1 Kings 6:22
And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the house: also the whole altar that was by the oracle he overlaid with gold. And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the house: also the whole altar that was by the oracle he overlaid with gold.
The gilding was commanded, Solomon being directed to beautify the temple with glorious gold adornment. The verse records the finishing of that work, that the whole interior of the house was overlaid with gold until all was complete, including the whole altar beside the oracle, the inner sanctuary. Like the tabernacle, the temple was richly finished with gold, retaining the tabernacle's basic arrangement and furnishings as its permanent, larger successor.
So adorned, the temple was the most magnificent building the world ever saw, unsurpassed for richness, beauty, and costly design. Solomon felt the magnitude of building a house for God whom heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain, yet he directed every important enterprise and managed the business matters of the kingdom with the greatest wisdom, faithfully carrying out God's directions with devotion to God, uprightness, firm principle, and strict obedience to God's commands. That faithfulness brought God's blessing and honor and spread his fame among the nations everywhere for superior knowledge and wisdom, excellence of character, and greatness of power, so that many came from all parts of the world to behold his power and to be instructed how to conduct difficult matters.
The temple's gold does not justify adorning the body with gold to improve appearance or to gain influence in the world. The adornment belongs to the temple's sacred setting, while human beings are fallen and must remember their fallen condition and that their redemption cost the suffering and death of the Son of God, which calls for humility and self-abasement. Jesus in His humility, meekness, and suffering as the crucified One is the pattern, and to be with Him in heaven people must be like Him on earth. Those looking for Christ's coming must therefore leave what belongs to the world in order to overcome, rather than decorate themselves because the temple was adorned.