What Does I Kings 7:9 Mean?

All these buildings are made of costly stones, cut to size, trimmed with saws inside and out, from the foundation to the eaves, and also on the outside to the great court. The material specification covers the entire palace complex: every building, from the foundation stones buried underground to the coping stones visible at the roofline, is constructed of expensive, precision-cut masonry. The phrase "cut to size, trimmed with saws" describes ashlar construction—stones individually shaped to fit their assigned positions without mortar gaps.

The investment in precision stonework throughout the palace complex multiplies the cost of the construction exponentially. Each stone is individually cut, each face is individually trimmed, and the labor required for this level of finish exceeds the labor for rough-cut walls by an order of magnitude. The extravagance of the palace construction extends the extravagance of the temple construction into the secular sphere, and the reader begins to sense the unsustainable cost of Solomon's building ambitions.

Jesus told the parable of a man who built his house on the rock versus a man who built on sand (Matthew 7:24-27). Solomon's costly, precision-cut stones provide the material foundation that Jesus' parable assumes: a wise builder invests in the foundation. The Son of David who is the rock on which the church is built provides a foundation more costly than Solomon's finest ashlar—a foundation purchased with blood rather than gold, and prepared with infinite precision for the eternal building that rests upon it.