{"id":11259,"date":"2022-09-24T03:57:24","date_gmt":"2022-09-24T08:57:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/exegetical-and-hermeneutical-commentary-of-2-chronicles-41\/"},"modified":"2022-09-24T03:57:24","modified_gmt":"2022-09-24T08:57:24","slug":"exegetical-and-hermeneutical-commentary-of-2-chronicles-41","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/exegetical-and-hermeneutical-commentary-of-2-chronicles-41\/","title":{"rendered":"Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Chronicles 4:1"},"content":{"rendered":"

Moreover he made an altar of brass, twenty cubits the length thereof, and twenty cubits the breadth thereof, and ten cubits the height thereof. <\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n

Ch. 2Ch 4:1<\/span>. The Altar of Brass<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. twenty cubits<\/em> ] The measurements of the altar belonging to Solomon’s Temple are not given in 1 Kings; but in Exo 38:1<\/span> the altar made in the wilderness is described as measuring five cubits by five cubits, and in height three cubits. An altar three cubits high could perhaps be served from the ground, but one of ten cubits would require steps<\/em>, which are forbidden in Exo 20:26<\/span>. In Eze 43:17<\/span>, however, it is assumed that the altar must have steps and a position is assigned them on the East, so that the priest ascending them faces the direction of the Holy of Holies which was on the West.<\/p>\n

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

The supplementary character of Chronicles is here once more apparent. The author of Kings had omitted to record the dimensions of the brass altar. It stood in the great court 2Ch 6:12-13<\/span>.<\/P> <\/p>\n

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

2Ch 4:1-10<\/span><\/p>\n

Moreover he made an altar of brase <\/em><\/p>\n

The furniture of the holy court<\/strong><\/p>\n

1.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The altar of brass. Larger than that in tabernacle. When God enlarges our borders and business we should increase our gifts.<\/p>\n

2. <\/strong>The sea of brass. God requires sanctity in all that approach Him (Jam 4:8<\/span>).<\/p>\n

3. <\/strong>The ten layers. Not only the priests, but the sacrifices, must be washed. We must purify our persons and performances. Iniquity cleaves to our holy things.<\/p>\n

4. <\/strong>The ten golden candlesticks. One in tabernacle. Light increases.<\/p>\n

5. <\/strong>The ten tables.<\/p>\n

6. <\/strong>The golden altar. Christ makes atonement and intercedes for ever in virtue of that atonement. (J<\/em>. Wolfendale<\/em>.)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Also he made a molten sea of ten cubits.
<\/strong><\/p>\n

The molten sea<\/strong><\/p>\n


I. <\/strong>Its use. Suggests purification for Gods service.<\/p>\n


II. <\/strong>Its size. Suggests abundant provision for purification. A type of the fountain opened.<\/p>\n


III. <\/strong>Its construction.<\/p>\n

1. <\/strong>The material precious and durable.<\/p>\n

2. <\/strong>The oxen, sacrifices of priests, emblems of strength and patience–looking all ways. The blessings procured by a holy priesthood would be universally diffused. (Homiletical Commentary<\/em>.)<\/p>\n

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

CHAPTER IV <\/P>

The brazen altar<\/I>, 1.<\/P>

Molten sea, and its supporters<\/I>, 2-5.<\/P>

The ten lavers<\/I>, 6.<\/P>

Ten golden candlesticks<\/I>, 7.<\/P>

Ten tables, the hundred golden basons, and the priests’<\/I><\/P>

court<\/I>, 8-10.<\/P>

The works which Huram performed<\/I>, 11-17.<\/P>

Solomon finishes the temple, and its utensils<\/I>, 18-22. <\/P>

NOTES ON CHAP. IV<\/P><\/p>\n

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Quest.<\/B> How could this be, when God had said, Thou shalt not go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon<\/I>, Exo 20:26<\/span>, and steps were necessary for so high an altar as this was? <\/P>

Answ.<\/B> 1. These steps were so made that there was no fear of this inconvenience. <\/P>

2. That law was useful and fit when it was made; but afterwards, when the priests were commanded to wear linen breeches in their holy ministrations to cover their nakedness, Exo 28:42<\/span>, it was not necessary. <\/P>

3. Howsoever God could undoubtedly dispense with his own law, as here he did; for he it was that gave these dimensions for the altar. <\/P> <\/p>\n

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

1. he made an altar of brass<\/B>Stepsmust have been necessary for ascending so elevated an altar, but theuse of these could be no longer forbidden (Ex20:26<\/span>) after the introduction of an official costume for thepriests (Ex 28:42<\/span>). It measuredthirty-five feet by thirty-five, and in height seventeen and a halffeet. The thickness of the metal used for this altar is nowheregiven; but supposing it to have been three inches, the whole weightof the metal would not be under two hundred tons [NAPIER].<\/P>

2Ch4:2-5<\/span>. MOLTEN SEA.<\/P><\/p>\n

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

[See comments on 2Ch 3:1]<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

2Ch 4:1-6<\/span>. The copper furniture of the court. 2Ch 4:1<\/span>. The altar of burnt-offering<\/em>. Its preparation is passed over in 1 Kings 6 and 7, so that there it is only mentioned incidentally in connection with the consecration of the temple, 1Ki 8:22<\/span>, 1Ki 8:54<\/span>, and 1Ki 9:25<\/span>. It was twenty cubits square (long and broad) and ten cubits high, and constructed on the model of the Mosaic altar of burnt- offering, and probably of brass plates, which enclosed the inner core, consisting of earth and unhewn stones; and if we may judge from Ezekiel’s description, Eze 43:13-17<\/span>, it rose in steps, as it were, so that at each step its extent was smaller; and the measurement of twenty cubits refers only to the lowest scale, while the space at the top, with the hearth, was only twelve cubits square; cf. my Bibl. Archaeol<\/em>. i. S. 127, with the figure, plate iii. fig. 2.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

The Furniture of the Temple.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/I><\/span><\/P> <\/TD>

B. C.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN> 1012.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/P> <\/TD> <\/TR> <\/TABLE>

      1 Moreover he made an altar of brass, twenty cubits the length thereof, and twenty cubits the breadth thereof, and ten cubits the height thereof.   2 Also he made a molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass, and five cubits the height thereof; and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.   3 And under it was<\/I> the similitude of oxen, which did compass it round about: ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about. Two rows of oxen were<\/I> cast, when it was cast.   4 It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea was set<\/I> above upon them, and all their hinder parts were<\/I> inward.   5 And the thickness of it was<\/I> a handbreadth, and the brim of it like the work of the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies; and<\/I> it received and held three thousand baths.   6 He made also ten lavers, and put five on the right hand, and five on the left, to wash in them: such things as they offered for the burnt offering they washed in them; but the sea was<\/I> for the priests to wash in.   7 And he made ten candlesticks of gold according to their form, and set them<\/I> in the temple, five on the right hand, and five on the left.   8 He made also ten tables, and placed them<\/I> in the temple, five on the right side, and five on the left. And he made an hundred basons of gold.   9 Furthermore he made the court of the priests, and the great court, and doors for the court, and overlaid the doors of them with brass.   10 And he set the sea on the right side of the east end, over against the south.<\/P>

      David often speaks with much affection both of the house of the Lord<\/I> and of the courts of our God.<\/I> Both without doors and within there was that which typified the grace of the gospel and shadowed<\/I> out good things to come,<\/I> of which the substance is Christ.<\/P>

      I. There were those things in the open court, in the view of all the people, which were very significant.<\/P>

      1. There was the brazen altar,<\/I> v.<\/span> 1<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. The making of this was not mentioned in the Kings. On this all the sacrifices were offered, and it sanctified the gift. This altar was much larger than that which Moses made in the tabernacle; that was five cubits square, this was twenty cubits square. Now that Israel had become both numerous and more rich, and it was to be hoped more devout (for every age should aim to be wiser and better than that which went before it), it was expected that there would be a greater abundance of offerings brought to God’s altar than had been. It was therefore made such a capacious scaffold that it might hold them all, and none might excuse themselves from bringing those temptations of their devotion by alleging that there was not room to receive them. God had greatly enlarged their borders; it was therefore fit that they should enlarge his altars. Our returns should bear some proportion to our receivings. It was ten cubits high, so that the people who worshipped in the courts might see the sacrifice burnt, and their eye might affect their heart with sorrow for sin: “It is of the Lord’s mercies that I am not thus consumed, and that this is accepted as an expiation of my guilt.” They might thus be led to consider the great sacrifice which should be offered in the fulness of time to take away sin and abolish death, which the blood of bulls and goats could not possibly do. And with the smoke of the sacrifices their hearts might ascend to heaven in holy desires towards God and his favour. In all our devotions we must keep the eye of faith fixed upon Christ, the great propitiation. How they went up to this altar, and carried the sacrifices up to it, we are not told; some think by a plain ascent like a hill: if by steps, doubtless they were so contrived as that the end of the law (mentioned Exod. xx. 26<\/span>) might be answered.<\/P>

      2. There was the molten sea, a very large brass pan, in which they put water for the priests to wash in, 2Ch 4:2<\/span>; 2Ch 4:6<\/span>. It was put just at the entrance into the court of the priests, like the font at the church door. If it were filled to the brim, it would hold 3000 baths (as here, v.<\/I><\/span> 5<\/span>), but ordinarily there were only 2000 baths in it, 1 Kings vii. 26<\/span>. The Holy Ghost by this signified, (1.) Our great gospel privilege, that the blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin,<\/I> 1 John i. 7<\/I><\/span>. To us there is a fountain opened<\/I> for all believers (who are spiritual priests, Rev 1:5<\/span>; Rev 1:6<\/span>), nay, for all the inhabitants of Jerusalem to wash in,<\/I> from sin, which is uncleanness. There is a fulness of merit in Jesus Christ for all those that by faith apply to him for the purifying of their consciences, that they might serve the living God,<\/I> Heb. ix. 14<\/I><\/span>. (2.) Our great gospel duty, which is to cleanse ourselves by true repentance from all the pollutions of the flesh and the corruption that is in the world. Our hearts must be sanctified, or we cannot sanctify the name of God. Those that draw nigh to God must cleanse their hands, and purify their hearts,<\/I> Jam. iv. 8<\/I><\/span>. If I was thee not, thou hast no part with me;<\/I> and he that is washed<\/I> still needs to wash his feet,<\/I> to renew his repentance, whenever he goes in to minister,<\/I> John xiii. 10<\/I><\/span>.<\/P>

      3. There were ten lavers<\/I> of brass, in which they washed such things as they offered for the burnt-offerings,<\/I> v.<\/span> 6<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. As the priests must be washed, so must the sacrifices. We must not only purify ourselves in preparation for our religious performances, but carefully put away all those vain thoughts and corrupt aims which cleave to our performances themselves and pollute them.<\/P>

      4. The doors of the court were overlaid with brass (v.<\/I><\/span> 9<\/span>), both for strength and beauty, and that they might not be rotted with the weather, to which they were exposed. Gates of brass<\/I> we read of, Ps. cvii. 16<\/span>.<\/P>

      II. There were those things in the house of the Lord<\/I> (into which the priests alone went to minister) that were very significant. All was gold there. The nearer we come to God the purer we must be, the purer we shall be. 1. There were ten golden candlesticks,<\/I> according to the form of that one which was in the tabernacle, v.<\/I><\/span> 7<\/span>. The written word is a lamp and a light, shining in a dark place. In Moses’s time they had but one candlestick, the Pentateuch; but the additions which, in process of time, were to be made of other books of scripture might be signified by this increase of the number of the candlesticks. Light was growing. The candlesticks are the churches, Rev. i. 20<\/span>. Moses set up but one, the church of the Jews; but, in the gospel temple, not only believers, but churches, are multiplied. 2. There were ten golden tables<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 8<\/span>), tables whereon the show-bread was set,<\/I> v.<\/span> 19<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. Perhaps every one of the tables had twelve loaves of show-bread on it. As the house was enlarged, the house-keeping was. In my father’s house there is bread enough for the whole family.<\/I> To those tables belonged 100 golden basins, or dishes; for God’s table is well furnished. 3. There was a golden altar<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 19<\/span>), on which they burnt incense. It is probable that this was enlarged in proportion to the brazen altar. Christ, who once for all made atonement for sin, ever lives, making intercession, in virtue of that atonement.<\/P><\/p>\n

Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

See note on 1Ki 7:23<\/span><\/p>\n

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

THE SECOND BOOK OF CHRONICLES<\/strong><\/p>\n

IN discussing the First Book of Chronicles we called attention to the fact that according to Usshers chronology, the two Books, not reckoning the table of genealogy, covered a space of 468 years of history; the First Book only 41 of these, and this second, 427. As to the authorship of these Books, Ezra is commonly accepted.<\/p>\n

The analysis of any book is largely the presentation of a personal view. One man divides this Second Book of Chronicles into two portions: The Reign of Solomon, chapters 1 to 9, and The Kings of Judah, chapters 10 to 36.<\/p>\n

Scofield in his reference Bible, says of this Book: It falls into eighteen divisions, by reigns, from Solomon to the captivities; records the division of the kingdom of David under Jeroboam and Rehoboam, and is marked by an ever growing apostasy, broken temporarily by reformations under Asa, Jehoshaphat, Joash, Hezekiah, and Josiah.<\/p>\n

It is our purpose to follow neither of these divisions, however natural they may be, but to discuss the volume under three heads: Solomon and the Temple; Rehoboam and the Division, and the History of Judah.<\/p>\n

<\/span>SOLOMON AND THE TEMPLE<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Book opens with a declaration concerning the new king, And Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom, and the Lord his God was with him, and magnified him exceedingly (2Ch 1:1<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em><\/p>\n

The history that follows gives occasion to say several things concerning this marvelous man of immortal reputation:<\/p>\n

First, Solomons kingship enjoyed an auspicious beginning. <\/strong>The man who ascends the throne under the favor of the Lord necessarily begins a reign of promise. If, as in Solomons case, he sensibly recognizes his responsibility and seeks wisdom from the only sufficient source, he adds greater certainty to his success. When, in addition to this, his objectives are high and God-honoring, the glory of his kingdom advances accordingly. Certainly, Solomons preparation to build the temple was not only a noble objective, but one in line with his kingly fathers purpose and prayers, and the great Heavenly Fathers will for him.<\/p>\n

The interesting history here of gathering materials and appointing men for this marvelous construction is made more interesting still by the kings personal supervision and spiritual interest. It takes some courage to conduct war, and we believe it takes almost more courage and even a clearer sense of God, to build sanctuaries, make their appointments according to the Divine pleasure, and call the people to worship within the spacious rooms of the same. Yet, when you have read but five chapters of this Book, you find such a work complete, and are not in the least amazed or even surprised to read, The glory of the Lord had filled the house of God (2Ch 5:14<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em><\/p>\n

It is doubtful whether any company of men have done more for the establishment of spirituality in the earth and for the strengthening of the souls of their fellows, than have those who brought sanctuaries into existence and led congregations of people to a genuine worship of the most high God.<\/p>\n

The on-going of this Book reveals Solomons conscious dependence. <\/strong>When the altar was erected he stood by it with outstretched hands (2Ch 6:12<\/span><\/em>).<\/em> That is the attitude of prayer and possibly of adoration. When his lips parted to speak, he says,<\/p>\n

O Lord God of Israel, there is no God tike Thee in the heaven, nor in the earth; which keepest covenant, and shewest mercy unto Thy servants that walk before Thee with all their hearts:<\/em><\/p>\n

Thou which hast kept with Thy servant David my father that which Thou hast promised him; and spakest with Thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with Thine hand, as it is this day.<\/p>\n

Now therefore, O Lord God of Israel, keep with Thy servant David my father that which Thou hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in My sight to sit upon the throne of Israel; yet so that thy children take heed to their way to walk in My Law, as Thou hast walked before Me (2Ch 6:14-16<\/em><\/span>).<\/em><\/p>\n

Now then, O Lord God of Israel, let Thy Word be verified, which Thou hast spoken unto Thy servant David (2Ch 6:17<\/em><\/span>).<\/em><\/p>\n

Then follows an appeal that Gods eyes should be open upon their house day and night; that His ears should hearken to the prayers made in that place, and if sin were committed, that forgiveness should be granted, and if the people fail before the face of the enemy because of sin that they also should be pardoned; that if heaven be shut up on the same ground, upon repentance the dearth should end.<\/p>\n

Then he concludes in a more personal petition to Him:<\/p>\n

Then what prayer or what supplication soever shall be made of any man, or of all Thy people Israel, when every one shall know his own sore and his own grief, and shall spread forth his hands in this house:<\/em><\/p>\n

Then hear Thou from Heaven Thy dwelling place, and forgive (2Ch 6:29-30<\/em><\/span>).<\/em><\/p>\n

These are only samples of the long petition that followed the dedicatory sermon. They wind up with a sentence like this: O Lord God, turn not away the face of Thine anointed: remember the mercies of David Thy servant (2Ch 6:42<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em> It is a model prayer; it is the petition of a sincere soul; it is the cry of one who knows that the mercy and love of God are the only grounds of hope.<\/p>\n

The further text records Solomons fame and death. <\/strong>That fame was based upon Solomons wisdom, accentuated doubtless by the magnificence of the temple, but made more honorable still in the extent of his organization, the luxury of his court and the wealth of his treasury.<\/p>\n

Evidently, among the rulers of the earth, the queen of Sheba held conspicuous place, and when the fame of Solomon reached her, she came to prove him with her questions, and impress him with her own riches and glory. The difficult questions were satisfactorily answered, the temple was adequately shown, the table of the king groaned with its good meats, the apparel of the servants was profoundly impressive, and the queen said to the king,<\/p>\n

It was a true report which I heard in mine own land of thine acts, and of thy wisdom:<\/em><\/p>\n

Howbeit I believed not their words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the one half of the greatness of thy wisdom was not told me: for thou exceedest the fame that I heard.<\/p>\n

Happy are thy men, and happy are these thy servants, winch stand continually before thee, and hear thy wisdom.<\/p>\n

Blessed be the Lord thy God, which delighted in thee to set thee on his throne, to be king for the Lord thy God (2Ch 9:5-8<\/em><\/span>).<\/em><\/p>\n

The compliment to the king is followed with a statement of Solomons annual income, the magnificence of his throne, the rich appointments of the palace, the extensive commercial importance of his kingdom, and the willing tributes of the earths lesser lords.<\/p>\n

Then, as if the task of telling all was too great, we have this record,<\/p>\n

Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the Prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam the son of Nebat?<\/em><\/p>\n

And Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years.<\/p>\n

And Solomon slept with his fathers, and he was buried in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead (2Ch 9:29-31<\/em><\/span>).<\/em><\/p>\n

It is a surprising end, and yet strangely true to human history. How many men spend all their days in preparing to live, and when the preparation seems almost complete, proceed to die? The last enemy is no respecter of persons. His bow is drawn against the great as well as the humble, the rich as well as the poor, the wise as well as the ignorant. Death respects neither thrones nor kings; he holds the key to the palace room, and even to the throne room. Kings may command their humbler fellows, and even counsel their equals; but where death calls, they also obey.<\/p>\n

REHOBOAM AND THE DIVISION<\/strong><\/p>\n

The emptying of a throne is forever fraught with perils. The eternal and pertinent question is this, Who shall come after the king? The tenth chapter answered that concerning the throne of Israel. The answer was an ill omen! Rehoboams tyrannical spirit split the kingdom. <\/strong>When Jeroboam and all Israel came to him, saying, Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore ease thou somewhat the grievous servitude of thy father, and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we will serve thee (2Ch 10:4<\/em><\/span><\/em>), <\/em>they delicately referred to the increased taxation to which the luxurious court and the personal orgies of Solomon had given rise. They thought, as people commonly do, that the new rule would prove the peoples friend. Their hope was in vain.<\/p>\n

The old men, former counselors of Solomon, advised kindness and compassion; but the young bloods, spoiled by their fellowship with royalty, counseled increased oppression; and under their influence he said,<\/p>\n

My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add thereto: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions (2Ch 10:14<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em><\/p>\n

It was enough. The war was on; and that war has never ended until this day, for Israel and Judah are not yet one. A man who divides brethren and sets them to battle, little understands the infinite reach of his mischief. The father of Modernism in America, when he fell asleep at a comparatively early age, little dreamed that he had set influences to work that would divide every denomination on the continent, destroy the fellowship of men who loved one another as twins are commonly supposed to love, wreck schools and churches by the thousand, and start a war that may easily exceed the famous Hundred Year War of history.<\/p>\n

Israel and Judahblood brothersbecame the bitterest of enemies. <\/strong>For some reason Second Chronicles pays little attention to Israel, but proceeds to trace Judahs history to the year of Cyrus, king of Persia, or through a period of almost a half millennium. The family feud occasionally projects itself into the record, but for the most part, Israel is forgotten, and the doings of Judah are recorded in detail.<\/p>\n

