The Cedar Tree (3)—The House of God - All The LORD is near Daily Devotionals for 2026

He built the temple and finished it, and he paneled the temple with beams and boards of cedar … And he built side chambers against the entire temple, each five cubits high; they were attached to the temple with cedar beams … And he built the inside walls of the temple with cedar boards.
1 Kings 6:9, 10, 15

The Cedar Tree (3)—The House of God
The Lord Jesus is building His Church today (Mt. 16:18). In Solomon’s temple the house was covered with beams and boards of cedar. We can understand this when we remember that the cedar tree and the cedar wood speak of Christ. Whom do we see when we come into the house of God today? We see Christ, or at least He should be the One our hearts and minds are engaged with. We often sing, “Jesus, Thou art enough the mind and heart to fill.” If we really consider Him as the true cedar wood—which reminds us of the greatness and glory of His Person, as the Eternal Son, as the One whom the Father loves and delights in, and as the One who finished a work so great that only He could do it—certainly there is enough to fill our minds and our hearts now and for eternity!

Then, the beams of Solomon’s temple were of cedar. Who supports the house of God today? It is Christ Himself. He is the Son over God’s house (Heb. 3:6). He is “upholding all things by the word of His power” (1:3), but His special interest today is His own people, who form God’s spiritual house today. We are often discouraged when we consider what God’s house has become in the hands of men: a “great house” (2 Tim. 2:20). But when we look at Christ, we know that He is upholding all that is true; He is maintaining what is for His Father’s glory and for His own glory. The beams are still of cedar today; all that has eternal value is being upheld by Him, the Eternal One! Let us not be discouraged, but, as we gather together, may our minds and hearts truly be fixed upon Him, the true cedar wood!

Kevin Quartell