King David has a realization that his own house is, in some respects, superior to the Lord’s. He said to Nathan, “See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains” (2 Samuel 7:2). But the Lord said through Nathan the prophet, “And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever” (2 Samuel 7:12-13). We can learn from this that David’s throne and kingdom are tied to the temple, and that a main purpose of the temple is to have a place where the Lord can place His name. The Lord Jehovah accepted the Kirtland Temple and said, “I have accepted this house, and my name shall be here; and I will manifest myself to my people in mercy in this house” (D&C 110:7).
We discover in 1 Chronicles 28:3 the reason David was not allowed to build the temple since he was “a man of war.” Solomon’s name means “peace.”
The construction begins and finally the temple is finished. It’s significant that the temple is dedicated during the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) during the seventh month of Tishri. There are 15 days leading up to the feast, counting from the Jewish New Year of Rosh Hashana. There are also 15 steps going up to the temple. I’m taking some of this information from David C. Mitchell’s excellent book, The Songs of Ascent. Psalms 120 through 134 are called “songs of degrees” in our King James Bible. They correspond to the 15 steps of ascent at Solomon’s Temple. David Mitchell maintains that the priests would perform the songs on the corresponding day of the month. For example, the priests would stand on the first step and perform the music to Psalm 120. On the second day, they would perform Psalm 121 as they stood on the second step, and so on.
These 15 psalms are written in a chiastic structure. Scholars have found similarities between Psalm 120 and 134, 121 and 133, and so on. The center of the chiasmus is Psalm 127. There are two Davidic psalms before 127 and two after. Psalm 125 speaks of the mountains surrounding Jerusalem. David Mitchell observed that when the priests ascend to the step corresponding to Psalm 125, they can first see over the walls around the temple and can see the mountains. Psalm 130 is about the atonement of Jesus Christ. It is the eleventh psalm in this series and corresponds to the 11th day of Tishri. Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement and begins at sundown on the 10th day of Tishri and ends on the 11th day at sundown. Yom Kippur foreshadows the Savior’s atonement and is a day of fasting, forgiveness, and redemption. This day would be the culmination of the Ten Days of Repentance. All these themes are included in Psalm 130:
“Let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.”
“There is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.”
“Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.”
“And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.”
The center of a chiasmus is the central theme, so Psalm 127 is the climax of these psalms and contains the main theme. And what is that main theme? It is well stated in “The Family Proclamation.” Psalm 127 is a play on words, centered around the two Hebrew words banah and ben. Banah means “to build,” but it’s not just anything—it’s always something spectacular, like a city or a temple. The first time banah is used in the Bible is with the creation of Eve. A different word is used for the creation of Adam, since he’s merely formed “of the dust of the ground.” Actually, Adam doesn’t become alive until the Lord “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life,” but it’s Eve’s name that means “life or living.” (see Genesis 2:7, 22). Yes, I’m back on my feminist soapbox.
The Hebrew word ben is a derivative of banah. Ben (or bane in the plural) means “son, child, or grandchild,” but it can also be a whole nation. So what is the Lord building? He is building His heritage and His reward. Psalm 127 states,
1 Except the Lord build (banah) the house, they labour in vain that build (banah) it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.
3 Lo, children (bane) are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children (bane) of the youth.
5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.
“The Family Proclamation” states, “The family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children . . . Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny.” In essence, this is what the Lord is building.
Verse 3, which states, “Children are a heritage of the Lord,” is the only verse of scripture quoted in “The Family Proclamation.” It happens to be the middle verse of the middle psalm of the Songs of Ascent. It is the center of the chiasmus, defining the purpose of the temple to seal families together for all eternity. Without the ordinances of the temple, we “labor in vain.” This verse in Psalm 127 appears smack dab in the middle of “The Family Proclamation.”
Solomon assembled the elders of Israel to bring the Ark of the Covenant up to the temple to be placed in the Holy of Holies. Apparently, there were gates securing Mount Zion. Some scholars (like David Mitchell) believe that Psalm 24 was sung as the Ark approached the gate. Psalm 24:9 states, “Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.” The Ark represented the divine presence of the King of Glory. Once the Ark of the Covenant was placed in the temple, a “cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord” (1 Kings 8:10-11).
To be continued . . .