The explanation of this is found in the circumstance that Jeroboam rejected the worship of Jehovah (2Ch 11:14-15<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em> When God is once put away, when Gods priest is disposed of, and His minister is heard no more, then degeneracy compels a declining record.<\/p>\n

Unitarianism three quarters of a century ago denied the Lord. Its history has amounted to little; and if it were recorded, it would simply prove, as the Jeroboam movement, a breeding place of apostasy; and yet this record regards not one apostasy only, but two.<\/p>\n

The man of many favors may forget God.<\/strong><\/p>\n

When Rehoboam had established the kingdom, and had strengthened himself, he forsook the Law of the Lord, and all Israel with him (2Ch 12:1<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em><\/p>\n

What a sad commentary on the uncertainty and unstability of human nature! The explanation of Rehoboams failure has fitted thousands, yea millions of cases. He did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord (2Ch 12:14<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em> Of all disappointments, none exceed thisto begin well and end badly; to give promise and create disappointment; to be the subject of Divine favor, and become the slave of Gods adversary.<\/p>\n

THE HISTORY OF JUDAH<\/strong><\/p>\n

Chapters 11 to 36 contain the roster of kings. The<\/strong> fortunes of the country answer accurately and inevitably to the characters of their rulers.<\/strong> On the whole, the history is a down-grade. In that respect, it runs true to form. The doctrine of evolution may find an illustration in national life if it goes from the simple to the complex, but in so far as it contends for improvement, history fails to illustrate it. Degeneracy of nations has more often taken place than has social and moral progress.<\/p>\n

The foundations of Judah were laid under David; the kingdoms glory appeared under Solomon. From that moment until this, one word expresses Judahs coursedecline.<\/p>\n

Africa was once an advanced nation, now a heathen one; Italy once ruled the world, now she holds an inconspicuous place; Greece once represented the climax of physical and mental accomplishment, now she boasts neither. The reasons for decline are varied, but in Judah they were one the God who had made her great was too often forgotten, too willingly offended. When the nations neglect the source of their strength, weakness naturally ensues. Judahs strength was in the Lord, and when her kings forgot Him, despised His Word, entered into unholy alliances that were followed by the people, her fame declined, and her land fainted.<\/p>\n

The mixed social condition manifested her sinfulness. <\/strong>We have a phrase, Like people, like priest. We can paraphrase that, Like princes, like people. The study of these kings results in no compliment to human nature. Some of them were utterly evil; most of them were a mixture of the good and bad; two or three of them were sound. Among the utterly evil ones, Jehoram, Ahaziah, Athaliah, Manasseh, Amon and Jehoiakin held first place. The ones that represent a mixture of good and bad were Jeroboam, Jehoshaphat, Joash, Amaziah, Uzziah, Jehoiakim; while the truly good consisted of Jotham, Hezekiah and Josiah. In all probability the reign of each of these good kings was profoundly affected and made spiritually fruitful by the ministry of Isaiah, the greatest preacher among Old Testament Prophets. It is perhaps a fact of history that no rulers have ever proven faithful to God without the stimulating and salutary influence of the Gospel ministry.<\/p>\n

The judgments and mercies of Second Chronicles alike vindicate Jehovah.<\/strong> In this record wickedness does not go unpunished; and yet it is a marvelous revelation of Divine mercy.<\/p>\n

There is never the least sign of penitence on the part of the ruler and the people without an immediate and generous response from Jehovah.<\/p>\n

When Jehoshaphat declined in his loyalty and effected a sinful coalition with Ahab, judgment fell; but instantly upon his repentance, mercy was shown. Judgment is always and everywhere Gods strange work, the work in which He takes no pleasure. As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Eze 33:11<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em><\/p>\n

Mercy is His nature, His essential character, for to the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness. He that covereth his sins shall not prosper; but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy (Pro 28:13<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

CRITICAL NOTES.] This chapter describes the holy furniture of the temple and the court (2Ch. 4:1-10<\/span>); the brass works of Huram (2Ch. 4:11-18<\/span>); and the golden vessels of the sanctuary (2Ch. 4:19<\/span>; ch. 2Ch. 5:1<\/span>; cf.<\/em> 1Ki. 7:48-51<\/span>).<\/p>\n

2Ch. 4:1-10<\/span><\/em>.The furniture of the temple court<\/em>. 2Ch. 4:1<\/span>. Altar<\/em>, of burnt offering, dimensions not given in Kings. 2Ch. 4:2-5<\/span>. Brazen sea (cf.<\/em> 1Ki. 7:23-26<\/span>). Oxen<\/em>, true reading appears to be knops, colocynths, or flower buds, as in 1Ki. 7:24<\/span>. The word seems to have come in by mistake from the next verse [Murphy<\/em>]. 2Ch. 4:4-5<\/span>. The exact words of Kings used until last clause of 2Ch. 4:5<\/span>. Lilies<\/em> (2Ch. 4:5<\/span>), like a lily flower (marg.). 2Ch. 4:6<\/span>. Ten lavers<\/em> placed in the court, five on south and five on north side; used for washing utensils; sea for bathing of the priests. 2Ch. 4:7<\/span>. Candlesticks<\/em> made after the pattern of that by Moses (Exo. 25:31<\/span>). Form<\/em>, no allusion to shape, but to express what more fully given 2Ch. 4:20<\/span>. 2Ch. 4:8<\/span>. Ten tables<\/em>, one in tabernacle. 2Ch. 4:9<\/span>. Court<\/em>, inner court (1Ki. 6:36<\/span>). Great court<\/em> for the congregation. 2Ch. 4:10<\/span>. Sea<\/em>, great brazen sea, placed between the brazen altar and the porch, a little south (1Ki. 7:39<\/span>), where the laver before the tabernacle formerly stood (Exo. 30:18<\/span>).<\/p>\n

2Ch. 4:11-18<\/span><\/em>.The brass works of Huram. Pots<\/em>, buckets for carrying ashes from altar. Shovels<\/em> to lift them from altar. Basins<\/em> to receive and pour blood upon altar. 2Ch. 4:12-16<\/span>. Various things (1Ki. 7:40-47<\/span>). Pommels<\/em>, balls on top of chapiter<\/em>, upper parts, or capital of column. Pomegran<\/em>. (1Ki. 7:20<\/span>). 2Ch. 4:14<\/span>. Bases<\/em> mentioned first time, ornamental stands for lavers. 2Ch. 4:16<\/span>. Father<\/em>i.e.<\/em>, his master-workman, as 2Ch. 2:13<\/span>. 2Ch. 4:17<\/span>. Thick clay<\/em> of the ground. Suc<\/em>. lay beyond Jordan, south of the Jabbok. Zared.<\/em>, Zarthan. (1Ki. 7:46<\/span>), probably name of place in time of writer. 2Ch. 4:18<\/span>. Found out<\/em>, so freely used that weight was not taken.<\/p>\n

2Ch. 4:19-22<\/span><\/em>.Golden vessels of the sanctuary<\/em> (1Ki. 7:48-51<\/span>). Tables, the table<\/em> in Kings, perhaps the shew-bread never put on more than one of the ten at a time [Speak. Com.<\/em>]. 2Ch. 4:20<\/span>. Candlesticks<\/em>, law of burning, Exo. 27:20-21<\/span>; Lev. 24:2-3<\/span>. 2Ch. 4:21<\/span>. Flowers<\/em>, lamps, &c. (cf.<\/em> Exo. 25:31-39<\/span>; 1Ki. 7:49<\/span>). 2Ch. 4:22<\/span>. Entry<\/em>, the door frame; the doors<\/em>, the door leaves. These were overlaid with gold.<\/p>\n

HOMILETICS<\/em><\/p>\n

THE FURNITURE OF THE HOLY COURT.2Ch. 4:1-10<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

A continued account of the furniture, things made of brass and of gold. Without and within types of good things to come. Here furniture in open court, in view of all the people, of great significance. <\/p>\n

1. The altar of brass<\/em>. Twenty cubits (30ft.) square, by ten cubits (15ft.) high. Larger than that in Tabernacle. Israel more numerous and richer, should be more devout. When God enlarges our borders and business we should increase our gifts. The burnt offerings an impressive, instructive sight, before the people in the court. <\/p>\n

2. The sea of brass<\/em>. For the same purpose as the Laver in Tabernacle, washing hands and feet of priests while ministering at the altar. Ten cubits (15ft) in diameter, by five cubits (7ft.) in height, and raised higher by standing upon 12 brazen oxen. Reminding that God requires sanctity in all that approach him. Those that draw nigh must cleanse their hands and purify their hearts (Jas. 4:8<\/span>). <\/p>\n

3. The ten lavers<\/em> (2Ch. 4:6<\/span>). They were set upon wheels to move about, and used for the ablution of sacrifices. Not only the priests, but the sacrifices must be washed. We must purify our persons and performances. Iniquity cleaves to our holy things. <\/p>\n

4. The ten golden candlesticks<\/em> (2Ch. 4:7<\/span>). Only one in Tabernacle. Light increases. Divine direction was given to increase the number of tables for shew-bread and candlesticks for light. <\/p>\n

5. The ten tables<\/em>. Five on right side and five on the left; to which belonged 100 basins or dishes of gold (2Ch. 4:7<\/span>). <\/p>\n

6. The golden altar<\/em>, on which incense was burnt (2Ch. 4:19<\/span>); probably enlarged in proportion to the brazen altar. Christ makes atonement and intercedes for ever in virtue of that atonement. But what use<\/em> all this splendid furniture? Not for mere display, but utility. Talents, education, the furniture of mind not given for mere polish, but practical use. Outward adornment, material grandeur only of service when leading to spiritual results.<\/p>\n

THE MOLTEN SEA.2Ch. 4:2-5<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

I. Its use<\/strong> suggests purification for Gods service. Priests and people unfit without this. Holiness becomes Gods house and Gods servants. Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord. <\/p>\n

II. Its size<\/strong> suggests abundant provision for purification. Not a laver, but a sea; kept full and overflowing for constant use. A type of that fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and uncleanness. <\/p>\n

III. Its construction.<\/strong> <\/p>\n

1. The material precious and durable.
2. The oxen, sacrifices of priests, emblems of strength and patiencelooking all ways. The blessings procured by a holy priesthood would be universally diffused [Adapted<\/em>].<\/p>\n

THE BRASS WORKS OF HIRAM.2Ch. 4:11-18<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

A detailed enumeration of principal articles executed for sacred edifice (cf.<\/em> 1Ki. 7:14-46<\/span>). <\/p>\n

I. The articles which Hiram made.<\/strong> Hiram skilled in work in gold, silver, and iron; in wood and stone; in purple, blue, fine linen and in crimson (2Ch. 2:14<\/span>); but chiefly metal work or works in brass contributed. Works splendid in material, bright brass (1Ki. 7:45<\/span>); numerous in quantity, in great abundance (2Ch. 4:18<\/span>), and suitable in style. <\/p>\n

II. The foundry at which they were prepared.<\/strong> In neighbourhood of Succoth and Zarthan, in valley of Jordan, where the soil is marl. What natural abundant provision for man in the earth! If brass or bronze was not smelted and alloyed by Hiram, but received from Syria as a tribute in manufactured form, yet he would melt it down for casting (1Ch. 18:8<\/span>). Furnaces would be required and filled with metal. Moulds made in the ground and national foundry erected far from the capital, which would not be annoyed by smoke and noxious vapours. Thus we have civilisation in its beginning, progress, and end.<\/p>\n

AN ANCIENT CONTRACT.2Ch. 4:11-18<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Hiram finished the work that he was to make for King Solomon (2Ch. 4:11<\/span>). The agreement in 2 Chronicles 11<\/span>. <\/p>\n

I. The contractor.<\/strong> An eminent Tyrian artizan, skilled in great variety of departments; appointed for his great natural ability to superintend the execution of all works of art in the temple; and a faithful, diligent man, worthy of all confidence. <\/p>\n

II. The articles for which he contracted.<\/strong> Numerous and most valuable, well-finished and most suitable. The best material and the best workmanship. <\/p>\n

III. The completion of the contract.<\/strong> He made an end of doing all the work (1Ki. 7:41<\/span>). Finished the work and all<\/em> the work. No breach of contract; no delay. Everything completed in time; gave satisfaction; and becomes a model transaction.<\/p>\n

THE ENTRY OF THE HOUSE.2Ch. 4:22<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

This central, conspicuous, and attractive, suggesting<\/p>\n

I. Access to God in Christian worship.<\/strong> God great and man sinful. The door might have been for ever closed; but, in love. Jehovah directs in building a house, promises to dwell in it, and invites men to meet him there. Let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. <\/p>\n

II. Access to symbolic beauty in Christian worship.<\/strong> Perfection of gold<\/em>, or material prosperity given to God. Palms<\/em> indicating growth and fruitfulness in Christian life; flowers<\/em>, emblems of beauty and fragrance in Christian character; cherubims<\/em>, suggestive of alacrity in Gods service. Thought is expressed in forms of art. Beauty pleases the senses, originates in the mind the ideal, calls imagination into play, and exercises wonderful fascination over man. Delight, love, and reverence touch the heart, emotions arise and action result.<\/p>\n

We live by admiration, hope, and love;
And even as these are well and wisely fixed,
In dignity of being we ascend.<\/p>\n

HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS<\/em><\/p>\n

2Ch. 4:6<\/span>. Ten lavers. Ten<\/em> symbol of completeness. Their position<\/em> in court, five on the north, and five on south side. Their us<\/em> for washing parts of offering. Furniture of splendid skill, labour, and expense.<\/p>\n

2Ch. 4:5<\/span>. With flowers of lilies<\/em>, lit. like a lily flower<\/em>. Consider<\/p>\n

1. That there is an acceptableness in a good and true work in itself, but much more by relation; that is, when it is rendered as to God. We must come to do our best, because we are doing it for the Lord.
2. The soundness and honesty of service in Gods spiritual temple.
3. As some of Hirams work was lily work (cf.<\/em> 1Ki. 7:22<\/span>), so, majesty crowned with gracefulness will be found in all the Divinest thoughts. <\/p>\n

1. The pillars must be before the florid ornamentation;
2. But beauty is also in Gods sanctuary, and upon the top of the pillars was lily work [G. J. Proctor<\/em>]. In reviewing the whole chapter, we learn<\/p>\n

1. The beautiful in Christian architecture; the temple an example and stimulus.
2. Art in Christian service; subservient to mans highest needs and Gods glory. <\/p>\n

3. The symbolic in Christian worship. The O.T. dispensation a picture adapted to infant minds and first stages of divine instruction, a shadow (dim sketch) of things to come (Col. 2:17<\/span>; Heb. 10:1<\/span>).<\/p>\n

ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 4<\/p>\n

2Ch. 4:14<\/span>. Bases and lavers<\/em>. No heathen parallel to these bases and lavers; the whole arrangement, so full of meaning, appears quite peculiar to the Israelitish temple, for nothing of the kind is found anywhere else, either on Egyptian or Assyrian monuments [Thenius<\/em>].<\/p>\n

2Ch. 4:19-22<\/span>. Gold. Symbolic art<\/em>. It is an incarnation of fancy, and is a sort of petrified poetry, or concrete rhetoric. It is the blossom of the art-tree, whose root is thought, and whose trunk it imagination. It is inventive, imitational, and composite. Let our students follow nature boldly and lovingly, but not servilelylearning to compose as she doesnot following her laws without laying down his own. Above all, let him remember that ornamentation is to art what words are to thought, and that if design and architecture are dead, no ornamentation, however beautiful, can give them life. It will be, at the best, but a wreath of flowers round the pale brow of the corpse.<\/p>\n

O powers<\/p>\n

Illimitable! tis but the outer hem
Of Gods great mantle our poor stars do gem<\/p>\n

[Ruskin<\/em>].<\/p>\n

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

3. BUILDING THE TEMPLE (2Ch. 3:1<\/span> to 2Ch. 5:1<\/span>)<\/p>\n

TEXT<\/strong><\/p>\n

2Ch. 3:1<\/span>. Then Solomon began to build the house of Jehovah at Jerusalem on mount Moriah, where Jehovah, appeared unto David his father, which he made ready in the place that David had appointed, in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 2. And he began to build in the second day of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign. 3. Now these are the foundations which Solomon laid for the building of the house of God. The length by cubits after the first measure was three-score cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits. 4. And the porch that was before the house, the length of it, according to the breadth of the house, was twenty cubits, and the height a hundred and twenty; and he overlaid it within with pure gold. 5. And the greater house he ceiled with fir-wood, which he overlaid with fine gold, and wrought thereon palm-trees and chains. 6. And he garnished the house with precious stones for beauty: and the gold was gold of Parvaim. 7. He overlaid also the house, the beams, the thresholds, and the walls thereof, and the doors thereof, with gold; and graved cherubim on the walls.<\/p>\n

8. And he made the most holy house: the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house, was twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits; and he overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents. 9. And the weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. And he overlaid the upper chambers with gold.
10. And in the most holy house he made two cherubim of image work; and they overlaid them with gold. 11. And the wings of the cherubim were twenty cubits long: the wing of the one cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house; and the other wing was likewise five cubits, reaching to the wing of the other cherub. 12. And the wing of the other cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house; and the other wing was five cubits also, joining to the wing of the other cherub. 13. The wings of these cherubim spread themselves forth twenty cubits: and they stood on their feet, and their faces were toward the house. 14. And he made the veil of blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and wrought cherubim thereon.
15. Also he made before the house two pillars of thirty and five cubits high, and the capital that was on the top of each of them was five cubits. 16. And he made chains in the oracle, and put them on the tops of the pillars; and he made a hundred pomegranates, and put them on the chains. 17. And he set up the pillars before the temple, one on the right hand, and the other on the left; and called the name of that on the right hand Jachin, and the name of that on the left Boaz.<\/p>\n

2Ch. 4:1<\/span>. Moreover he made an altar of brass; twenty cubits the length thereof, and twenty cubits the breadth thereof, and ten cubits the height thereof. 2. Also he made the molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass; and the height thereof was five cubits; and a line of thirty cubits compassed it round about. 3. And under it was the likeness of oxen, which did compass it round about, for ten cubits, compassing the sea round about. The oxen were in two rows, cast when it was cast. 4. It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea was set upon them above, and all their hinder parts were inward. 5. And it was a handbreadth thick; and the brim thereof was wrought like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily: it received and held three thousand baths. 6. He made also ten lavers, and put five on the right hand, and five on the left, to wash in them; such things as belonged to the burnt-offering they washed in them; but the sea was for the priests to wash in.<\/p>\n

7. And he made the ten candlesticks of gold according to the ordinance concerning them; and he set them in the temple, five on the right hand, and five on the left. 8. He made also ten tables, and placed them in the temple, five on the right side, and five on the left. And he made a hundred basins of gold. 9. Furthermore he made the court of the priests, and the great court, and doors for the court, and overlaid the doors of them with brass. 10. And he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward, toward the south.
11. And Huram made the pots, and the shovels, and the basins. So Huram made an end of doing the work that he wrought for king Solomon in the house of God: 12. the two pillars, and the bowls, and the two capitals which were on the top of the pillars, and the two networks to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars, 13. and the four hundred pomegranates for the two networks; two rows of pomegranates for each network, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were upon the pillars. 14. He made also the bases, and the lavers made he upon the bases; 15. one sea, and the twelve oxen under it. 16. The pots also, and the shovels, and the flesh-hooks, and all the vessels thereof, did Huram his father make for king Solomon, for the house of Jehovah, of bright brass. 17. In the plain of the Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredah. 18. Thus Solomon made all these vessels in great abundance: for the weight of the brass could not be found out.
19. And Solomon made all the vessels that were in the house of God, the golden altar also, and the tables whereon was the showbread; 20. and the candlesticks with their lamps, to burn according to the ordinance before the oracle, of pure gold; 21. and the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs of gold, and that perfect gold; 22. and the snuffers, and the basins, and the spoons, and the firepans, of pure gold. And as for the entry of the house, the inner doors thereof for the most holy place, and the doors of the house, to wit, of the temple, were of gold.<\/p>\n

2Ch. 5:1<\/span>. Thus all the work that Solomon wrought for the house of Jehovah was finished. And Solomon brought in the things that David his father had dedicated, even the silver, and the gold, and all the vessels, and put them in the treasuries of the house of God.<\/p>\n

