The answer lies in the words of the Gemara (Sanhedrin 20b) "The Jews were commanded with three Mitzvos on entering the land:

1. Appoint a king
2. Wipe out the nation Amalek
3. Builda Bais Hamikdash."

Ok. So why didn't King David himself build the Temple? That's a good question. So good a question, that David himself asked it of the prophet Nosson. As recorded in Samuel, G-d answered that He had no need for a ceder house. "In all (these years)...did I ever ask one of the Shoftim (Judges)... 'Why didn't you build me a ceder house?'"

The time was not yet right.

There is,however, another way to look at this question. The Midrash (Yalkut Shimoni, Shmuel 2; 7, #145) tells us of a conversation between G-d and David. It goes something like this:

David: "Why can I not build the Bais Hamikdash?"

G-d: "Your hands have spilt blood (in all your many wars)."

David: "If I'm a murderer, am I not unfit to build the Temple?"

G-d: "Every drop of blood you spilt is, in My eyes, like the sweetest offering."

David: "So why can't I build the Bais Hamikdash?"

G-d: "Because if you (as great as you are) were to build it, it could never be destroyed."

David: "What's wrong with that?"

G-d: "I see that in the future the Jews will sin. If I can't exact revenge on the sticks and stones of their Temple, then I will have to destroy the people..."

Ok. So we know why the Bais Hamikdash couldn't be built earlier, because there was no king; and we know why David couldn't have been the one to build it. But why couldn't there have been a king before David (or, more accurately, before Shaul)?

Although there are many opinions on the matter, let's just say that the Jews were better off (at least in that period) under Shoftim (Judges) than they would have been with kings.

Now, what have we got? The Bais Hamikdash couldn't have been built before their 440th year in the land because they had no king. They could not have appointed a king before they did because they were better off with the Shoftim. And the first king (from the tribe of Yehuda) couldn't build it, either because it wasn't yet time - Hashem didn't need it - or because he had spilt blood.

Hence, the 440 year wait.

Nosson the Prophet's Advice

"All that is in your heart, go and do; for G-d is with you." (Samuel II; 7, 3)

That night, G-d appeared to Nosson and told him, "Go tell my servant, David 'This G-d said. Are you the one to build Me a house within which to sit...?'"

In other words, Nosson had told the King to do the wrong thing - Hashem didn't want the Bais Hamikdash built right then.

By what right did the prophet - who, after all, should have been little more than a mouthpiece for the word of Hashem - speak out his own opinion; and a wrong one at that!

The Malbim (a Biblical commentator of the last century) draws this point from the passage: "When a person's heart is completely good, when he wants nothing for himself or for the world but good (what's good for G-d and what's good for other people), then he has the right to venture his own opinion."

Even if he might be "wrong" sometimes, such a man should not hold back from helping others...

Judges and Kings

Spanning a period approximately half that of the line of David, were nineteen kings of the breakaway ten tribes. Every one of the Northern kings was (to one degree or another) corrupt in G-d's eyes, and many from the ten Northern tribes followed their leaders' example. Nearly half of the kings in Jerusalem were themselves idol worshippers (Achaz, Menashe, Amon etc.), some in a most disgusting and insane way.

But Jewish history is not just a story of kings and their families, it's just that, to a large extent, the king was responsible for the religious life of his people. When a king was bad, most of the people went with him. When he was good, his people could soar to majestic heights. A Jewish king was a leader in every sense of the word - and in any direction.

And there lies the danger of a monarchy. For if everything rests on the shoulders of one man, it stands or falls with him. If those shoulders should buckle under the weight, the whole house can tumble. Under the Shoftim (the Judges) however, there was much more room for an individual to move - the Shofet didn't enjoy the all-powerful influence over the kingdom's daily life that the kings would later inherit. Even if a Shofet went bad, the nation wasn't centralized enough to be drawn down with him.

Perhaps this was because Shoftim held less power than kings, or perhaps because of the nature of the institution, corruption and idol worship were not associated with the position.

The Ten Tribes

Only the tribes of Yehuda and Binyamim (to the south) and Levy (who were the priests and officials of the Temple and hence, were based near Jerusalem) remained loyal to G-d's Torah.

