immense bronze Dill.
lars about six feet in diameter. at the
two outside corners This porch
seemingly extended into a tower one
hundred and eighty feet high.
All around the walls on the outside
except in front, were small rooms or
chambers, extending upward for three
stories of seven and half feet be-
tween the floor and ceiling, or prob
ably twenty-five feet in all. Two in
closures or courts surrounded the
the inner one being called
The court of the priests, and contain
ing the great altar of burnt offerings
and the brazen sea. The larger of
he two rooms, called the "holy place"
contained the altar of incense, which
was placed at the western end, and
near the curtain or veil which covered
he door between the two rooms. In
stead of one candlestick and one table
If show-bread, as the tabernacle con-
aimed, the temple had ten of each,
Ind so arranged that five of each we're
IN the right hand and five on the left.
Behind the veil, In the most holy
'lace, two golden cherubim were so
'laced that their outstretched wings
ouched the opposite walls, and met
n the center OF the room. Directly