PARAPHRASE<\/strong><\/p>\n

2Ch. 3:1<\/span>. Finally the actual construction of the Temple began. Its location was in Jerusalem at the top of Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to Solomons father, King David, and where the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite had been. David had selected it as the site for the Temple. 2. The actual construction began on the seventeenth day of April in the fourth year of King Solomons reign. 3. The foundation was ninety feet long and thirty feet wide. 4., A covered porch ran along the entire thirty-foot width of the house, with the inner walls and ceiling overlaid with pure gold! The roof was 180 feet high. 5. The main part of the Temple was paneled with cypress wood, plated with pure gold, and engraved with palm trees and chains. 6. Beautiful jewels were inlaid into the walls to add to the beauty; the gold, by the way, was of the best, from Parvaim. 7. All the walls, beams, doors, and thresholds throughout the Temple were plated with gold, with angels engraved on the walls.<\/p>\n

8. Within the Temple, at one end, was the most sacred roomthe Holy of Holiesthirty feet square. This too was overlaid with the finest gold, valued at $18,000,000. 9. Twenty-six-ounce gold nails were used. The upper rooms were also plated with gold.
10. Within the innermost room, the Holy of Holies, Solomon placed two sculptured statues of angels, and plated them with gold. 11, 12, 13. They stood on the floor facing the outer room, with wings stretched wingtip to wingtip across the room, from wall to wall. 14. Across the entrance to this room he placed a veil of blue and crimson finespun linen, decorated with angels.
15. At the front of the Temple were two pillars 52 feet high, topped by a 7 foot capital flaring out to the roof. 16. He made chains and placed them on top of the pillars, with 100 pomegranates attached to the chains. 17. Then he set up the pillars at the front of the Temple, one on the right and the other on the left. And he gave them names: Jachin (the one on the right), and Boaz (the one on the left).<\/p>\n

2Ch. 4:1<\/span>. He also made a bronze altar thirty feet long, thirty feet wide, and fifteen feet high. 2. Then he forged a huge round tank fifteen feet across from rim to rim. The rim stood 7 feet above the floor, and was forty-five feet around. 3. This tank was set on the backs of two rows of metal oxen. The tank and oxen were cast as one piece. 4. There were twelve of these oxen standing tail to tail, three facing north, three west, three south, and three east. 5. The walls of the tank were five inches thick, flaring out like the cup of a lily. It held 3,000 barrels of water. 6. He also constructed ten vats for water to wash the offerings, five to the right of the huge tank and five to the left. The priests used the tank, and not the vats, for their own washing.<\/p>\n

7. Carefully following Gods instructions, he then cast ten gold lampstands and placed them in the Temple, five against each wall; 8. he also built ten tables and placed five against each wall on the right and left. And he molded 100 solid gold bowls. 9. Then he constructed a court for the priests, also the public court, and overlaid the doors of these courts with bronze. 10. The huge tank was in the southeast corner of the outer room of the Temple.
11. Huramabi also made the necessary pots, shovels, and basins for use in connection with the sacrifices. So at last he completed the work assigned to him by King Solomon: 1216. The construction of the two pillars, The two flared capitals on the tops of the pillars, The two sets of chains on the capitals, The 400 pomegranates hanging from the two sets of chains on the capitals, The bases for the vats, and the vats themselves, The huge tank and the twelve oxen under it, The pots, shovels, and fleshhooks. This skillful craftsman, Huramabi, made all of the above-mentioned items for King Solomon, using polished bronze. 17, 18. The king did the casting at the claybanks of the Jordan valley between Succoth and Zeredah. Great quantities of bronze were used, too heavy to weigh.
19. But in the Temple only gold was used. For Solomon commanded that all of the utensils, the altar, and the table for the Bread of the Presence must be made of gold; 20. also the lambs and lampstands, 21. the floral decorations, tongs, 22. lamp snuffers, basins, spoons, and firepansall were made of pure gold. Even the doorway of the Temple, the main door, and the inner doors to the Holy of Holies were of gold.<\/p>\n

2Ch. 5:1<\/span>. So the Temple was finally finished. Then Solomon brought in the gifts dedicated to the Lord by his father, King David. They were stored in the Temple treasuries.<\/p>\n

COMMENTARY<\/strong><\/p>\n

Moriah was located on the Eastern side of the city of Jerusalem. It may well have been the place where Abraham went to offer Isaac (Gen. 22:2<\/span>), although some stoutly dispute this. It is identified as the location of Ornans threshing floor where David offered the sacrifice that stopped the plague (1Ch. 21:18<\/span>). The place was already hallowed by sacrifice.[49] It was on an elevation commanding attention from all sections of Jerusalem. There seemed to be no doubt that this was Jehovahs choice for the building site for the Temple. Why Solomon waited until the fourth year of his reign is not clear. He might have wanted the beginning to coincide exactly with the four hundred eightieth anniversary of the release from Egypt (1Ki. 6:1<\/span>). He could have been so busy setting up his kingdom, entering into contracts with other countries, that he could not begin the work any earlier. We suggest that the date when the Temple was begun was about 967 B.C. This historian was careful to mark the second day of the second month for this important event. The rest of chapters three and four describe the Temple as it was built.<\/p>\n

[49] Clarke, Adam, A Commentary and Critical Notes, Vol. II, p. 638. Spence, H. D. M. The Pulpit Commentary, II Chronicles, p. 31.<\/p>\n

The dimensions of the Temple proper (the Holy Place and the Oracle) were sixty cubits by twenty cubits. The Tabernacle had measured thirty cubits by ten cubits. The exact length of the cubit cannot now be determined. It is estimated to have varied between sixteen and twenty-one inches. The usually accepted standard for the cubit is eighteen inches. The porch served as an introduction to the Holy Place and is said to have measured twenty cubits in length and one hundred and twenty cubits in height. There was nothing like this in connection with the Tabernacle. 1Ki. 6:3<\/span> describes the porch as twenty cubits long and ten cubits broad, no reference being made to its height. Since the Temple measured thirty cubits in height, the porch would appear to be considerably out of proportion if it was one hundred cubits high. There is no satisfactory way to settle this matter. The interior of the porch was overlaid with pure gold. The skilled artisans who constructed the Tabernacle were experts in gold overlay. In this later day, Huram and his fellow craftsmen brought their finest skills to these tasks.<\/p>\n

The greater house (2Ch. 3:5<\/span>) was the Holy Place. The imported fir or cypress wood from Lebanon was used to cover the interior of the Holy Place. Artists carved palm trees and chains of wreathen work in this beautiful wood all of which was then overlaid with gold. This gold overlay would most likely be in the form of a transparency highlighting the grain of wood and the beauty of the carvings in the wood. The use of precious stones was not mentioned in the records in I Kings. 1Ch. 29:2<\/span> describes Davids collection of onyx stones, all kinds of precious stones, and marble stones. These were used in beautifying the interior of the Holy Place. The gold of Parvaim (2Ch. 3:6<\/span>) is difficult to identify because the location of Parvaim is unknown. It may describe a kind of gold of rare quality. The complete interior of the Holy Place was carved with cherubim (winged figures) and overlaid with gold. The priest would enter through the golden porch. In the Holy Place the priest walked on a golden floor, looked on walls and ceiling of gold.<\/p>\n

The most holy house (the Oracle) measured twenty cubits in all three dimensions. It was a perfect cube (1Ki. 6:20<\/span>). The most holy place in the Tabernacle was ten cubits in all three dimensions. Since the height of the holy place was thirty cubits, there was another room ten cubits high above the Oracle. This room most likely contained the upper chambers which also were overlaid with gold. A very lavish proportion of gold (600 talents) was applied to the Most Holy Place as an overlay. This Oracle must have been a place of exquisite beauty defying description.<\/p>\n

The cherubim in the tabernacle were fashioned out of the gold that formed the mercy seat, the cover for the ark. These were winged figures beneath whose wings the glory of Jehovah rested. These cherubim were in the Temple when the ark was moved into the Oracle. In addition to these cherubim, two cherubim of olivewood (1Ki. 6:23<\/span>) were made to hover over the ark. Each cherub was overlaid with gold and had a wingspan of ten cubits. The ark rested between these cherubim and the tip of a wing of each cherub touched a wall of the Oracle. The cherubim looked toward the Holy Place. These sacred creatures always represented the presence and the unapproachableness of Jehovah. A wall divided the Oracle from the Holy Place (1Ki. 6:31-32<\/span>). Two doors of olive-wood provided entrance to the Oracle. This wall was draped with a beautiful multi-colored fine linen veil. Chains of gold were a part of this divider between the Oracle and the Holy Place (1Ki. 6:21<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Two pillars of brass were made to be set at the entrance to the Holy Place. Each of these was thirty-five cubits high with a capital five cubits high crowning the column. The account in 1Ki. 7:15<\/span> gives the height of each pillar as eighteen cubits plus the five cubit capital. These dimensions are proportionate with those of the porch. The thirty five cubits in our present reference (2Ch. 3:15<\/span>) may be explained as an error by a scribe. These pillars were ornately decorated and were situated so as to command the entrance to the Holy Place. The one on the right was named Jachin (shall establish). Boaz (in it is strength) was the name for the left pillar. Those who worshipped Jehovah and went in and out of His Temple would be strengthened and established by God.<\/p>\n

The great altar of brass was placed in the court of priests and measured twenty cubits by twenty cubits by ten cubits. The altar in the Tabernacle was five cubits by five cubits by three cubits. It has been estimated that as many as forty priests could serve at this altar at one time. The molten sea measured ten cubits in diameter. It was five cubits high and thirty cubits in circumference. The walls of the great vessel were four inches thick (a handbreadth). The reference in 1Ki. 7:26<\/span> indicates that the sea held two thousand baths. This may refer to the amount of water usually maintained in the vessel. The present reference (2Ch. 3:5<\/span>) states the capacity as three thousand baths. This may be the absolute capacity of the great sea. The estimated content of the bath as a liquid measure varies from about five to twelve gallons. The brim of this great vessel was ornamented like the flower of a lily. It set upon a curiously wrought base consisting of the figures of twelve oxen. The number twelve was typical in its representation of the twelve tribes of Israel. The brazen sea was apparently reserved for the ceremonial washings of the priests.<\/p>\n

Whereas there had been but one laver of brass in the Tabernacle, in addition to the great sea in the Temple there were ten lavers of brass. Each of these contained forty baths (1Ki. 7:38<\/span>) and was mounted on wheels so as to be mobile. These were used for the washing of the offerings and related services. Five of them were placed on either side of the court of priests.<\/p>\n

The Temple was lighted by ten golden candlesticks. Five of these were located on either side of the Holy Place. 1Ki. 7:48<\/span> mentions the table whereupon the showbread was. Here in 2Ch. 3:8<\/span> we read about ten tables and 2Ch. 4:19<\/span> refers to tables whereon was the showbread. In the cleansing of the Temple in 2Ch. 29:18<\/span> only one table of showbread is mentioned. These ten tables may have been auxiliary to the other services in the Holy Place. The basins of gold would be used in the ministries in the Holy Place. The setting up of the court of priests in which the great altar, the sea, and the lavers were located was accomplished by laying a marble pavement and enclosing the court with three courses of hewn stone and a course of cedar beams (1Ki. 7:12<\/span>). The great court, or court of Israel enclosed the court of priests and like the other court, it too, was paved and protected by the rock wall.<\/p>\n

All of the utensils necessary to the work of the Temple were made by Huram. He completed the pillars of brass with all of their intricate decorations (four hundred pomegranates). The place where the casts were prepared for the works of brass was beyond the Jordan river near the Jabbok. The clay in that region was very useful for this purpose. So much brass was used in the Temple that no attempt was made to keep a record of it. The golden altar of incense, the candlesticks properly ornamented, the snuffers for servicing the lights, the firepans (golden censers), the doors for the Holy Place and the Oracle were all made according to the pattern by the master craftsman, Huram.<\/p>\n

LESSON FIFTEEN 58<\/strong><\/p>\n

THE ARK AND THE TEMPLE.
SOLOMONS PRAYER OF DEDICATION.
A GREAT FESTIVAL. SOLOMON AS KING.<\/p>\n

3. BUILDING THE TEMPLE-Continued (35:1)<\/p>\n

INTRODUCTION<\/strong><\/p>\n

The ark was set in the Holy of Holies. The Temple was finished. When the prayer was completed, the Temple was filled with the light of the glory of God. Solomon established himself as the king of Israel.<\/p>\n

TEXT<\/strong><\/p>\n

(Scripture text<\/strong> in Lesson Fourteen)<\/p>\n

PARAPHRASE<\/strong><\/p>\n

(Scripture text<\/strong> in Lesson Fourteen)<\/p>\n

COMMENTARY<\/strong><\/p>\n

Solomon was faithful in all matters that pertained to the Temple. Those vessels that were specifically designed for the Temple services were completed according to their respective patterns. In addition to these there were many sacred vessels acquired in Davids day and dedicated to Jehovah. These were placed in special rooms set apart for such treasures. The building of the Temple was complete in the eleventh year of Solomons reign after seven years of diligent work on the magnificent structure (1Ki. 6:38<\/span>). Solomon called a great assembly of elders and princes to a meeting in Jerusalem for the purpose of bringing the ark of the covenant into the Temple. Although the Temple was not completed until the eighth month, this significant event of bringing in the ark took place in the seventh month. The seventh month, Tisri, was the first month of the civil year. The first day of this month was the Hebrew New Year. The tenth day was the Day of Atonement. The Feast of Tabernacles was celebrated through eight days beginning on the fifteenth day of the month. Through several years the ark had been kept in the tent David had set up for it in Jerusalem. On this important occasion the ark, the Tent, the furnishings and utensils of the old Tabernacle were carried into the Temple. Here is a beautiful picture of the progress of Jehovahs self-revelation. Having completed His purpose with regard to the old Tabernacle, He now causes it to be folded away and laid in storage rooms in the Temple. In its place a grand new institution was brought into being. The day would come when the Temple would have fulfilled its purpose. It too, would be removed, and in its place the grandest institution of all, the Church, would be brought on the scene. The assignment for moving the ark and the Tabernacle was given to the Levites, To underscore the consecration of the king and the people, great numbers of sacrifices were offered. We would assume that these offerings were presented on the altar of burnt offering in the court of priests at the Temple. Of all the parts of the Old Tabernacle, only the ark of the covenant would actually be used in the Temple. Once the ark had contained the tables of the Law, a pot of manna, and Aarons rod. The only treasure in the ark when it was brought into the Temple were the tables of the Law. The manna and Aarons rod probably had been removed by the Philistines when they had the ark in Samuels day. The ark was carried into the Oracle and placed beneath the extended wings of the large cherubim which were built for the Oracle. The curious note concerning the staves is not clear. The staves were to remain in the rings of the ark at all times so that it could readily be lifted to the shoulders of priests and moved at Jehovahs direction. The ark with its staves in place was in the Oracle at the time that the writer of II Chronicles completed his record. So the most sacred vessel out of the old Tabernacle was placed in the holiest part of the Temple.<\/p>\n

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

(a)<\/em> THE PRINCIPAL VESSELS OF THE TEMPLE<\/strong> (2Ch. 4:1-10<\/span>).<\/p>\n

THE BRAZEN ALTAR<\/strong> (2Ch. 4:1<\/span>).<\/p>\n

(l) An altar of brass.<\/strong>The brazen altar, or altar of burnt offering, made by Solomon, is not noticed in the parallel chapters of Kings (1 Kings 6, 7<\/span>) which describe the construction of the temple and its vessels of service, but it is incidentally mentioned in another passage of the older work (1Ki. 9:25<\/span>), and its existence seems to be implied in 1Ki. 8:22<\/span>; 1Ki. 8:64<\/span>. This altar stood in the inner court of the temple. It rose from a terraced platform. (Comp. Eze. 43:13-17<\/span>.) The Hebrew of this verse is such as to suggest that it must have existed in the original document. The style is the same. (Comp. the construction of the numerals with the noun, and note the word qmh,<\/em> height, now used for the first time by the chronicler.) It would appear, therefore, that the verse has been accidentally omitted from the text of Kings.<\/p>\n

THE BRAZEN SEA<\/strong> (2Ch. 4:2-5<\/span>).<\/p>\n

(Comp. 1Ki. 7:23-26<\/span>.)<\/p>\n

(2) Also he made a molten sea.<\/strong>And he made the sea<\/em> (i.e., the great basin) molten<\/em>i.e.,<\/em> of cast metal.<\/p>\n

Of ten cubits<\/strong> . . .<\/strong> thereof.<\/strong>Ten in the cubit from its lip to its lip, circular all round; and five in the cubit was its height.<\/em> Word for word as in 1Ki. 7:23<\/span>, save that Kings has one different preposition (ad,<\/em> unto, instead of el, to). Lip. Comp. lip of the sea, Gen. 22:17<\/span>; lip of the Jordan, 2Ki. 2:13<\/span>; a metaphor which is also used in Greek.<\/p>\n

And a line of thirty cubits<\/strong> . . .<\/strong>Line, i.e.,<\/em> measuring-line, as in Eze. 47:3<\/span>. The Hebrew is qw.<\/em> In Kings we read a rare form, qwh.<\/em> The rest of the clause is the same in both texts.<\/p>\n

Did compass.<\/strong>Would compass,<\/em> or go round it.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/strong> The Altar, the Molten Sea, and the Lavers<\/p>\n

v. 1. Moreover, he,<\/strong> Solomon, through the craftsmen engaged by him, made an altar of brass, twenty cubits the length thereof and twenty cubits the breadth thereof and ten cubits the height thereof,<\/strong> to which the priests probably ascended by an inclined pathway. The weight of this altar, if the thickness of its walls was only three inches, must have been at least two hundred tons. <\/p>\n

v. 2. Also he made a molten sea,<\/strong> cast from bronze or brass, of ten cubits from brim to brim,<\/strong> that is, in diameter, round in compass, and five cubits the height thereof; and a line of thirty cubits,<\/strong> in a rough measurement, did compass it round about,<\/strong> the exact circumference being not quite 31 cubits. It was a large reservoir for the water used by the priests and Levites in the performance of their duties, especially for the many washings enjoined upon them. <\/p>\n

v. 3. And under it,<\/strong> cast together with the flower-buds which were beneath its rim, 1Ki 7:24<\/span>, was the similitude of oxen, which did compass it round about: ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about,<\/strong> serving for ornamentation. Two rows of oxen were cast when it was cast,<\/strong> the sea with its decorations was cast at the same time, in the same mold. <\/p>\n

v. 4. It stood upon twelve oxen,<\/strong> which bore the great reservoir on their backs, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east; and the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward,<\/strong> their heads looking out from under the brim. <\/p>\n

v. 5. And the thickness of it was an handbreadth and the brim of it like the work of the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies,<\/strong> rather, like the blossom of a lily; and it received and held three thousand baths,<\/strong> that is, its full capacity, when used as a reservoir, was so much; when not in actual use, it held two thousand baths, 1Ki 7:26<\/span>. <\/p>\n

v. 6. He made also ten lavers,<\/strong> 1Ki 7:38<\/span>, smaller receptacles for water, which could be moved about on wheels, as the washing of the sacrificial animals required it, and put five on the right hand and five on the left, to wash in them. <\/strong> Such things as they offered, that is, the flesh of the animals, for the burnt offering they washed in them; but the sea was for the priests to wash in,<\/strong> the water probably being drawn out below by means of faucets. <\/p>\n

v. 7. And he made ten candlesticks of gold according to their form,<\/strong> in place of the one made by Moses for the Tabernacle, Exo 25:31-40<\/span>, and set them in the Temple,<\/strong> that is, the Holy Place, not the court, as in the case of the lavers, five on the right hand and five on the left. <\/p>\n

v. 8. He made also ten tables,<\/strong> stands for the ten candlesticks, and placed them in the Temple, five on the right side and five on the left. And he made an hundred basins of gold,<\/strong> bowls or tankards used for the drink-offerings. Note: All the washings of the Old Testament worship were typical of the time of the New Testament, where we have a lasting fountain for sin and for uncleanness in the blood of Christ. <\/p>\n

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

EXPOSITION<\/strong><\/p>\n

This chapter is occupied with some account of the contents <\/em>of the house, following naturally upon the account of the structure, dimensions, and main features of the building given in the previous chapter. The parallel, so far as it goes, is found in 1Ki 7:1-51<\/span>. and 8.<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:1<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

An altar of brass<\/strong>. This in worthier material superseded the temporary altar of the tabernacle (Exo 27:1<\/span>, Exo 27:2<\/span>), made of shittim wood, and its dimensions five cubits long and broad and three cubits high. Large as was the present altar of brass as compared with the altar that preceded, it fell far short of the requirements of the grand day of dedication (1Ki 8:64<\/span>). No statement of the making of this altar occurs in the parallel. The place of it would be between 2Ch 4:22<\/span> and 23 of 1Ki 7:1-51<\/span>. But that Solomon made it is stated in 1Ki 9:25<\/span>, and other references to its presence are found in 1Ki 8:22, 1Ki 8:54<\/span>, 1Ki 8:64<\/span>, etc. The position given to the altar is referred to alike in 1Ki 8:22<\/span> and 2Ch 6:12<\/span>, 2Ch 6:13<\/span>, as in the court of the temple. It may be well to note that the altar, sacrifice, <\/em>comes first, and is first spoken of.<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:2<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