Now, add it up. The Kingdom of Yehuda under the leadership of King David and his descendants stood for around 454 years. For the first 80 of those years the people of Israel were united. The ten tribes were sent into exile at the hands of the Assyrian King, Sancheriv, 135 years before the destruction of the first Temple. Therefore, the Kingdom of the ten tribes lasted 215 years less than that of Jerusalem...and yet had nearly the same number of kings.

Perhaps it was the evil of the Northern kings that shortened their lives so consistently...

The Idol of Micha

There was a Jew by the name of Micha who, just a few decades after the our nation had entered Israel, stole some of his mother's money. His mother, thinking a common thief was responsible, cursed the unknown culprit.

When she discovered who the thief really was, she regretted her curse and, in an effort to cancel its effect, had the entire amount of gold melted and formed into an idol (what she hoped to accomplish with this, I don't know). Micha, the son, became the custodian of the idol.

Wanting to attract more business, Micha advertised for a priest (I guess he was looking for some kind of ritual director!) to make sure things ran "right." When a Levy named Yehonason ben Gershom ben Menashe showed up in search of a job, Micha had found his man. Yehonason, the sages tell us, was the grandson of Moses.

The Pesel Micha stood - are you ready for this? - for the next SEVEN HUNDRED YEARS! And for nearly all of those

years, Yehonason was in charge. In fact, King David discovered Yehonason and offered him a civil service job to wean him away from the idol. (see Gemara Bava Basra 110a and Rashi).

Why did the high priest of a notorious pagan temple merit such a long life? Our sages tell us because he didn't really believe in the idol and would turn people away at the door saying "You and I both know that this isn't real...."

And how did the temple manage to remain in business for so long (after all, it stood throughout the reign of David, not to mention two hundred years afterwards)? What else can we say other than that the operation was hidden "underground," and was perhaps portable enough to be able to move quickly if the authorities got close.

Nov and Givon

When he heard the dreadful news, Eli (who was both high priest and Shofet), died, leaving the prophet Samuel to lead the nation. A Mishkan (Tabernacle) of curtains (Yerios) was erected in the city of Nov to replace that of Shilo.

But Nov was not destined to remain the site of the Mishkan for long. The prophet Samuel played a role here too. Not long after the ascension of Shaul (Saul) to the throne of Israel, his claim to the kingship was weakened and eventually broken (see I Samuel 15, 26). The youthful David was secretly anointed in his place by Samuel and the clock began ticking on Shaul's reign.

Under a heavy cloak of guilt and jealousy, Shaul suffered periods of terrible depression where he would seek to kill his son-in-law, David. When the King heard from one of his men (Doeg H'adomi) that the priests of Nov had given a starving David food and a weapon (I Shmuel 21-22), he ordered the whole city to be put to death.

After only twelve short years, the Mishkan was moved from Nov to Givon.

Whether or not Shaul was justified in ordering the killings isn't the point (after all, from his perspective, the priests had -at least unwittingly - disobeyed a royal order). What our sages learn from the whole affair is the destructive power of slander. "Loshon Horah kills three the one who spoke it (in this case, Doeg), the one who listens (Shaul) and those about whom it was spoken (the priests of Nov). Doeg, incidentally, is listed among those who have no share in the World to Come.

For the next forty-six years, until the building of the Temple, the Mishkan rested in nearby Givon. It's interesting to note that for most of that time, the holy ark was in a tent in Jerusalem, to which King David had brought it near the beginning of his reign. The temple service was centered around Givon, but the Aron was waiting in Jerusalem...

Rabbi Boruch Clinton teaches at the Ottawa Torah Institute yeshiva high school and Machon Sarah high school for girls (both in Ottawa, Canada). You may reach him with comments and questions at bclinton@torah.org.

You can now read some of Rabbi Clinton's essays on Torah life at http://www.ncf.ca/~es625/essays

You can also buy his collection of essays on the Book of Shmuel (Samuel) in printed form at www.lulu.com/marbitzmedia

Copyright © 2000 by Rabbi Boruch Clinton and Project Genesis, Inc.