A molten sea<\/strong>. The Hebrew of this verse and of 1Ki 7:23<\/span> are facsimiles of one author, except that here stands, where the parallel shows , probably the fruit merely of some error in transcription. Verses like these point not to the derivation of Chronicles from Kings, but rather of both from some older common source. This sea of brass superseded the laver of the tabernacle (Exo 30:18<\/span>, Exo 30:28<\/span>; Exo 31:9<\/span>; Exo 35:16<\/span>; Exo 39:39<\/span>). It was called a sea on account of its size. We are told in 1Ch 18:8<\/span> whence David had drawn the supplies of metal necessary for this work. The size of the diameter measured from upper rim to rim (ten cubits) harmonizes, of course, to all practical purposes, with that of the circumference (thirty cubits); it would assist questions connected with the contents of this large vessel, however, if we had been told whether the circumference were measured at the rim, or, as the form of language here used might slightly favour, round the girth. (For these questions, see 1Ch 18:5<\/span> below.) This sea for the washing of the priests significantly follows the altar. Beside the general suggestion of the need of purification or sanctification, it here reminds of the fact that the earthly priest and high priest must need the purification, which their great Antitype would not need.<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:3<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The similitude<\/strong> of oxen. <\/strong>The parallel gives simply “knops” (i.e. <\/em>flower-buds) in the room of this expression, and no word “similitude” at all, the characters spelling the word for “knops” being , and those for “oxen” being . The presence of the word “similitude” strongly suggests that the circles of decoration under description showed the likenesses of oxen, not necessarily (as Patrick) “stamped” on the so-called knops, but possibly constituting them. For the ambiguous under it of our present verse the parallel says with definiteness, “under the brim of it.” There is intelligibility, at all events, in the ornamentation being of these miniature oxen, presumably three hundred in the circle of the thirty cubits. The symbolism would harmonize with that which dictated the superposition of the enormous vase on twelve probably life-size oxen. There is a general preference, however, accorded to the opinion that the present text has probably been the result of some copyist’s corruption, and that the text of the parallel should be followed.<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:4<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The words of the Hebrew text of this verse and the parallel (1Ki 7:25<\/span>) are facsimiles.<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:5<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

An handbreadth<\/strong>. Not , “a span”, but , “the palm of the open hand,” the breadth of the four fingers, which Thenius puts at 3.1752 inches, but Conder’s table at 2.66 inches. It received and held should be translated, it was able <\/em>to hold<\/em>. Three thousand baths. The parallel has two thousand baths, and this latter is the likelier reading. It is, however, conceivable that the statement of Kings may purport to give the quantity of water used, and that of Chronicles the quantity which the vessel at its fullest could accommodate. As to the real capacity of the bath, we are hopelessly at sea. Josephus’s estimate of it is about eight gallons and a half, that of the rabbinists about four gallons and a half, and Conder, in the ‘Handbook to the Bible,’ p. 80, a fractional quantity above six gallons. The largest bowls on the Assyrian bas-reliefs, the silver bowl of Croesus, and the bronze bowl in Scythia (Herodotus, 1.51; 4.81), did not, under the lowest estimate of the bath, hold as much as one-half of the contents of this vast sea of brass of Solomon. The use of this vessel was, as we read in the next verse, for the priests to wash in, or, as some would read, to wash at (Exo 30:18-20<\/span>).<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:6<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

This verse, with 2Ch 4:14<\/span>, 2Ch 4:15<\/span>, are all here that represent the lengthy account of bases rather than layers, occupying in the parallel verses 27-39 of 1Ki 7:1-51<\/span>, which, however, omits to state the use of either sea or layers.<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:7<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ten candlesticks of gold<\/strong>. The only allusion to these in the parallel is found later on in part of the forty-ninth verse of 1Ki 7:1-51<\/span>. According to their form. This expression, though so vague, might point to the fact that the form of the old candlestick of the tabernacle was adhered to (Exo 25:31<\/span>). But considering the recurrence of the same words (1Ki 7:20<\/span>), there can be no doubt that the phrase is identical in its meaning with the use found in such passages as Le 1Ki 5:10<\/span>; 1Ki 9:16<\/span>, and means “according to the prescribed ordinance,”<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:8<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ten tables<\/strong>. These tables also (the use of which is given in 2Ch 4:19<\/span>) are not mentioned, so far as their making is concerned, in the parallel, except in its summary, verse 48 (cf. 1Ki 7:1-51<\/span>.), where furthermore only one table, called “the table” (Exo 25:23<\/span>), is specified, with which agrees our 2Ch 29:18<\/span>. It is hard to explain this variation of statement. It is at least an arbitrary and forced explanation to suppose that ten tables constituted the furniture in question, while only one was used at a time. Keil and Bertheau think that the analogy of the ten candlesticks points to the existence of ten tables. The question, however, is, where is the call for, or where are the indications of any analogy? An hundred basins of gold<\/strong>. The Hebrew word employed here, and translated “basins,” is , as also 2Ch 29:11, 2Ch 29:22<\/span>, infra; <\/em>and 1Ki 7:40<\/span>, 1Ki 7:45<\/span>, 1Ki 7:50<\/span>; Exo 27:3<\/span>; Exo 38:3<\/span>; Num 4:14<\/span>; but it is represented as well by the English translation “bowls” in 1Ch 28:17<\/span>; 2Ki 25:15<\/span>; Num 7:13<\/span>, Num 7:19<\/span>, etc. The “pots,” however, of our Num 7:11<\/span>, Num 7:16<\/span> has for its Hebrew . It were well if, in names such as these, at any rate, an absolute uniformity of version were observed in the translation, for the benefit of the English reader, to say nothing of the saving of wasted time for the student and scholar. These basins, <\/em>or bowls<\/em>, were to receive and hold the blood of the slain victims, about to be sprinkled for purification (see Exo 24:6-8<\/span>, where the word is used; Exo 29:12<\/span>, Exo 29:10<\/span>, Exo 29:20<\/span>, Exo 29:21<\/span>; Le Exo 1:5<\/span>, and passim; <\/em>Heb 9:18-20<\/span>; see also Exo 38:3<\/span>; Num 4:14<\/span>,) The Hebrew word , whether appearing in our version as” basin”‘ or “bowl,” occurs thirty-two times, sixteen in association exactly similar with the present (viz. Exo 27:3<\/span>; Exo 38:3<\/span>; Num 4:14<\/span>; 1Ki 7:40<\/span>, 1Ki 7:45, 1Ki 7:50<\/span>; 2Ki 12:13<\/span>; 2Ki 25:15; 1Ch 28:17<\/span>; 2Ch 4:8<\/span>, 2Ch 4:11, 2Ch 4:22<\/span>; Neh 7:70<\/span>; Jer 52:18<\/span>, Jer 52:19<\/span>; Zec 14:20<\/span>), fourteen as silver bowls <\/em>in the time of the tabernacle for the meat offering of “fine flour mingled with oil” (viz. Num 7:13<\/span>, Num 7:19<\/span>, Num 7:25<\/span>, Num 7:31<\/span>, Num 7:37<\/span>, Num 7:43<\/span>, Num 7:49<\/span>, Num 7:55<\/span>, Num 7:61<\/span>, Num 7:67<\/span>, Num 7:73<\/span>, Num 7:79<\/span>, Num 7:84<\/span>, Num 7:85<\/span>), and the remaining two in an entirely general application (Amo 6:6<\/span>; Zec 9:15<\/span>). It is evident, therefore, that the was not the only vessel used for holding the <\/strong>blood of purification, nor was it exclusively reserved to this use.<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:9<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The court of the priests<\/strong>. The construction of this court of the priests, withheld here, given there, leaves it ambiguous whether the “three rows of hewed stones and one row of cedar beams “intends a description of fence, as the Septuagint seems to have taken it, or of a higher floor with which the part in question was dignified. The citation Jer 36:10<\/span>, though probably pointing to this same court, can scarcely be adduced as any support of J. D. Michaelis’ suggestion of this latter, as its (translated “higher”) does not really carry the idea of the comparative degree at all. For once that it is so translated (and even then probably incorrectly), there are twenty occurrences of it as the superlative excellentiae. <\/em>The introduction just here of any statement of these courts at all, which seems at first inopportune, is probably accounted for by the desire to speak in this connection of their doors and the brass overlaying of them. It is worthy of note that the word employed in our text, as also 2Ch 6:13<\/span>, is not the familiar word of all previous similar occasions, but , a word of the later Hebrew, occurring also several times in Ezekiel, though not in exactly the same sense, and the elementary signification of the verb-root of which is “to gird,” or “surround.”<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:10<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The right side of the east end, over against the south<\/strong> (so also 1Ki 7:39<\/span>; comp. Exo 30:18<\/span>). The sea found its position, therefore, in the place of the tabernacle laver of old, between altar of brass and porch. It must be remembered that the entrance was east, <\/em>but it was counted to a person standing with the back to the tabernacle or temple, as though he were, in fact, going out, not entering in, the sacred enclosure; therefore on the right side <\/em>will be southward, <\/em>as written in this verse.<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:11<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The pots<\/strong>. As stated above, the Hebrew word is . It occurs in the Old Testament twenty-seven times; it is translated in our Authorized Version “pans” once and “caldrons” four times. By a manifest copyist’s error, the parallel (1Ki 7:35<\/span>) has , “layers,” by the use of caph<\/em> for samech. <\/em>The use of the was to boil the peace offerings, though some say they were hods in which to carry away the ashes; and it certainly is remarkable that it is no one of the words employed in 1Sa 2:14<\/span>. In addition to these twenty-seven times, it occurs also four <\/em>times in Ecclesiastes, Isaiah, Hosed, Nahum, with the meaning of “thorns,” and once in Amos it is translated “fish-hooks.” The passage in Ecclesiastes (Ecc 7:6<\/span>) is additionally remarkable, in the fact that the root occurs twice in the same sentence in its different significations, e.g.<\/em> “the crackling of thorns <\/em>under a pot.” The shovels<\/strong>. The Hebrew word is . This word occurs in the Old Testament nine timesin Exodus, Numbers, Kings, Chronicles, and Jeremiah. The use of the shovel <\/em>was to remove the ashes. The basins<\/strong> should very probably read flesh-hooks.<\/em><\/p>\n

2Ch 4:12<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The pommels<\/strong>. The Hebrew word is , translated in the parallel “bowls.” The word occurs in the Old Testament twelve times, and is translated six times (in Judges and Joshua)” springs,” four times “bowls,” and twice “pommels.” It was an architectural ornament to the capital, in shape like a ball. The chapiters<\/strong>. The Hebrew word is , occurring twenty-three times or more, and always translated thus; in modern architecture, the head or capital <\/em>of the pillar. The two wreaths<\/strong>. The word is , occurring fifteen times, and translated seven times “net-work,” five times “wreath,” or “wreathen-work,” once a “snare,” once “checker-work,” and once a “lattice.” These wreaths <\/em>were of some lace pattern plaiting and festoons of fancy chain-work. The fuller expression of them is found in 1Ki 7:17<\/span>, though in description not more distinct, certainly”nets of checker-work, and wreaths of chain-work.”<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:13<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Four hundred pomegranates<\/strong>. This number of pomegranates substantially agrees with the parallel (1Ki 7:20<\/span>), There were two hundred of them on each wreath that encircled the chapiter. The pomegranate was a favourite ornament in work as well as in more solid architectural forms (Exo 28:33<\/span>, Exo 28:34<\/span>). The popularity of the fruit as food (Num 13:23<\/span>; Num 20:5<\/span>; Deu 8:8<\/span>; Jos 15:32<\/span>; Jos 21:25<\/span>), its simple beauty to the eye (So 2Ch 4:3<\/span>,2Ch 4:13<\/span>), and its welcome homeliness, will quite account for this beside any symbolic significance that may have become attached to it. The description of the pomegranate as a fruit may be found in any Bible dictionary, but especially in Tristram’s ‘Natural History of the Bible.’<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:14<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Bases<\/strong>. The first mention of these in Chronicles, on which so much is said in the parallel (1Ki 7:27-39<\/span>). The Hebrew word is , occurring eighteen times in Kings, twice in Chronicles, once in Ezra, and three times in Jeremiah. These bases were, as may be learnt more fully in the parallel, pedestals of brass four cubits square by three and a half high, supported by wheels a cubit and a half in diameter. The pedestals were richly decorated with mouldings, and with the similitudes of lions, oxen, and cherubim, and with other subordinate ornamental work, and were designed to bear the layers, the use of which is given in verse 6. Verses 6-16 in our chapter strongly suggest, in their repetitiousness, the writer’s resort to different sources and authorities for his matter.<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:16<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Flesh-hooks<\/strong>. Hebrew, , occurring twice in Exodus (Exo 27:3<\/span>; Exo 38:3<\/span>), once in Numbers, and twice in Chronicles. Another form of the same root, occurs twice in Samuel, in the same sense of “flesh-hook” (1Sa 2:13<\/span>, 1Sa 2:14<\/span>), where also its use is made dramatically plain. Huram his father<\/strong>; i.e. <\/em>his chief artist.<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:17<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

In the plain in the clay<\/strong>; i.e. <\/em>in the Ciccar (or round, <\/em>equivalent to the New Testament “region round about “) of Jordan, a distinctive designation of the Jordan valley. The region here intended lies east of the river, in what became the division of Gad. Succoth<\/strong> lay a little to the north of the river Jabbok, which flows almost east to west into the Jordan. Zeredathah; <\/strong>i.q. Zarthan <\/em>of 1Ki 7:46<\/span>; and this latter is in the Hebrew also the same in characters and all with the Zaretan <\/em>of Jos 3:16<\/span>. Very possibly the place is the same as Zererath <\/em>(Jdg 7:22<\/span>). The exact sites of these places are not known, though the range within which they all lay is clear. The clay ground<\/strong>; that is,” the clay of the ground “(Hebrew). The radical idea of the word here translated “clay” is “thickness,” which should not be rendered, as in margin, “thicknesses.” The word () occurs in all thirty.five times, and is rendered a large proportion of these times “clouds” or “thick clouds” (e.g.<\/em> Exo 19:9<\/span>), clouds being presumably thicknesses <\/em>in air; but if the subject-matter in question be in wood, or growing timber, or the ground, the word is rendered conformably “thick planks” (1Ki 7:6<\/span>; Eze 41:25<\/span>, Eze 41:26<\/span>), or “thickets” (Jer 4:29<\/span>), or “clay” (as here), to distinguish from other lighter or more friable soil.<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:20<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Candlesticks lamps, that they should burn after the manner before the oracle. <\/strong>Ten candlesticks, as we learn here and in 2Ch 4:7<\/span>, supersede in Solomon’s temple the one <\/em>candlestick, with its central shaft lamp, and the three branch lamps on either side of Moses and the tabernacle. This single candlestick was restored in Zerubbabel’s temple. The present ten candlesticks, <\/em>or strictly candelabra, of Solomon are said at one time to have been placed in a row like a rail before the veil, and connected with a chain under which the high priest went on the Day of Atonement into the inner sanctuary. The removal of these candelabra is recorded Jer 52:19<\/span>. The expression, “after the manner,” points to the various and somewhat minute regulation for the lighting, trimming, and keeping alight of the lamps, <\/em>all or some, of the candelabra (Exo 27:19-21<\/span>; Le Exo 24:1-3<\/span>). The use of the word for “lamp” () in some passages (1Sa 3:3<\/span>; 2Sa 21:17<\/span>; Pro 13:9<\/span>; Pro 20:27<\/span>; Psa 18:29<\/span>)suggests not the part as used for the whole in speaking of the candelabrum, but more probably that the perpetual <\/em>burning was not of all seven lamps, but of one, the central shaft.<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:21<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The flowers<\/strong>; Hebrew, , occurring sixteen times, of which number it is translated” flowers “thirteen times, “buds” twice, and “blossom” once. The flower was <\/em>a part of the ornamentation of the branches of the candelabrum (Exo 25:31<\/span>, Exo 25:33<\/span>). The tongs<\/strong>; Hebrew, , occurring six times, of which number it is translated five times “tongs,” but once “snuffers” (Exo 37:23<\/span>). This latter is the correcter translation, perhaps. The instrument, at any rate, was to trim the lamp-wicks (Exo 25:38<\/span>).<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:22<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The snuffers<\/strong>; Hebrew, , occurring five times, and always translated “snuffers.” A slightly different form of the word is translated “pruning-hooks “four times in the Prophets Isaiah, Joel, Micah. No doubt these snuffers <\/em>were something different from the tongs <\/em>of the preceding verse; the use of one may have been rather to cut the wicks, and the other to trim them. The spoons; <\/strong>Hebrew, . This is the word used so often for the “hand,” but the essential idea of which is the hollow <\/em>of either hand or <\/strong>foot or other thing, and among other things of a spoon shape. The word is used of the frankincense-cups (Num 7:14<\/span>, Num 7:20<\/span>, Num 7:26<\/span>) brought to the dedication of the tabernacle by the several princes. The censers; <\/strong>Hebrew, ,werbeH ;. These were “snuff-dishes” (Exo 25:38<\/span>; Exo 37:23<\/span>; Num 4:9<\/span>). The entry<\/strong> of the house; <\/strong>Hebrew, . Some think this word refers to the door-frames, <\/em>as distinct from the door-leaves or doors themselves. But the parallel (1Ki 7:50<\/span>) gives us what is translated as “hinges” (Hebrew, ), a word that occurs only here in any such sense, as presumably (Gesenius, ‘ Lexicon ‘) “the hollowed part of a hinge,” and Isa 3:17<\/span> for the pudenda muliebria. <\/em>The mistaken transcribing of a kheth <\/em>for a tau<\/em> <\/em><\/strong>will amply account for the difference.<\/p>\n

HOMILETICS<\/strong><\/p>\n

2Ch 4:1-22<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The altar, the sea, the light, and the bread.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The homiletics of this chapter, viewed in certain general aspects, have been already treated with those of 2Ch 3:1-17<\/span>. But it remains to notice other interesting and important aspects of the contents of this chapter. As soon as these are exhibited in such a manner as to make their relative importance apparent, they do indeed become of marked interest.<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> First, and no doubt first in importance, we read of the great ALTAR<\/strong> OF<\/strong> BRASS<\/strong>. The contents of the temple begin from this. The sacrifice<\/em> is the great feature; nay, the great fact. of worship on the part of the Church on earth. By this early forecast of prophecy; by the earlier of the tabernacle; by the much earlier of the patriarchs’ house and family; by one earlier even than thatby the earliest of all, <\/em>just outside the garden of Eden, and “eastward” of it, and in the presence of “cherubim” and “flaming sword” there,the sacrifice<\/em> is what Scripture brings prominently to our view. Take note also of the “golden altar” (verse 19). Well may it be that, though in every corruptest form of religion, no heathen tribe that emerges to view in our wide fields of missionary enterprise needs to be taught one <\/em>thing, viz. the place of “sacrifice and offering” in religion, the call for it, the efficacy of it. Can we deny, all charity granted, that the lesson all this teaches nothing short of blindness can fail to see and acknowledge!<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> We notice that, second in order, comes the great SEA<\/strong> OF<\/strong> MOLTEN<\/strong> BRASS<\/strong>, with its symbolic lily-flower ornamentation. The use of the “molten sea” is expressly stated. That use reminds us primarily of the need on the part of the priests of old, and of those of modern day, who in even a more real sense take their place, of all<\/em> cleanness of hand, of deed, of word, of thought, of conscience; furthermore, of the perpetually recurring need of the cleansing and renewing of their spirit; and of this most solemn thought, that even in their holiest work impurity and defilement may be first contracted, and most disastrously. And then, by all most just and certain of inference, it reminds all <\/em>believers, all servants of God and our Lord Jesus Christ, all saints and faithful, of their perpetual need of such purification as consists of self-examining and self-watching together with the direct and only all-sufficing sanctification of the Holy Ghost.<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> We notice, third in order, the TEN<\/strong> LAVERS<\/strong>. These, for the washing of the victims and sacrificial offerings themselves, remind us what pure offerings and genuine sacrifices all that we bring to God should be; broken and contrite hearts, simplest motives, genuine affections, and the outward objective gifts we bring, not merely ungrudged, butbest proof of the sameof our best, of what may have cost us self-denial, some preparation, some honest labour to make them a little less unworthy of the Master’s work. To bring the blemished, to bring what we can so utterly dispense with, that we either do not know it is gone, or are glad to know it, is, in plain words, to bring polluted <\/em>offerings.<\/p>\n

IV.<\/strong> We find, next in order, the TEN<\/strong> GOLDEN<\/strong> CANDLESTICKS<\/strong>, each probably of sevenfold lamps. They were for actual light. They were typical of that yet more actual spiritual <\/em>light that must ever be present in the true Church, must ever be witnessed to by it, and which must ever be shed forth from the true Church. We are not to forget that these, too, were made from the pattern shown in the mount. And the various and beautiful Scripture references to them are most animating to think of (see, for instance, Zec 4:1-3<\/span>, Zec 4:11-14<\/span>; Rev 1:12<\/span>, Rev 1:13<\/span>, Rev 1:20<\/span>; Rev 2:1<\/span>; Rev 11:3-5<\/span>).<\/p>\n

V.<\/strong> We have next THE<\/strong> TEN<\/strong> TABLES<\/strong> on which was placed the shewbread, which lay there one week, and was after that to be eaten by the priests alone. Though it is not distinctly revealed what the twelve loaves of shewbread intended, the very mystery left hanging about it enhances our interest in it, since high importance is repeatedly attached to the mention of it. It must justly be regarded as an ordinance; <\/em>it must surely typify nourishment, and that not the mere nourishment of the body, but of very spiritual life. It was the shewbread<\/em>, i.e. of God; <\/em>the presence-bread, i.e. <\/em>of God. Was it not one perpetual standing type of the Bread of lifethe Bread <\/em>that was to come down from heaven for the life of the world?<\/p>\n

And after these five leading declarations of the contents of the temple, and the preparation of them, there follow descriptions of several lesser ones, all beautiful, all pure and costly in their material, each with its distinct tributary service and use. Distinct attention may be invited to the seventeenth verse, specifying the place where King Hiram cast the precious metal vessels, and the pillars, etc. It must not be said that this statement may not be important, and may serve merely some perhaps evidential <\/em>use at some time or another, in corroborating the general contents of this holy history.<\/p>\n

Yet, if it be so, the mere suggestions it inevitably excites are worth giving some expression to. The moral suggestions of the clay ground and thickened clay, by help of which and in which the finest vessels, and most enduring monuments of metal were cast and fashioned, are fruitful. They may recall to us the very mould original of that body into which the Almighty breathed the breath of life, and countless instances in the history of the individual and of the Church, when the Master-Potter has indeed shown his sovereign power and unchallengeable right over the clay. Out of it, what vessels of grace and beauty and enduringness has not he fashioned! by aid of it, and all its humiliation, what grand results to character, discipline, and sanctification, has not he brought about! andnot the least encouragement to our faith and patience in trial, in affliction, in the horrible pit and miry clayhow has the very contrast astonished and delighted the beholding Church and world, between the methods used and the Divine results obtained! But the humble sufferer himself has been not a mere admiring beholder. His tears have been turned into smiles and joy; and even on earth he has learnt how the “suffering” has been outweighed beyond all estimate by gain, advantage, and that which he best knows to be the earnest of a certain “eternal weight of glory.”<\/p>\n

HOMILIES BY W. CLARKSON<\/strong><\/p>\n

2Ch 4:1-6<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Acceptable worship.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“He made an altar of brass.” This is a simple sentence enough, but it is one which had a great significance to the people of God. For to that brazen altar they came for many generations, and there they either worshipped\/ God and gained his Divine favour, or they failed to do the one and to secure the other. It was the place of sanctity or profanation, of victory or defeat. It, with the various regulations that applied to it and provisions that were made for it, taught them, and it teaches us<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> THAT<\/strong> MAN<\/strong> MAY<\/strong> MEET<\/strong> WITH<\/strong> GOD<\/strong>, IN<\/strong> WORSHIP<\/strong> AND<\/strong> COMMUNION<\/strong>. God is not so far removed from us in his nature, nor are we so separated from him by our sin, but that he is willing to draw nigh to us, is indeed desirous of meeting us. He is the Infinite and Eternal One, imeasurably above us; but he is our heavenly Father, profoundly interested in us and mindful of us. He is the Holy One, who hates all manner of iniquity; but he is also the Merciful One, delighting to forgive and to restore. He, therefore, not only permits his human children to meet him at his altar, in the sanctuary, but he positively enjoins this as a sacred duty; he is displeased when we neglect to do so. But, apart from its obligatoriness, it is “a good thing” for us, an exalted privilege and a most valuable opportunity, “to draw nigh to God.”<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> THAT<\/strong> THERE<\/strong> HE<\/strong> SHOULD<\/strong> SEEK<\/strong> GOD<\/strong>‘S MERCY<\/strong>. This altar of brass was to receive sacrifices; and among these, sin offerings and trespass offerings were to be conspicuous. We are to draw near to the God whom we have grieved and wronged, with the language of confession on our lips, pleading the great sacrifice as a propitiation for our sin.<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> THAT<\/strong> THERE<\/strong> HE<\/strong> SHOULD<\/strong> DEDICATE<\/strong> (RE<\/strong>–DEDICATE<\/strong>) HIMSELF<\/strong> TO<\/strong> HIS<\/strong> SERVICE<\/strong>. Burnt offerings (holocausts) and peace offerings as well as sin offerings were presented at that brazen altar. In the house of the Lord we are to consecrate our whole selves to <\/em>him, and are to recognize that all we have and are is his, to be spent in his fear and service.<\/p>\n

IV.<\/strong> THAT<\/strong> HE<\/strong> MUST<\/strong> SEE<\/strong> TO<\/strong> IT<\/strong> THAT<\/strong> BOTH<\/strong> HIMSELF<\/strong> AND<\/strong> HIS<\/strong> SACRIFICE<\/strong> ARE<\/strong> PURE. <\/strong>In that “molten sea<\/em>“ <\/em>(2Ch 4:2<\/span>) the priests were to wash, that they themselves might be unspotted when engaged in their sacred work. And in the layers (2Ch 4:6<\/span>) they were to wash “such things as they offered for the burnt offering,” the “gifts and sacrifices themselves.” Both offerers and offerings were to be perfectly pure when the Holy One of Israel was approached in worship. And with what purity of heart should we draw nigh to him now! It is only those who have “clean hands and a pure heart” that can “see God,” or that will be accepted by him. It is only those who worship “in spirit” who worship <\/em>him at all (Joh 4:24<\/span>). And as now we allthe whole Christian communityare “priests unto God,” and are charged to present “spiritual sacrifices” unto him, it becomes us to remember that both<\/p>\n

(1)<\/strong> our own hearts <\/em>and also<\/p>\n

(2)<\/strong> our sacrifices, i.e.<\/em> our thoughts, our feelings, our purposes, our vows, our prayers, our praises, must be “clean” and pure We <\/em>must be clean who “bear the vessels of the Lord,” who speak his truth, who lead his people in prayer to himself. And the spiritual “gifts” of all who worship him must be cleansed of all impurity, of all selfishness and worldliness, of all insincerity, of all unholy rivalry or envy, that they may “come up with acceptance” in the sight of God.C.<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:7<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Lights in the world.<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are many difficulties and disagreements about the spiritual significance of the temple furniture; but there is a general agreement as to the meaning of the “candlestick,” or of these “ten candlesticks of gold” to which the text refers. As in the “Divine compartment” of the “most holy place” the Shechinah was the symbol of the Divine presence, and spoke of the Lord God of Israel as the one true Light of the world, so in the human department of the “holy place’ these lights were the symbol of the Hebrew Church, regarded as the centre and source of light in the midst of surrounding darkness. And such it was. We may well regard <\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> ISRAEL<\/strong> AS<\/strong> THE<\/strong> SOURCE<\/strong> OF<\/strong> LIGHT<\/strong>. Perhaps rather as the possessor than the source, for communication between neighbouring countries was very much more limited then than it is now; and it was in its later days that the Jew was such a traveller and such a propagandist. But from the time that God made himself and his will known to Moses, down to the birth of Christ, Divine truth was known in Israel as it was not known elsewhere, and “salvation was of the Jews,” as our Lord declared. Comparing the theological and ethical ideas of the people of God with those of contemporary peoples, we see how really enlightened they were. And some of the most essential doctrines, on which all Divine wisdom, and all moral excellency, and all national prosperity, and all individual well-being must always rest, were carried by the worshippers of Jehovah to Egypt, to Persia, to Rome, to still more distant countries. The light that shone in the sanctuary went forth and illumined a large space.<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> CHRISTIAN<\/strong> CHURCH<\/strong> AS<\/strong> A SOURCE<\/strong> OF<\/strong> LIGHT<\/strong>. Said the great Teacher to his disciples, and through them to his Church for all time, “Ye are the light of the world.” The Apostle Paul wrote to his converts at Ephesus, and through them to us, “Ye are light in the Lord.” And it becomes us to do two things.<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. Manifest the great characteristic of lightpurity. <\/em>To “walk as children of light, in all goodness and righteousness and truth” (Eph 5:8<\/span>, Eph 5:9<\/span>); as the servants of him who himself “is light, in whom is no darkness at all;” to be “holy as he is holy.”<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. Discharge the great function of lightto reveal. <\/em>To “make manifest” (Eph 5:13<\/span>) those great verities which renew and sustain and ennoble us in heart and life. We are so <\/em>to let our light shine that men may see our good works, and glorify our Divine Father. It does not take any prolonged study, or any range of experience, or any remarkable talent, to cause men to know the redeeming truths which restore them to God; which give them spiritual rest and abiding joy, and a hope that will not make ashamed; which build them up in manly virtues and in Christian graces; which prepare for the heavenly kingdom. Even the humbler disciples, who claim no rank in the community, may render this valuable service.<\/p>\n

(1)<\/strong> By living a trite, faithful, earnest life, day by day, in the love of Christ;<\/p>\n

(2)<\/strong> by speaking familiar Christian truth to those who are willing to hear it, this good work can be wrought.C.<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:8<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

God’s bounty and our response.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The significance of the table of shew-bread (of which Solomon, in his desire for fulness and richness of provision, now made ten) depends on its position and on the objects it was to sustain. The table stood in the “holy place,” very near to the inner sanctuary, where the presence of God was symbolized; and it bore upon it the shewbread, or “bread of presence;” this was so called because it was “the shewbread before me always” (Exo 25:30<\/span>), continually in the presence of God. There were also some vessels (Exo 25:29<\/span>) which were probably intended to receive wine (“to pour out withal”), which was the ordinary accompaniment of bread, as the source of daily sustenance. The whole arrangement pointed to<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> A CONTINUAL<\/strong> RECOGNITION<\/strong> OF<\/strong> DIVINE<\/strong> BOUNTY<\/strong>. The bread and wine which largely constituted and adequately represented the provision for the nation’s need were placed in the near presence of God, as the One from whom they came. <\/em>It was well that the Israelites should be continually acknowledging that the fruit of the field was of Divine origin. They were very mindful and very proud of the great gift of the manna, which was a palpable and very remarkable provision from abovea clear produce of the power and goodness of God. They would be in danger of thinking that there was less of the Divine in the annual harvest; for this was, in part, the result of their own labour, and came gradually, by ordinary and gradual processes of nature. But Divine goodness and power were as truly in the latter as in the former. From God himself came the soil, the seed, the sunshine, the rain, the airs and winds of heaven; from him came the power that made all these work together for the germination, growth, and ripening of the grain; from him also came the knowledge and the skill which enabled the farmer to cultivate his ground and to secure his harvest; it was also of God’s goodness that he required of his children the putting forth of these powers, <\/em>both of body and mind, on the exercise of which so largely depended their health and character. The shewbread and the wine, standing where they stood, were a perpetual acknowledgment that all things which sustained and strengthened the nation came from the Lord their God.<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> A SOLEMN<\/strong> DEDICATION<\/strong> OF<\/strong> HUMAN<\/strong> STRENGTH<\/strong> TO<\/strong> THE<\/strong> SERVICE<\/strong> OF<\/strong> GOD<\/strong>. It was significant enough that “pure frankincense [was to be placed] on each row” of the loaves or cakes (Le 2Ch 24:7<\/span>). “The offering of incense was embodied prayer, and the placing of a vessel of incense upon this bread was like sending it up to God on the wings of devotion” (Fairbairn’s ‘Typology’). It was, therefore, “a kind of sacrifice,” and is spoken of (Le 2Ch 24:7<\/span>) as “an offering unto the Lord.” To present to God those things which are the recognized sources of sustenance and strength, is to acknowledge that our power and our resources belong to him and should be paid to him; it is, indeed, solemnly to dedicate them to his service in formal worship. We do the same thing now in our harvest thanksgiving services, and when we sing in the sanctuary hymns ascribing all our comforts and all our well-being to the good hand of our God. We only “perform our vows” when we dedicate to God, in daily life, the strength and the possessions with which he has enriched us; when we live in grateful remembrance of his love, in cheerful obedience to his will. in active and earnest endeavour to serve his children and extend his kingdom.C.<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:11-22<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Completeness in Christian service.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sacred service may be of two kinds: it may be feeble, slight, slovenly, wholly incomplete and unsatisfactory; or, on the other hand, it may be vigorous, effective, thorough, commanding the esteem of men and securing the commendation of Christ. The way in which Solomon’s temple was built brings before us the more excellent order of service. It was characterized by<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> SOLIDITY<\/strong>. The “two pillars” (2Ch 4:12<\/span>), and the character of the timber and of the gold, are suggestive of strength and solidity. Our work for Christ should have no slightness about it; it should be good, solid, durable; work that will resist the disintegrating forces about us; that may be “tried by fire” and still endure (see 1Co 3:12-15<\/span>). For such a result we must not be content with stirring the emotions; we must convince the judgment, must produce conviction in the soul, must reach and win the whole spiritual nature.<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> BEAUTY<\/strong>. The strong pillars were ornamented with pommels, with wreaths, and pomegranates (2Ch 4:12<\/span>, 2Ch 4:13<\/span>). Beauty as well as strength was in the building of the temple, and should be in the sanctuary of God, in the service of Jesus Christ (Psa 96:6<\/span>). We should introduce into the work we do for our Master all the graces that we can bringmeekness of spirit, unselfishness of purpose, conciliatoriness of tone and temper, excellency of workmanship. On the top of the pillars should be pomegranates; covering and adorning our service should be sweetness and loveliness of manner and of spirit.<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> FITNESS<\/strong>. “In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them” (2Ch 4:17<\/span>). That was obviously a more fitting place for such an operation than the near neighbourhood of the site of the temple. Everything in its own time and place. That which is wholly unfitted for the sanctuary may be quite right and altogether suitable and desirable in the hall or in the home. The fitness or unfitness of the surroundings of a work may make all the difference between the excellent and the objectionable, between the useful and the harmful.<\/p>\n

IV.<\/strong> ATTENTION<\/strong> TO<\/strong> THE<\/strong> MINUTE<\/strong>. “Hiram made the pots, and the shovels, and the basins” (2Ch 4:11<\/span>). “And the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs, made he of gold, and that perfect gold” (2Ch 4:21<\/span>). Nothing was too small or too trivial to be made by this skilled artificer, or to be made by him with the best material. There is nothing we can do in the service of our Lord that is not honourable and worthy of our manhood; nothing that we should not do to the full height of our ability.<\/p>\n

V.<\/strong> ABUNDANCE<\/strong>. (2Ch 4:18<\/span>.) It is not right that we should do our work in Christ’s vineyard in a spirit of perfunctoriness, as the workman who will do no more than is imperatively demanded of him. Ours is not a slavery; nor are we hirelings. We are the children of God; we are the friends of Jesus Christ; we are co-workers with him; his interests are ours also; we long intensely for the coming of his kingdom. We shall not do stintingly or grudgingly what we do for him. We shall not count the hours, or the days, or the weeks we spend in his service; we shall not measure the powers we employ for his glory. We shall gladly pour forth all our faculties, shall give in “great abundance” of our resources, that his Name may be extolled, and that he may be made “very high.”<\/p>\n

VI.<\/strong> PURITY<\/strong>. All these things were made “of pure gold” (2Ch 4:20<\/span>, 2Ch 4:22<\/span>); the flowers, etc; of gold, “and that perfect gold” (2Ch 4:21<\/span>). The purest gold that could be obtained was used. The thought, the feeling, the energy, that is most perfectly refined of all dross of earthliness and selfishness, should be brought to the service of the Divine Redeemer.<\/p>\n

VII.<\/strong> CONTINUANCE<\/strong>. “Hiram finished the work that he was to make” (2Ch 4:11<\/span>). “The end crowns the work.” Well is it for the Christian workman when, having endured all criticisms, having borne all rebuffs, having met and mastered all difficulties, having submitted to all disappointments, having cheerfully wrought all his labours and having struck his last stroke, he can say, “I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.” For him is a generous commendation and a large reward (Mat 25:23<\/span>).C.<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:11<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The manufacture of the temple furniture.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I. THE<\/strong> CHERUBIM<\/strong>. (2Ch 3:10-13<\/span>.)<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. Their appearance. <\/em>Colossal winged figures; but whether, like the cherubim of Ezekiel (Eze 1:6<\/span>) and of John (Rev 4:7<\/span>), possessed of four faces (of a man, of a lion, of an ox, of an eagle) and six wings, cannot be decided. Probably they had only one face, resembling that of a man. Unlike the cherubim in the tabernacle, which were “beaten out of one piece of gold” (Exo 37:7<\/span>), these were made of olive wood (1Ki 6:23<\/span>), presumably on account of its durability and firmness, qualities which induced the Greeks to select it as the best material out of which to construct idols (see Riehm, ‘Handworterbuch,’ art. “Oelbaum”). The woodwork was overlaid with gold.<\/p>\n

2. <\/strong>Their dimensions. <\/em>In height ten cubits (1Ki 6:23<\/span>); their wings were each five cubits long, or twenty cubits in all. They were thus twice as broad as high, and probably altogether double in size to those on the capporeth.<\/p>\n

3<\/strong>. Their position. <\/em>In the holy of holies, their feet upon the ground, their wings touching the walls on either side, and their faces directed towards the interior of the building, i.e.<\/em> towards the holy place, whence only an intruder could enter the secret shrine. Underneath and between their outstretched wings, the ark, with the mercy-seat and the lesser cherubim, were subsequently placed (2Ch 5:8<\/span>).<\/p>\n

4<\/strong>. Their meaning. <\/em>That similar winged figures are met with in the mythologies and religions of Oriental peoples, in particular of the Egyptians and Assyrians, does not prove the cherubim of Jewish theology to have been derived from those. That in those the beast-figure prevails, while in these the human face predominates, marks an essential distinction between the two. Hence the notion that among the Hebrews the cherubim had no higher significance than such winged creatures had in Egypt, Assyria, or Babylonwere, in short, merely symbols of the underlying idea common to Oriental religions, that the life of nature is identical with the life of God (Bahr)is to be rejected. So also is the opinion that they were purely mythical figures, like the Egyptian or Greek sphinxes (the former half-man and half-lion, the latter half-woman and half-lion), or like the colossal winged lions at the doors of Babylonian and Assyrian temples. That they represented real beings is now generally believed (Hofmann, Kurtz, Keil, Kliefoth, and others), and appears implied in the passage where they are first mentioned (Gen 3:24<\/span>). That they belonged to the same order of super-terrestrial existences as the angels and the seraphim of Scripture seems a necessary inference, from the fact that all threeangels (Psa 68:17<\/span>), seraphim (Isa 6:2<\/span>), and cherubim (2Sa 22:11<\/span>; Psa 18:10<\/span>)are depicted as attending Jehovah in his theophanies, or manifestations of himself to men. That they were different from angels may be inferred from the fact that these are never exhibited as winged, and are usually represented as Jehovah’s messengers (Psa 104:4<\/span>), which the cherubim never are. It is not so certain that they were different from the seraphim, or shining ones (Isa 6:2<\/span>): who in appearance, situation, and function resembled them, having six wings, appearing always in the vicinity of the self-revealing Jehovah, and proclaiming aloud the presence of his glory. Yet from the fact that they are commonly exhibited as bearers or upholders of the Divine throne (Eze 1:26<\/span>), whereas the seraphim surround the throne (Isa 6:2<\/span>), it may be concluded that the two, though belonging to the same order, were not the same species of being (cf. Delitzsch on Isaiah to Isa 6:2<\/span>). At the same time, whilst holding the cherubim to have been images intended to represent real existences, it need not be assumed that the actual cherubim had really the four faces of a man, of a lion, of an ox, and of an eagle. These belong to the department of symbology, in which supersensuous ideas are set forth in sensuous images. Hence, inasmuch as the human face represents the notion of intelligence, the leonine that of strength, the bovine that of endurance, and the aquiline that of keenness of vision, combined perhaps with the idea of swiftness of motion, the ascription of these to the cherubim can only mean that these heavenly beings were possessed of all the elements of a perfect life, and, as the crown and summit of creation, stood nearest God.<\/p>\n

5<\/strong>. Their function. <\/em>Comparing the Scriptures in which they are alluded to, the following may be regarded as the complex function performed by the cherubim:<\/p>\n

(1)<\/strong> To proclaim the Divine pretence, so that, wherever they are or appear, God is (Psa 18:10<\/span>; Exo 25:22<\/span>; Eze 1:26<\/span>);<\/p>\n

(2)<\/strong> to keep guard over places rendered holy by the Divine presence, so that no unholy person might irreverently intrude therein (Gen 3:24<\/span>); and<\/p>\n

(3)<\/strong> to symbolize that only beings themselves perfect could stand in the presence of the glory of God (Rev 4:8<\/span>). All three functions may be said to have been performed by the colossal figures in Solomon’s temple as well as by the smaller cherubim on the capporeth in the tabernacle.<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> ALTAR<\/strong> OF<\/strong> INCENSE<\/strong>. (Verse 19.)<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. Its material. <\/em>Like the other articles in the interior of the house, it was made of cedar wood and overlaid with gold (1Ki 7:48<\/span>). That in the tabernacle was formed of shittim wood overlaid with gold; was two cubits high, one long, and one broad; was furnished with a covering, and horns of the same wood overlaid with gold (Exo 37:25<\/span>).<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. Its position.<\/em><\/p>\n

(1)<\/strong> In the holy place; and<\/p>\n

(2)<\/strong> immediately in front of the entrance to the holy of holies, i.e. <\/em>before the curtain, or second veil.<\/p>\n

3<\/strong>. Its use. <\/em>As in the tabernacle (Exo 37:29<\/span>), so in the temple, it was intended for the burning of fragrant incense before the holy of holies day and night, to symbolize the adoration of Jehovah’s worshipping people.<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> CANDLESTICKS<\/strong>. (Verse 7.)<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. Their number. <\/em>Ten. This was demanded by the larger dimensions of the temple in comparison with the tabernacle, which con-rained only one.<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. Their form<\/em>. Each seven-branched, as in the tabernacle, i.e. <\/em>consisting of a main stalk with three branches on either side, rising to the same height as that, each of the six branches and the middle stalk being crowned with a lamp (Exo 25:31<\/span>, etc.; Exo 37:17<\/span>, etc.).<\/p>\n

3<\/strong>. Their ornaments. <\/em>Bowls, knops, and flowers, as in the tabernacle candlestick, seeing that each in the temple was constructed “according to its form.”<\/p>\n

4<\/strong>. Their utensils. <\/em>Snuffers and basins; the former to trim the wicks, the latter to receive what was removed by the process.<\/p>\n

5<\/strong>. Their use. To keep a light continually burning in the holy place and before the holy of holies (Exo 25:37<\/span>; Exo 27:20<\/span>). Their material.<\/em><\/p>\n

6<\/strong>. Of gold (verse 7), pure (verse 20), and perfect (verse 21). In this, again, they resembled the candlestick in the tabernacle (Exo 25:31<\/span>).<\/p>\n

7<\/strong>. Their position. <\/em>In the holy place, before the oracle, five on either side.<\/p>\n

8<\/strong>. Their significance. <\/em>To symbolize either<\/p>\n

(1)<\/strong> the light of God’s favour which the worshippers or the sacred community (represented by the priest who ministered in their name) enjoyed, when their sins had been first covered by the blood shed in the forecourt (Psa 36:9<\/span>; Psa 89:15<\/span>); or<\/p>\n

(2)<\/strong> the illumination which the Spirit-enlightened Church of God, collectively and individually, should shed forth upon the world (Mat 5:16<\/span>; Php 2:15<\/span>).<\/p>\n

IV.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> TABLES<\/strong> OF<\/strong> SHEWBREAD<\/strong>. (Verses 8, 19.)<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. Their number. <\/em>Ten; in the tabernacle, one.<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. Their position. <\/em>Five on either side of the holy place. The one table in the tabernacle stood upon the side of the tabernacle northward, without the veil (Exo 40:22<\/span>).<\/p>\n

3<\/strong>. Their material. <\/em>Of gold (1Ch 28:16<\/span>).<\/p>\n

4<\/strong>. Their purpose. <\/em>To receive and set forth the shewbread, or the loaves of unleavened bread, twelve on each table, which were commanded to be set before the face of Jehovah continually (Exo 25:30<\/span>).<\/p>\n

5<\/strong>. Their significance. <\/em>To symbolize religious truths which it concerned Israel to know. The “face loaves” were so called, not because with them or the eating of them the sight of God’s face was associated, but because they stood continually in God’s presence as emblematic<\/p>\n

(1)<\/strong> of the spiritual food Israel should present to God in the good works they should perform through Divine assistance, and<\/p>\n

(2)<\/strong> of the spiritual nourishment pardoned worshippers should receive from God (Exo 24:11<\/span>).<\/p>\n

V.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> BRAZEN<\/strong> ALTAR<\/strong>. (Verse 1.)<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. Its position. <\/em>In the interior of the fore court (1Ki 8:22<\/span>, 1Ki 8:64<\/span>).<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. Its dimensions. <\/em>Twenty cubits long, twenty broad, and ten high.<\/p>\n

3<\/strong>. Its material. <\/em>Brass.<\/p>\n

4<\/strong>. Its use. <\/em>To offer thereupon the burnt offerings presented by the worshippers who came to the temple.<\/p>\n

VI.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> MOLTEN<\/strong> SEA<\/strong>. (Verses 2-5.)<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. Its appearance. <\/em>A huge metallic basin, sup- ported on the backs of twelve metallic oxen”three looking toward the north, three looking toward the west, three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east,” all having their hinder parts inward. The basin had the form of a cup, decorated on the brim with flowers of lilies, underneath the brim with two rows of “knops,” ten in a cubit, therefore with three hundred in all, compassing the basin around (verse 4; cf. 1Ki 7:28<\/span>).<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. Its size. <\/em>Ten cubits in diameter and thirty in circumference, five cubits high and a handbreadth in thickness, with a capacity of three thousand, or, according to a more accurate measurement (1Ki 7:26<\/span>), two thousand baths, i.e. <\/em>upwards of twelve thousand gallons. With this may be compared the basin borne by twelve lions in the Alhambra at Granada, and the two giant sandstone vases which were found by Muller at Amathus in Cyprus, each of which was oval-shaped, thirty feet in circumference, had four handles, and rested on eight bulls, four in each half- round of the oval (see in Herzog and in Riehm, art. “Meer ehernes”).<\/p>\n

3<\/strong>. Its situation. <\/em>Between the brazen altar and the porch, on the right side of the west end, over against the south of the court (verse 10).<\/p>\n

4<\/strong>. Its use. For the priests to wash in when they came to engage in the sacrificial worship of the sanctuary (verse 6; cf. Exo 30:19-21<\/span>).<\/p>\n

5<\/strong>. Its significance.<\/em><\/p>\n

(1)<\/strong> The form and decorations of the vessel showed it was designed for priestly service. “Its form, that of an open lily cup, <\/em>corresponded to its purpose. If all budding and blossoming signified holiness and priesthood (Num 16:7<\/span>; comp. with 17:20, 23; Psa 92:14<\/span>), the flower named the white, i.e. <\/em>the lily, must have been pre-eminently the priestly one” (Bahr).<\/p>\n

(2)<\/strong> The twelve oxen on which it rested accorded with the same idea. Oxen were the principal sacrificial animals, especially for the priests (Exo 29:10<\/span>, etc.; Le Exo 4:3<\/span>, etc.; Exo 16:11<\/span>; Num 8:8<\/span>). Twelve were selected, hardly for the sake of symmetry (Thenius), or to represent the twelve months of the year (Vatke), but, like the twelve loaves of shew- bread, and the twelve lions on Solomon’s throne (1Ki 10:20<\/span>), to symbolize the twelve tribes of Israel, which also when in camp were placed, like the oxen, three to each quarter of the heavens (Num 2:2-31<\/span>).<\/p>\n

(3)<\/strong> The washing of the priests was emblematic of that inward spiritual purity without which none can approach a holy God, or render to him acceptable service (Isa 1:16<\/span>; Heb 10:22<\/span>).<\/p>\n

6<\/strong>. Its history. In <\/em>after years it was taken down from off the brazen oxen by Ahaz and set upon a pavement of stones (2Ki 16:17<\/span>); it was ultimately broken in pieces by the Chaldeans, and its brass conveyed to Babylon (2Ki 25:13<\/span>). The brazen oxen the Chaldean general transported as booty to the East (Jer 52:20<\/span>).<\/p>\n

VII.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> LAVERS<\/strong>. (Verse 6.)<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. Their material. <\/em>Brass.<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. Their number. <\/em>Ten.<\/p>\n

3<\/strong>. Their position. <\/em>Five on the right and five on the left of the brazen altar.<\/p>\n

4<\/strong>. Their appearance. <\/em>Basins resting upon bases or pedestals with wheels (verse 14), of which a minute description is given in the First Book of Kings (Joh 7:27-37<\/span>).<\/p>\n

5<\/strong>. Their dimensions. <\/em>Every laver or basin four cubits in diameter.<\/p>\n

6<\/strong>. Their contents. <\/em>Forty baths, or two hundred and forty gallons.<\/p>\n

7<\/strong>. Their use. <\/em>To wash the victims in when these were brought to the priests to be offered upon the altar.W.<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:17<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

An ancient manufactory.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I. <\/strong>To WHOM<\/strong> IT<\/strong> BELONGED<\/strong>. To Solomon the king.<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> WHERE<\/strong> IT<\/strong> WAS<\/strong> SITUATED<\/strong>. In the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredathah, both of which were in the plain of Jordan.<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> BY<\/strong> WHOM<\/strong> IT<\/strong> WAS<\/strong> MANAGED<\/strong>. By Hiram the artist.<\/p>\n

IV.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> FABRICS<\/strong> IT<\/strong> PRODUCED<\/strong>. The articles above described, all the vessels for the house of God.W.<\/p>\n

Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

. The Building of the Temple, and Making of the Holy Vessels<\/em>: 2Ch 3:1<\/span> to 2Ch 5:1<\/span>.<\/p>\n

2Ch 3:1<\/span> And Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem on mount Moriah, which was shown to his father David, and which he had prepared in the place of David, in the floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 2And he began to build in the second month, on the second1<\/span> day in the fourth year of his reign.<\/p>\n

3And this is the foundation of Solomon, to build the house of God: the length after the former measure was sixty cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits. 4And the porch that was before the length, before the breadth of the house, was twenty cubits, and the height a hundred and twenty2<\/span>; and he 5overlaid it within with pure gold. And the great house he lined with cypress, and overlaid it with fine gold, and made thereon palms and garlands 6And he garnished the house with precious stones for beauty; and the gold was 7gold of Parvaim. And he overlaid the house, the beams, the sills, and its walls and its doors, with gold, and graved cherubim on the walls.<\/p>\n

8And he made the house of the most holy, that its length before the breadth of the house was twenty cubits, and its width twenty cubits; and overlaid it with fine gold, to six hundred talents. 9And the weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold: and he overlaid the upper rooms with gold. 10And he made in the house of the most holy two cherubim of sculptured work, and overlaid them with gold. 11And the wings of the cherubim were twenty cubits long; the wing of the one was five cubits, touching the wall of the house, and the other wing five cubits, touching the wing of the other 12cherub. And the wing of the other cherub was five cubits, touching the wall of the house, and the other wing five cubits, joining the wing of the first cherub. 13The wings of these cherubim spread forth twenty cubits; and they stood on their feet, and their faces to the house.<\/p>\n

14And he made the veil of blue, and purple, and crimson, and byssus, and raised cherubim thereon.<\/p>\n

15And he made before the house two pillars of thirty and five3<\/span>cubits height; and the capital that was on the top was five cubits. 16And he made chains in the ring,4<\/span> and put them on the pillars; and he made a hundred pomegranates, 17and put them on the chains. And he set up the pillars before the temple, one on the right and one on the left; and he called the name of the right pillar Jachin, and the name of the left Boaz.<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:1<\/span> And he made an altar of brass, twenty cubits its length, and twenty 2cubits its breadth, and twenty cubits its height. And he made the sea molten; ten cubits from brim to brim, round about, and five cubits its height; 3and a line of thirty cubits compassed it about. And figures of oxen5<\/span> were under it, compassing it round about; ten in a cubit, encircling the sea around: two rows the oxen formed, cast out of its mass. 4It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking northward, and three looking westward, and three looking southward, and three looking eastward; and the sea was set on them above, 5and all their hinder parts were inwards. And its thickness was a hand-breadth, and its brim was wrought like the brim of a cup, as a lily blossom, 6holding in it (many) baths; it contained three thousand.6<\/span> And he made ten lavers, and put five on the right and five on the left, to wash in them; the work of the burnt-offering they washed in them; but the sea was for the priests to wash in. 7And he made ten candlesticks of gold, after their plan, 8and set them in the temple, five on the right and five on the left. And he made ten tables, and placed them in the temple, five on the right, and five on 9the left: and he made basons of gold a hundred. And he made the court of the priests, and the great court, and doors for the court, and overlaid the door-leaves with brass. 10And he set the sea on the right side eastward, over against the south.<\/p>\n

11And Huram made the pots, and the shovels, and the bowls: and Huram7<\/span> finished the work which he made for King Solomon in the house of God. 12The two pillars, and the balls, and the capitals on the top of the two pillars, and the two grates to cover the two balls of the capitals which were on the 13top of the pillars. And the four hundred pomegranates on the two grates; two rows of pomegranates on each grate, to cover the two balls of the capitals 14which were upon the two8<\/span> pillars. And he made9<\/span> stands, and he made lavers 15, 16upon the stands. One sea, and twelve oxen under it. And the pots, and the shovels, and the forks,10<\/span> and all their vessels, made Huram his father for King Solomon, for the house of the Lord, of bright brass. 17In the plain of Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground11<\/span> between Succoth and Zeredathah. 18dathah. And Solomon made all these vessels in great abundance; for the weight of the brass was not found out.<\/p>\n

19And Solomon made all the vessels that were for the house of God, the 20golden altar, and the tables with the shew-bread on them. And the candlesticks with their lamps, to burn after their rule before the oracle of costly gold. 21And the flowers, and the lamps, and the snuffers: this was the most 22perfect gold.12<\/span> And the knives, and the bowls, and the censers, and the extinguishers of costly gold: and the door of the house, its inner leaves to the most holy place, and the door leaves of the house for the temple, of gold.<\/p>\n

Ch 2Ch 5:1<\/span>.Then was finished all the work that Solomon made for the house of the Lord: and Solomon brought in the holy gifts of David his father; and the silver, and the gold, and all the instruments he put among the treasures of the house of God.<\/p>\n

EXEGETICAL<\/strong><\/p>\n

Preliminary Remark.From the description of the building of the temple in 1 Kings 6, 7<\/span>, the present account is distinguished1. By this, that in the introduction more precise statements are made with respect to the plan of the building, but less precise with respect to the time when it began, than there (comp. 2Ch 3:1-2<\/span> with 1Ki 6:1<\/span>); 2. By this, that our author describes, in unbroken connection, first (2Ch 3:3-17<\/span>) the magnitude and arrangement of the edifice itself, then (2Ch 4:1-22<\/span>) those of its several furnishings in the court and the sanctuary, whereas in 1 Kings 6, 7<\/span> this description meets with two considerable interruptions, inasmuch asa<\/em>. an account of a divine promise given to the king during the building (2Ch 6:11-13<\/span>), andb<\/em>. a description of a palace-building of Solomon, partly concurrent with that of the temple (2Ch 7:1-11<\/span>), are there inserted; 3. By a somewhat different arrangement of the several objects enumerated and described in 1 Kings 4<\/span>. By the greater fulness and circumstantiality of the description, as contained in 1 Kings (for example, with respect to the ten brazen stands, 1Ki 7:27-38<\/span>, which our author, 2Ch 4:14<\/span>, only slightly mentions); and 5. By the here again remarkable excerpting habit of the Chronist. In the following exposition, only that which is peculiar to our author will be fully discussed; but with regard to that which he has in common with 1 Kings, or which he, compared with the more ample details there, only briefly notices, reference will be made to the exposition of Bhr (Bibelw<\/em>. vii. pp. 3870), which is characterized by solidity and scientific ability.<\/p>\n

1. Place and Time of building the Temple: 2Ch 3:1-2<\/span>.And Solomon began . . . on mount Moriah<\/em>. Only here is the site of the temple so named; but the designation is no doubt identical with the land of Moriah ( , land of the appearing of the Lord), Gen 22:2<\/span>. The place of the celebrated sacrifice of Abraham was even that floor of Ornan on which David presented his offering, and which he had consequently chosen for the site of the temple, the hill lying north-east of Zion, which is now called the Haram, after the holy mosque of the Mahommedans standing on it. Comp. Rosen, Das Haram<\/em>, Gotha 1866, and the plan and description in Ph. Wolffs Jerusalem<\/em> (3d edit. 1872), p. 89 ff.Which was shown to his father David<\/em>, as the future site of the temple; see 1Ch 21:15<\/span> ff. Against this most usual exposition it may certainly be objected (with Keil) that the Niphal<\/em> elsewhere denotes, not be shown, but be seen, appear. Yet the rendering of Keil: where He (Jehovah) appeared to his father David (so also the Sept.), has this defect, that the subject Jehovah has to be supplied, and that has to be taken in the sense of , as elsewhere only in the phrase (Ew. 331, c<\/em>, 3)(and) which he had prepared in the place of David<\/em>, which site he (Solomon) had prepared on the place fixed by David. So Berth., Kamph., etc., and in the main Luther, Starke, and other ancients (for example, Rambach: quam domum prparavit Salomo in loco Davidis<\/em>). On the contrary, the Sept., Vulg., Syr., etc., translate as if stood before , in the place which David had prepared (the building of the temple); and Keil, in accordance with his supplying of Jehovah as subject to , interprets: who (David) had prepared the house, that is, the building of it, in the place appointed of David. None of these expositions is quite satisfactory; whence it is natural to suppose some corruption of the text.<\/p>\n

2Ch 3:2<\/span>. And he began to build in the second month, in the second<\/em>. As cannot well (comp: Luther, etc.) signify on the second day, for this would be expressed by or the like (with the cardinal number), it is strongly to be suspected that the word has come into the text by an error of transcription; comp. Crit. Note. The second month is Ziph, corresponding nearly with our May (comp. 1Ki 6:37<\/span>).In the fourth year of his reign<\/em>, that is, as Solomon reigned from 1015, about the year 1012 b.c. (comp. Hitzig, Gesch<\/em>. p. 10 f., whose chronological determinations otherwise contain much that is arbitrary; among other things, the assumption that Solomon reigned from 1035 b.c., thus, on the whole, not forty but sixty years).<\/p>\n

2. The building of the Temple itself; and first, of the Porch and the Holy Place (or the Front and Middle Room): 2Ch 3:3-7<\/span>.And this is the foundation of Solomon<\/em>; these are the fundamental proportions which he employed in building. The inf. Hoph<\/em>. is used substantively, as in Ezr 3:11<\/span>.The length after the former measure<\/em>, the Mosaic or holy cubit, that, Eze 40:5<\/span>; Eze 43:13<\/span>, was a handbreadth longer than the civic cubit of the later time, in and after the exile (comp. on 1Ch 22:13<\/span> f.). Only the length and the width of the temple are here given, not its height, which was, 1Ki 6:2<\/span>, thirty cubits.<\/p>\n

2Ch 3:4<\/span>. And the porch, that was before the length<\/em>, that extended in front of the oblong house as its entrance,before the breadth of the house, was twenty cubits<\/em>, was measured in front of the width of the house, twenty cubits. That the breadth or depth of this porch was not twenty cubits, but only ten (1Ki 6:3<\/span>), is not here said, but follows of necessity from the following statements concerning the size of the most holy place compared with that of the holy place, which was twice as long (comp. 2Ch 3:3<\/span> with 2Ch 3:8<\/span>).And the height a hundred and twenty<\/em>. A certainly erroneous statement; a front building of 120 cubits height, before a house only thirty cubits high, could not be called , but would have been a , tower (Keil). Behind the present defective reading is perhaps concealed the statement that the breadth of the porch was ten cubits: Berth. and Kamph. wish to arrange the text after 1Ki 6:3<\/span> : And the porch, which was before the house, its breadth was ten cubits before it, and the length, which was before the breadth of the house, was twenty cubits. But there are some objections to this emendation; see Keil, p. 235 (Remark 1).<\/p>\n

2Ch 3:5<\/span>. And the great house he lined with cypress<\/em>. The holy place is called the great house, as forming the chief room of the whole house. Line, , coinciding essentially with the foregoing overlay, stands here twice, first of lining the stone with wood, and then of overlaying or plating this wood with gold.Made thereon palms and garlands<\/em>, applied to it ornaments of palms and garlands (according to 1Ki 6:18<\/span>, in the form of bas-reliefs cut in the panels of the wall). = the fem. used in the same sense, 1Ki 6:29; 1Ki 6:35<\/span>, figures of palms; this masc. form occurs also Ezek. 41:28. , properly, chains of gold wire,see 2Ch 3:16<\/span> and Exo 28:14<\/span>,but here ornaments wound like a chain on the gilded walls, representing garlands.<\/p>\n

2Ch 3:6<\/span>. And he garnished the house with precious stones for beauty<\/em>; comp. 1Ch 29:2<\/span>, and Bhr on 1Ki 6:7<\/span>.And the gold was gold of Parvaim<\/em>, from Parvaim, a country, as the etymon of the probable Indian name seems to indicate, situated in the east, but of unknown, and not to be determined, site. On its conjectured identity with Ophir, and the opinions regarding it, see the excursus after 2 Chronicles 8<\/span><\/p>\n

2Ch 3:7<\/span>. And he overlaid the house, the beams<\/em>, those of the ceiling, as those next named, the sills that are under the doors. Somewhat more precise than the present statements concerning the internal decorations of the house (the holy place with its porch, which are here in question, as 2Ch 3:8<\/span> ff. show) are those contained in 1Ki 6:18<\/span>; 1Ki 6:29-30<\/span>.<\/p>\n

3. The Most Holy Place, with its Cherubic Figures and Veil: 2Ch 3:8-14<\/span>.And he made the house of the most holy, that its length . . . twenty cubits<\/em>. That, besides the length and breadth, the height also was the same, and thus its form was cubic, see 1Ki 6:20<\/span>. Our author does not specially set forth this certainly symbolic circumstance; on the contrary, his love of the ornamental and magnificent leads him to set forth another circumstance omitted in 1 Kings, that the weight of the gold plating for the inner wall of the most holy place was 600 talents.<\/p>\n

2Ch 3:9<\/span>. And the weight of the nails<\/em>, that served for fastening the gold plate on the wooden lining of the walls. And this statement concerning the weight of the nails being fifty shekels is peculiar to our author, and characteristic of him; as also the following one in b<\/em>, concerning the inner gilding of the upper chambers over the most holy place (comp. 1Ch 28:11<\/span>).<\/p>\n

2Ch 3:10<\/span>. Two cherubim of sculptured work, literally<\/em>, a work of imagery. , from the Arab, root zua<\/em>, <\/em>finxit<\/em>, <\/em>formavit<\/em>, only here in the O. T.Overlaid them with gold<\/em>, a remark occurring also 1Ki 6:28<\/span>, but there forming the end of the description of the cherubim.<\/p>\n

2Ch 3:10-12<\/span>. The description of the size and position of the four outspread wings, each five cubits long, is clumsy and circumstantial, after the Eastern fashion, but at the same time perfectly obvious and clear. The expressions for the mutual contact of the tips of the wings are and (once 2Ch 3:12<\/span>) , properly; cleave, adhrere<\/em>.<\/p>\n

2Ch 3:13<\/span>. The wings of these cherubim spread forth twenty cubits, literally<\/em>, were spreading forth (effected an expansion of) twenty cubits; comp. on , 1Ch 28:18<\/span>; 2Ch 5:8<\/span>. Against Berth., who would expel out of the text; see Keil on this passage.Stood on their feet, and their faces to the house<\/em>, that is, to the holy place, not to one another, as the faces of the cherubs on the mercy-seat (Exo 25:20<\/span>). That they had in this upright position a height of ten cubits, the author of 1 Kings (2Ch 6:26<\/span>) affirms in his more exact statement of the proportions. Are we entitled to infer from the statement of our author the human form of the cherubim? This appears at all events very probable; comp. Bhr on 1Ki 6:23<\/span> ff., and Riehm, Die Cherubim in der Stiftshtte und im Tempel, Theol. Stud. und Krit<\/em>. 1871, iii. p. 399 ff., where (as in the treatise De natura et notione symbolica cheruborum<\/em>, 1864) this theologian certainly, for the oldest time, conceives the cherubim as theophanic storm-clouds, and represents them in the form of birds, but, for the latter time (and certainly for that of Solomon), affirms a change of this prey-bird form to a winged human form. Similarly H. Schultz, Alttestamentl. Theol<\/em>. i. 337 ff., and Dillmann, Art. Cherubim in Schenkels Bibel-Lexikon<\/em>.<\/p>\n

2Ch 3:14<\/span>. And he made the veil of blue, and purple<\/em>, etc., thus of the same four materials of which the veil in the tabernacle had been made, and interwoven with the same cherubic figures as it was; see Exo 26:31<\/span>. On this , the inner veil between the holy and the most holy place, the older description of the temple in 1Ki 6:21<\/span> says nothing.<\/p>\n

4. The Two Pillars Jachin and Boaz: 2Ch 3:15-17<\/span>; comp. the much fuller description in 1Ki 7:15-22<\/span>; 1Ki 7:41-42<\/span> (also 2Ch 4:12<\/span> f.).And he made before the house<\/em> (in the porch) two pillars of thirty and five cubits height<\/em>; in 1 Kings, rather of eighteen cubits; see Crit. Note.And the capital that was on the top<\/em>. Instead of the , head-piece (from , cover, overlay), the parallel 1Ki 7:16<\/span> gives the term , crown, pommel.<\/p>\n

2Ch 3:16<\/span>. And he made chains in the ring<\/em>, in the girdle-formed network encircling the top of the pillars, that served for the fastening of the pomegranates, and is otherwise called , network, but here , collar (comp. Gen 41:42<\/span>; Eze 16:11<\/span>); for is certainly to be read instead of , which gives no tolerable sense, and has drawn away the old translations to strange explanations (Vulg.: quasi catenulas in oraculo<\/em>; Syr. and Arab.: chains of fifty cubits length, that is, reaching from the most holy place to the pillars, etc.); comp. the Crit. Note. Moreover, the term seems to be a synonym rather of the , network, mentioned 2Ch 4:12-13<\/span>, than of the balls, rolls, mentioned in the same place (against Keil).Made a hundred pomegranates, and put them on the chains<\/em>, perhaps so that there was an apple on every link of the chain-like ornament (Berth.). The number 100, which is given also in Jer 52:23<\/span>, determines also merely the one of the two rows of pomegranates which hung on every ring or girdle of the network. That each of these bore 100 apples, and thus the sum total of all the apples on both pillars amounted to 400, is stated 2Ch 4:13<\/span>, in accordance with 1Ki 7:42<\/span>. On 2Ch 3:17<\/span>, especially on the names Jachin and Boaz, see Bhr on 1Ki 7:21<\/span>.<\/p>\n

5. The Holy Furniture of the Temple and its Court: 2Ch 4:1-10<\/span>.<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:1<\/span>. The brazen altar. And he made an altar of brass<\/em>, the altar of burnt-offering. See more particularly concerning its construction, more exactly described in Eze 43:13-17<\/span>, and its probably terrace-like appearance, in Keil, Archol.<\/em> p. 127, with the plan, plate iii. fig. 2. That our verse has no parallel in 1 Kings 6, 7<\/span> is perhaps only accidental, but may arise from this, that there only articles made by Huram (Hiram) are fully described, to which the altar of burnt-offering did not belong. It is, moreover, only incidentally mentioned in 1 Kings, namely, in 2 Chronicles 8 22, 64, on occasion of the dedication of the temple, and again in 2Ch 9:25<\/span>.<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:2-5<\/span>. The Brazen Sea; comp. 1Ki 7:23-26<\/span> and the expositors thereon.A line of thirty cubits compassed it about<\/em>, formed the measure of its circumference (the actual existence of such a line is not to be supposed).<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:3<\/span>. And figures of oxen were under it<\/em>, instead of which 1Ki 7:24<\/span> has: and colocynths (or flower buds, according to Bhr) were under the brim of it round about. Our therefore appears an error of transcription for , as in the second member for .<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:5<\/span>. Holding in it<\/em> (many) baths; it contained three thousand<\/em>. According to 1Ki 7:26<\/span>, rather only 2000, which number alone suits the size of the vessel as described in 2Ch 4:2<\/span> (comp. Crit. Note). Moreover, the , it contained, is by no means disturbing, as Berth. and Kamph. think, who condemn it as a gloss coming into the text from 1 Kings. The pleonastic phrase rather suits the effort of the author to represent the size of the vessel as very great; and the construction is essentially the same as in the following verse.<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:6<\/span>. The Ten Lavers, with the incidental Statement of the Use of the Brazen Sea.And he made ten lavers<\/em>. Much more full is 1Ki 7:27-38<\/span>, where the stands bearing these lavers are described with special minuteness.To wash in them; the work of the burnt-offering they washed in them<\/em>, the flesh of the burnt-offerings to be burned on the altar. On , scour, rinse, as a synonym of , comp. Jos 4:4<\/span>; Eze 40:38<\/span>.<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:7<\/span>. The Golden Candlesticks in the Holy Place. The notice of these is wanting, as well as the following one referring to the ten tables, and the next referring to the two courts, in the parallel text 1Ki 7:39<\/span>, perhaps from a gap in the text. Yet incidental references to these objects are found there; see 1Ki 6:36<\/span>; 1Ki 7:12; 1Ki 7:48-49<\/span>.After their plan<\/em>, properly, according to their right, , a reference to Exo 25:31<\/span> ff.<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:8<\/span>. And he made ten tables<\/em>, on which to place the ten candlesticks, scarcely for the shew-bread, as seems to follow from 2Ch 4:19<\/span>; see rather on this passage, as on 1Ch 28:16<\/span> (against Light-foot), Starke, Bhr, Keil, etc.And he madebasins of gold<\/em>, bowls or tankards for pouring the libation; comp. Amo 6:6<\/span>; scarcely bowls for receiving the blood of the victim (as Berth. thinks).<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:9<\/span>. And he made the courts of the priests<\/em>, the smaller or inner court (1Ki 6:36<\/span>; 1Ki 7:12<\/span>), or also the upper court, as it is called, Jer 36:10<\/span>, on account of its greater elevation.And the great court<\/em>, the outer ( connected with ); comp. Eze 43:14<\/span> ff; Eze 45:19<\/span>, where it is distinguished as the lower or new court, from the inner or upper court of the priests. A more precise description of this outer court is wanting as well in 1 Kings 6, 7<\/span>, where it is not even mentioned, as in our passage, where only its door leaves overlaid with brass are mentioned.<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:10<\/span>. Addendum concerning the Position of the Brazen Sea; comp. 1Ki 7:39<\/span> b<\/em>.<\/p>\n

6. The Brass Works of Huram: 2Ch 4:11-18<\/span>. The list is opened with the pots, shovels, and bowls, objects belonging to the furniture of the altar of burnt-offering in the court, that belong properly to the foregoing section. Even so 1Ki 7:40<\/span>, where likewise with in the middle of the verse we pass to all that was made by Huram.The pots, and the shovels, and the bowls<\/em>. (for which 1Ki 7:40<\/span>, defectively: ) are the pots for taking away the ashes; , the shovels for removing the ashes from the altar; (perhaps to be distinguished from , the sprinkling-bowls or wine tankards in 2Ch 4:8<\/span> b<\/em>), the bowls for receiving and sprinkling the blood.And Huram finished the work<\/em>. Comp. from this to the end of the section the almost literally agreeing verses 1Ki 7:40<\/span> b<\/span><\/em>47<\/span>, and Bhr on the passage. For the partial deviations and errors in our text, see Crit. Note.<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:16<\/span>. And all their vessels<\/em>. Most recent expositors (also Keil) wish to read, after 1Ki 7:45<\/span> : all these vessels, , because we cannot think in the vessels of the vessels hitherto named. But might not the forms (models) be meant in which the various vessels were cast? The allusion to the foundries of the king in the next verse makes this very probable; but the reading in 1Ki 7:45<\/span> appears by no means absolutely settled.Made Huram his father<\/em>. For , see on 2Ch 2:12<\/span>.Of bright brass<\/em>, , accus. materi<\/em>; in 2 Kings the equivalent stands for this.<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:17<\/span>. In the plain of Jordan<\/em> (properly, in the circuit of Jordan) the king cast them, in the clay ground<\/em>, properly, in the densities of the ground, (or, if the reading is to be preferred, sing.: in the density of the ground; , Sept.). According to the older exegesis, the phrase denoted: in the clay ground, in argillosa terra<\/em> (Vulg.). The designation of the hard forms for the casting, which Berth. thinks are mentioned here, should rather be the of 2Ch 4:16<\/span>.Between Succoth and Zeredathah<\/em>. In 1Ki 7:46<\/span> the name of the second place is Zarthan, which is only another form of Zeredathah; comp. Jdg 7:22<\/span>.<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:18<\/span>. For the weight of the brass was not found out<\/em>, or was not determined (Berth.); that is, there was so great a quantity, that, etc. (comp. 2Ch 5:6<\/span>).<\/p>\n

7. Enumeration of the Golden Vessels of the Sanctuary, with the Close of the whole Account of the Building: 2Ch 4:19<\/span>ch. 2Ch 5:1<\/span>; comp. 1Ki 7:48-51<\/span>, which section also deviates much in its first verses from the present one.And the tables with the shew-bread on them<\/em>. Originally, perhaps, only an inexact expression (synecdoche), as in 1Ch 28:16<\/span>, this mention of the has here certainly the appearance of a multiplicity of tables for the shew-bread. But 1Ki 7:48<\/span> names quite distinctly only one table.<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:20<\/span>. And the candlesticks . . . to burn after their rule<\/em> (, as 2Ch 4:7<\/span>) before the oracle<\/em>, the debir, that is, the most holy place. The candlesticks had accordingly their place in the holy place immediately before the veil; and so the altar of incense (comp. Heb 9:4<\/span>).<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:21<\/span>. And the flowers, and the lamps<\/em>. Comp. Bhr on 1Ki 7:49<\/span>.This was the most perfect gold<\/em>. , properly, perfections of gold; the elsewhere not occurring (equivalent to , Psa 50:2<\/span>, or , Eze 23:12<\/span>) appears unintelligible to the Sept., and hence the whole clause is omitted. As it appears superfluous along with the costly gold at the close of the verse before, and is wanting in 1Ki 7:49<\/span>, it awakens critical suspicion.<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:22<\/span>. And the knives<\/em>, serving perhaps to clean the lamps (with the snuffers), but also for other purposes. Their place among the vessels of the temple is attested also by 2Ki 12:14<\/span>; Jer 52:18<\/span>. For the next named bowls see on 2Ch 4:11<\/span>. The (trays for the incense) and (extinguishers) are also named 1Ki 7:50<\/span> : on the contrary, the (basons) named there first are wanting here.And the door of the house<\/em>. appears to be a general collective phrase for the opening, doorway, outlet of the house; for it includes two doors, that into the holy place, and that into the holy of holies. The parallel 1Ki 7:50<\/span> : , leads to the conjecture that is perhaps an error for , and the hinges (in which case also must be put for ).<\/p>\n

2Ch 5:1<\/span> agrees almost to the letter with 1Ki 7:51<\/span>. The before is best rendered by namely; comp. 2Ch 4:19<\/span>; less probable is the rendering: as: well the silver as also the gold (Keil). For these gifts of David, see the account in 1Ch 18:10<\/span> f.; also 1Ch 26:26<\/span> f., 2Ch 29:3<\/span> ff.<\/p>\n

. The Dedication of the Temple<\/em>: 2Ch 5:2<\/span> to 2Ch 7:10<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Removal of the Ark from Zion to the Temple<\/em>: 2Ch 5:2-14<\/span><\/p>\n

2Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chiefs of the fathers of the sons of Israel, to Jerusalem, to bring up the ark 3of the covenant of the Lord from the city of David, which is Zion. And all the men of Israel assembled unto the king in the feast, which was the seventh month. 4And all the elders of Israel came j and the Levites bore the ark. 5And they brought up the ark and the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels 6that were in the tent; the priests, the Levites,13<\/span> brought them up. And king Solomon, and all the assembly of Israel that assembled with him before the ark, sacrificed sheep and oxen, that could not be told or numbered for multitude. 7And the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord into its place, into the oracle of the house, the most holy place, under the wings of the cherubim. 8For the cherubim spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the 9cherubim covered the ark and its staves above. And they made the staves so long that the ends of the staves were seen from the ark,14<\/span> before the oracle, but 10they were not seen without: and they were there unto this day. Nothing was in the ark save the two tables, which Moses put into it at Horeb, where the Lord made [a covenant] with the sons of Israel, when they came out of Egypt. 11And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy placefor all the priests 12that were present had sanctified themselves, without observing the courses. And the Levites, the singers all of them, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, and their sons and brethren, arrayed in byssus, with cymbals, and psalteries, and harps, stood at the east of the altar, and with them a hundred and twenty priests 13sounding with trumpets.15<\/span> And the trumpeters and singers were as one [man] to sound aloud with one voice to praise and thank the Lord, and when they lifted up the voice with trumpets, and cymbals, and instruments of song, and with praising the Lord: For He is good; for His mercy endureth for ever: then the 14house was filled with the cloud of the house of the Lord. And the priests could not stand to minister before the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.<\/p>\n

Footnotes:<\/strong><\/p>\n

[1]<\/span> , which the Sept. and Vulg. do not express, appears a gloss brought into the text by repetition of the foregoing .<\/p>\n

[2]<\/span> appears a defective reading, as the Sept. cod<\/em>. <\/em>Al<\/em>.<\/em>, Syr., and Ar. have 20 for 120. Comp. the Exeg. Expl.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/span>According to the parallels 1Ki 7:15<\/span>, 2Ki 25:17<\/span>, etc, instead of thirty-five () must apparently be read eighteen ().<\/p>\n

[4]<\/span>so according to the emendation of Berth.: , instead of the Masoretic (Sept. ), which yields no suitable sense.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/span> appears a slip of the pen for (1Ki 7:24<\/span>), as in b<\/em>, for .<\/p>\n

[6]<\/span>For is to be read, according to 1Ki 7:26<\/span>, (2000); the before seems to have come into the text from the fourfold in the verse before.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/span>The Kethib<\/em> has here Hiram (), the only time this reading occurs in Chronicles.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/span>For read , although stands also in 1Ki 7:42<\/span>; but see Sept. there.<\/p>\n

[9]<\/span> seems wrongly written for , as the second time for . Comp. 1Ki 7:43<\/span>.<\/p>\n

[10]<\/span> is perhaps written wrongly for , sprinkling cups, 2Ch 3:11<\/span>. Comp. 1Ki 7:44<\/span>.<\/p>\n

[11]<\/span>For some prints give .<\/p>\n

[12]<\/span>The words are not represented in the Sept.<\/p>\n

[13]<\/span>Before is to be supplied , according to 1Ki 8:4<\/span>.<\/p>\n

[14]<\/span> appears to be an error of transcription for .<\/p>\n

[15]<\/span> Kethib<\/em>: ; Keri<\/em>: ; so 2Ch 5:13<\/span> and 2Ch 7:6<\/span>. Comp. Exeg. Expl. on 1Ch 15:24<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

CONTENTS<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

This chapter is but a continuation of the former. The subject is prosecuted concerning the work and materials of the temple; and here is described, the altar of brass, the molten sea, the lavers, candlesticks, and tables, together with the instruments of gold.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:1<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

This altar of brass received the gifts and offerings of the people. How lovely a representation of Jesus, in whose hands, as mediator, all the offerings of his people must be placed. None cometh to the Father but by him. Moreover the largeness of it represents the largeness of the heart of Jesus. There is room enough in our Jesus for all his people. Add to this, the height of it pointed to the loftiness of our Great Saviour, who is both the sacrifice, and the sacrificer, and the altar, on whom all sacrifices were offered. And from this elevation of ten cubits high, every Israelite from the courts around might see the sacrifice, and behold the flame ascend before God. Oh! how very precious to see, with the eye of faith, the Lord Jesus going in before the mercy-seat with the offerings of his people.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

And Reader! do you not believe that the faithful Israelites then understood all this with a reference to Jesus, and eyed the Lord Jesus in all as the great propitiation? Surely, if the earlier patriarchs offered all their sacrifices by faith in this great atonement, as we are assured they did, in those later ages, when Christ had been more fully and more openly preached in type and figure, we cannot but suppose, that the Holy Ghost had brought the minds of the people, more savingly acquainted with the substance to which the whole shadow ministered. Heb 9:28<\/span>Heb 9:28<\/span> .<\/p>\n

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

<\/p>\n

The Moulding of the Vessels<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:17<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

I. In that temple of Solomon’s we have a double type.<\/p>\n

1. Those great and costly stones those marble blocks which were squared and polished leagues away from Jerusalem, and not brought thither till actually needed: so that not one echo of the saw, not one stroke of the mallet, was heard over all the dedicated ground. Their adaptation was perfected at a distance, and then they were set in their glorious home.<\/p>\n

2.<\/em> The brass and silver and gold work, the capitals for the pillars, the rails for the cedar walls, the solid coverings for the doors. And these, too, were cast at a distance, in the clay ground by the Jordan.<\/p>\n

The lesson? This That by affliction, and only by that, were the Saints made meet for their place, and you must be made meet for yours, in the Kingdom of Heaven. How was this brass, how was this gold procured? How, but by the slow agony of the furnace?<\/p>\n

II. Out of the smelting furnace the metal runs bright, pure, strong, fit for any use; but only fit<\/em> for it. It has not yet received the shape in which it is to do service for the Master. Prepared it is to be made useful to Him, but it is not really useful as yet. And then comes in the text: ‘In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground’. The moulds, then, that formed those glorious ornaments, that cast those shapes of beauty for the house which was to be ‘exceeding magnificent,’ which was to be ‘wonderful great,’ were made by the vilest and cheapest, and, in itself most impure of all materials, namely, clay.<\/p>\n

And how is it that all of you are to be formed for being vessels unto honour, sanctified, meet for the Master’s use, prepared unto every good work? Is it not by what the world calls the meanest, and poorest, and most despicable employments here?<\/p>\n

III. Notice; they were not cast by chance; they did not come out by accident; it was not like Aaron’s, ‘Then I cast them into the fire, and there came out<\/em> the calf. No; it was the king that did it; the King that continually does it; and not less the King, because not with His own hands, and not in His own immediate presence. We are not to suppose that Solomon went down into the clay ground, and there gave orders for the casting these temple vessels. No; he remained in his glory and peace at Jerusalem. And yet it is said, ‘In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them’. And so it is with you. The King no more, as in former ages, walks the clay ground of this earth. But still, not the less, from that glorious Throne, He superintends, He appoints, He orders, for each of you the mould that is to stamp you for His service. Be it what it may, it comes from the wisdom that cannot be mistaken, it is approved by the love that cannot be quenched.<\/p>\n

J. M. Neale, Occasional Sermons,<\/em> p. 116.<\/p>\n

Reference. IV. 21. H. W. Webb-Peploe, Calls to Holiness,<\/em> p. 215.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

2Ch 4<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Moreover he made an altar [the place of this altar was in the great court, as is evident from 2Ch 6:12-13 ] of brass, twenty cubits the length thereof, and twenty cubits the breadth thereof, and ten cubits the height thereof.<\/p>\n

2. Also he made a molten sea [a gigantic laver for the ablution of the priests, corresponding to the laver of brass in the tabernacle (Exo 30:18-21<\/span> ; Exo 38:8 )] of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass, and five cubits the height thereof; and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.<\/p>\n

3. And under it was the similitude of oxen [for “oxen” we find in 1Ki 7:24<\/span> , “knops” or “gourds.” It is evident that the one word may easily have been mistaken for the other], which did compass it round about: ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about. Two rows of oxen were cast, when it was cast.<\/p>\n

4. It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking towards the north, and three looking towards the west, and three looking towards the south, and three looking towards the east: and the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward.<\/p>\n

5. And the thickness of it was an handbreath, and the brim of it like the work of the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies [or, like a lily flower]; and it received and held three thousand baths.<\/p>\n

6. He made also ten lavers [according to 1Ki 7:38<\/span> , these stood upon ten brazen stands, i.e.,<\/em> chests provided with carriage wheels. These stands, the artistic work on which is circumstantially described in 1Ki 7:27-37<\/span> , are omitted in the Chronicle, because they are merely subordinate parts of the lavers], and put five on the right hand, and five on the left, to wash in them: such things as they offered for the burnt offering they washed in them; but the sea was for the priests to wash in.<\/p>\n

7. And he made ten candlesticks [comp. 1Ki 7:49<\/span> . Whether these ten candlesticks were to supersede the one seven-lighted candlestick made for the tabernacle (Exo 25:31-40<\/span> ; Exo 37:17-26 ), or were to be used in addition to it, we are not told, The latter supposition is, however, far more probable] of gold according to their form [rather, “after their manner,” an abbreviated phrase intended to express what is more fully stated in 2Ch 4:20<\/span> “that they should burn after the manner<\/em> before the oracle.” There is no allusion to the shape of the candlesticks], and set them in the temple, five on the right hand, and five on the left.<\/p>\n

8. He made also ten tables, and placed them in the temple, five on the right side, and five on the left. And he made an hundred basons of gold.<\/p>\n

9. Furthermore he made the court of the priests, and the great court, and doors for the court, and overlaid the doors of them with brass.<\/p>\n

10. And he set the sea on the right side of the east end, over against the south.<\/p>\n

11. And Huram made the pots, and the shovels, and the basons [or, bowls]. And Huram finished [ Heb.<\/em> finished to make] the work that he was to make for king Solomon for the house of God;<\/p>\n

12. To wit, the two pillars, and the pommels, and the chapiters which were on the top of the two pillars, and the two wreaths to cover the two pommels of the chapiters which were on the top of the pillars;<\/p>\n

13. And four hundred pomegranates on the two wreaths; two rows of pomegranates on each wreath, to cover the two pommels of the chapiters which were upon the [ Heb.<\/em> upon the face of the] pillars.<\/p>\n

14. He made also bases, and lavers [or, cauldrons] made he upon the bases;<\/p>\n

15. One sea, and twelve oxen under it.<\/p>\n

16. The pots also, and the shovels, and the fleshhooks and all their instruments, did Huram his father [rather, “Huram his master-workman “] make to king Solomon for the house of the Lord of bright brass.<\/p>\n

17. In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredathah.<\/p>\n

18. Thus Solomon made all these vessels in great abundance: for the weight of the brass could not be found out.<\/p>\n

19. And Solomon made all the vessels that were for the house of God, the golden altar also, and the tables whereon the shewbread was set;<\/p>\n

20. Moreover the candlesticks with their lamps, that they should burn after the manner [ i.e.,<\/em> “according to the ordinary custom.” The law had commanded the burning of a light continually before the vail of the Holy of Holies (Exo 27:20-21<\/span> ; Lev 24:2-3 ); and the ordinance had, it appears, been constantly observed] before the oracle, of pure gold;<\/p>\n

21. And the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs [parts of the candlestick mentioned in Exo 25:31-37<\/span> , Exo 25:38<\/span> ; the “flowers” being the ornaments of the stem and branches, the “lamps” being the seven lights, and the “tongs” being used for trimming], made he of gold, and that perfect gold;<\/p>\n

22. And the snuffers, and the basons, and the spoons, and the censers, of pure gold: and the entry of the house, the inner doors thereof for the most holy place, and the doors of the house of the temple, were of gold.<\/p>\n

Solomon’s Specifications<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

SURELY Solomon is doing something? There is a great rush of business, there is a marvellous outline of a specification in this chapter. What a programme it is, taking it altogether, and in the contextual portions; something important must be doing now, something indispensable: kings are busy, princes are bending their necks, people of all statures and ages and faculties are on the alert. “Send me also cedar trees, fir trees, and algum trees, out of Lebanon… prepare me timber in abundance: for the house which I am about to build shall be wonderful great.” What a host of men! Threescore and ten thousand of them bearers of burdens, and fourscore thousand hewers in the mountain, and three thousand six hundred overseers to set the people at work. Nothing was pinched, nothing was begrudged. The porch was overlaid with pure gold, the greater house was ceiled with fir tree, which was overlaid with fine gold, and thereon were set palm trees and chains; and the house was garnished with precious stones for beauty: and the gold was gold of Parvaim. The house, the beams, the posts, the walls, the doors were overlaid with gold, and on the walls cherubims were graved.<\/p>\n

The question we have to ask after reading all this table of luxury is, What does it amount to? That is the subject What is the use of it all? This is not a merely or roughly utilitarian question; it is a high spiritual inquiry. Nor is the interrogation limited to the house that Solomon built; it applies to the house which every man is building. What is the use of your grandeur? What does it all come to when it is added up and set down in plain utility like an arithmetical statement at the foot? This is an admirable description of many men we know, or of whom we have heard or read: they are all specification. Here is a man who has been five years at Oxford, five years at Edinburgh, five years at Berlin, and he has brought with him innumerable certificates and credentials and assurances that he has passed with success and honour through almost illimitable courses of training. Let us hear him speak. It is well we were told that he had studied at all these universities, for we never should have gathered it from his conversation. Here is a student of aesthetics; a false colour would kill him; he understands the relation of one hue to another; he has been trained to distinguish one tinge from another as if his eye were a jealous microscope. What does it come to outside of colour? What about his patience, his civility, his chivalry, his courtesy, his sacrifice on behalf of others? What does it amount to but a painter’s specification? We must have totals, results, positive and beneficial consequences; else our schools are only helping to extend the veneer, and not the real oak of the world. Here is a man of polish: he would not even call upon a friend except within conventional hours; nothing would tempt him to pay a visit to his oldest bosom friend without a proper supply of pasteboard and lithography: what does it come to when he must sit up with a dying child, or pinch himself one meal a day that a man in another street may have something for his hunger? These are penetrating, these are decimating questions; they hurl down our little card-houses, conventionalities, and aesthetics, and polishes, and certifications, and make us poor indeed, if there be not at the heart of us a Christly polish, a Christly education, a miracle of regeneration and comfort. Take care not to grind the knife all away before you cut a piece of bread with it. What a long time some men have been grinding their knives! There will be nothing but haft presently; the blade will have disappeared into or out of the grindstone. What we ought to have from some men when they do come forward! Should they not have pity upon us and reveal themselves gradually? Ought they not to pity the gourd, and see that the flash of such lightning as would be emitted by their genius might be dangerous to the frail plant? What gifts we must have when some men begin to give! they are going to begin by-and-by.<\/p>\n

About all grandeur, about all cedar, and fir and algum, about all gold of Parvaim, and graved cherubim, and wondrous scholarship, and night and day preparation extending through years, we ask, What is the use of it? Bring a million bricks into a huge meadow, stack them up, add hundreds of tons of iron, add a mile or two of plate glass, set down colours mixed by the skilled hands of artists: what does it all come to? It all amounts to a nuisance; we used to walk through that field until that pile was laid upon it. On the other hand, put the material together, let the architect lay his mind to the question, and the builder put out his hands, and the glazier do his work, and the artist come to distribute the colours properly, and then out of what was a mere chaotic pile there is shaped a useful home or sacred temple. Get out of your specification; build something: do something: better dry a child’s tear than lie back half a century in order to get ready to deliver a speech which nobody can understand. When does the decoration become life? When may we expect those beauteous figures to speak? Never. The decoration does not make the temple; the preparation does not make the workman; he must come out of that, utilising it all and sanctifying it by the grace of God. A man might dress in the robes of the lord chancellor, and actually sit down on the woolsack, and not be a lawyer. This is extremely irritating, that a man cannot by putting on certain robes become learned and influential and reputed as an authority. A fine house cannot make a fine tenant; a first-class carriage cannot make a first-class traveller; a man might sit down on a monarch’s throne, and not be a sovereign; he might even look like a king, and be only a clown. Decoration is useless, if it does not express something beyond itself, something spiritual, ideal, transcendental. The picture is nothing if it does not in reality speak, not indeed to the ear of the body, but to the attention of the soul. It is an amusing irony to see some people clothed in purple and fine linen, because there is really no connection between them and their clothes; we expect them to speak musically, and lo! their tones fill our mouths as with gravel-stones. We expect a man to be at least as elegant as his clothes, and when he is not we do not blame the garments; it is more their misfortune than their fault that they should be where they are. So when we read the specification of temples and palaces we say, What does it amount to? What is this grandeur worth in helping and blessing the world? What is civilisation to end in?<\/p>\n

This specification may be taken as a step in the history of civilisation, and according to this outline civilisation probably never reached a higher pitch. Buying and selling luxuries does no general good. That seems to be very singular, but science, reading history, has put that down as a conclusion that cannot be challenged. Specifications of this kind do no good to the people as a whole. The possession of luxury leads to surfeit. It is on record that at the time of the great French Revolution never was luxury so abundant, never was poverty so extreme. The feast of the great man had no crumbs for the poor man’s hunger. The world would never be the richer were half of it turned into ground for the growing of champagne, and were the other half of the world peopled by a thousand men who could consume it all. You never touch the poor through the medium of luxury. You must work upon another line, a line of utility, actual beneficence: through wheat, not through grapes, will you touch the whole world. This is the doctrine of the latest civilisation. Suppose that all over the world men could read and write: what then? Has a man ever asked himself that question seriously? Suppose that all over the world men could play a musical instrument: what then? Suppose that all over the globe men could paint: what then? Suppose that all over the world every man had ten millions of gold a-year: what then? Suppose every man in the world should forget how to walk because he could ride in a chariot of feathers and purple, and be drawn on by six cream-coloured horses: what then? It would be a sad world to live in. There is nothing in civilisation, except as it is controlled, inspired, used by a master’s hand for the good of the whole world. I am not sure that every man would be perfectly happy if he could paint a picture; I am not aware that unhappiness is confined to those who cannot read and write. These chapters are parts of a developing civilisation, and we have a right to ask as we pass through them, What is the use of this grandeur? To what purpose will it be turned? What is our education to end in? An educated man who does not turn his education to the benefit of others is an altogether undesirable person. He kills the preacher, because he knows that the man is just educated enough to be able to find fault, and is not sufficiently educated to be able to appreciate. Some persons have been sufficiently trained to be annoyed by the mistakes of other people, but not sufficiently developed to see even in those mistakes the beginning of possible excellences. Herein is that saying true, <\/p>\n

What is true of a little learning is true of what may be termed the larger learning, were it not in reality little by its very largeness, because it is not put out to use. You will never know the talent you have until you begin to spend it. Talent grows by expenditure; wealth increases by distribution. When a man keeps his talent and does not use it, the act of unfaithfulness recoils upon himself and assures his position in nothing but in outer darkness. To complete the material we must ascend into the spiritual. All outward civilisation is mockery if it help not towards and if it do not express an inward refinement. It is sad to think how some houses are greater than their occupiers; it is shameful to see a man outshone by his own mahogany. A man should always be greater than anything he has. The architect who draws out one specification, should always be able to draw out a much larger one. The great engineer Brunei was asked if there were not impossibilities to engineering, and he said, “There is only one.” What is that? “Want of money.” Give Brunei money, and he would make a way up to the moon, or try to do it. A man ought never to have a book in his library that does not express a want of the soul. Yet some men order their libraries by the square foot, and have them bound “uniformly.” A book should be part of its owner; he should feel himself half naked if any volume were taken from its shelf.<\/p>\n

Even Solomon’s temple was nothing until it was consecrated; then it became sacred, a touchstone by which men might try their spiritual quality, an entrance gate into heaven. It is the same with all other phases and aspects and uses of life. A man is nothing until he is utilised. How many unfulfilled prophecies there are in human life. A boy has taken all the prizes, he has brought them all home, shaken them out of his lap, and you never hear any more of him. What are his prizes? Reproaches, rebukes: by his prizes he shall be condemned. Another boy is of slower growth, and all he has brought home from school is himself. But you cannot look at that square head without expecting that by-and-by you will ask, “Where are the nine that took the prizes?” That boy you cannot keep down; he grows; when he is asleep he is growing, and one day he will be king. We must be judged by the result. A man may know many languages, and never say a word worth hearing in any of them.<\/p>\n

What is the use of grandeur, what is the purpose of education, what is the outcome of all this gathering of material? Oh Solomon, oh Huram, say what meaneth this accumulation of cedar, and fir, and algum, and gold, and colours? and they reply, The meaning is a temple. The temple is built, God accepts it, and therefore the civilisation is justified and crowned. What is the use of your gathered gold? You will want a larger safe. What a glorious idea to have a house that is all safe; the front door iron, and the windows iron, and the roof iron, so that everything within it should be protected. “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.” Have a hundred banks that grant no passbooks and are utterly without cheque forms: have a hundred families to whom you send a portion whenever you can; they cannot recompense thee, but thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. Drop thy silver fork as it puts that last lump of luxury into thy gluttonous mouth; sell it, give it to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven. Sacrifice is but a superstition until the heavens accept it by fire. We should only gather that we may scatter. If any man gather the wheat of the world and lock it up in garners and see men starve, his eyes should be torn out.<\/p>\n

Prayer<\/p>\n

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Almighty God, we believe in thy Son Jesus Christ our only Saviour, infinite in power, and infinite in grace, thine only begotten Son that dwelleth in the bosom of the Father. He became flesh, and dwelt among us: and he told us that if we prayed unto thee we should receive answers great, tender, ample. We rest upon his word, we are sure that he who was the truth told us that which is true, and will not change his word, or add to it, or take away from it; we stand upon it, and watch and treasure it. Thy Son told us to ask, and we should receive: what shall we ask? We will simply ask that thy will be done, that is all prayers in one cry. We know not what we need, we only know what we want: but what we want is but the thought of our thoughtlessness, what we need is real. Thou knowest what we need: some need poverty, affliction, bereavement, chastening of pride, rebuke of of vanity; some need comfort, cheer, encouragement, a whispering of love that can revive the heart; some need greater grace; all need more of thy Holy Spirit. What we need do thou give in thy Son’s name, for thy Son’s sake, and at thy Son’s cross. That is the altar at which we pray; it is sprinkled with redeeming blood, it is the mystery of creation, it is the one way to heaven because to pardon and to peace. We pray then, Thy will be done. Make us strong enough to bear the doing of it: it may trouble us much; it may blind us when we are looking at beauty, it may deafen us when we are listening to the voice that charms us most: still, Thy will be done. Thou hast shown thy children great and sore trouble; but each has come out of the cloud or the storm, saying, It was good for me that I was afflicted: before I was afflicted I went astray. Thou hast given some of thy children great power and honour and means of many kinds: may they realise their stewardship, and act as the trustees of Christ. Bless all noble hearts, prosper all noble purposes, send a blight upon all deceit and vanity, and as for all wickedness do thou drive it down to hell. Amen.<\/p>\n

Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

XXVIII<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

THE WORKS OF SOLOMON<\/p>\n

1Ki 5:1-7:51<\/span><\/strong> ; 2Ch 2:1-5:1<\/span><\/p>\n

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The works of Solomon were mainly buildings, whether of houses, or cisterns, etc., constructed during his reign and under his supervision. The first and most famous was the Temple. The second was his own house. The third was his wife’s house. The fourth was the upbuilding of the walls of Jerusalem and its fortifications, strengthening particularly the famous citadel of Millo. Fifth, he built two kinds of cities, and quite a number of each kind. One kind was for the headquarters and protection of his commerce; another kind was fortified cities controlling all the passes from any direction into his land. Among the fortified cities note the following:<\/p>\n

First, Lebanon. He erected a strong fortification in the northern part of his country in the mountains of Lebanon on the great highway of Damascus, to guard the immense trade that poured through that city from the fords of the Euphrates.<\/p>\n

Next, Hazor, still further north near Lake Merom. The object of that city was to protect the entrance from the south of Syria into his country. You should know the topography of the country in order to understand fully the wisdom of the location of each fortified city.<\/p>\n

The next was at Megiddon on the plain of Bsdraelon, which was the great battle plain of the Holy Land. It was so in ancient times. It was so in mediaeval times, and according to prophecy will be so near the end of time. This fortification controlled all the Esdraelon plain. It was in the western part of the Holy Land, about the middle of it not far from the Mediterranean Sea.<\/p>\n

The next was the great pass of Bethhoron, where Joshua fought his decisive battle. That is the pass leading from the Philistine country to Jerusalem. He fortified both ends of that pass, upper and nether, so that from the Plains of the Philistines an army could not approach Jerusalem in that direction.<\/p>\n

Then on the south there were Gezer and Baalath, two other fortified places that protected not only from the Philistine raids, but from the Egyptian raids on the southwest. His other fenced cities and I will not mention all of them, protected the borders on the east of the Jordan, so that when these fortifications were completed Solomon’s country was like Paris before the war with Germany, and even since, i.e., from every direction there were long lines of fortifications.<\/p>\n

The other class of cities was mainly on account of trade. You should have a map before you. East or northeast of Damascus, and south of his border on the Euphrates, was a desert, and in that desert a cluster of the most famous springs or fountains in the world perennial water in abundance and beautiful groves of palm trees and there Solomon built a city, Tadmor, which stood a thousand years, and in later history is called Palmyra, where Zenobia, the Queen of the East, reigned. If you are familiar with Roman history, you will remember her capture at her capital Palmyra, and her being brought a prisoner to Rome, and there settling down as a quiet Roman matron, marrying a member of the Roman nobility. In history the city of Palmyra is famous. In our times it is famous for archaeology. To the ruins of Palmyra, Baalbek, and Thebes on the Nile, and similar places, scholars go to excavate and give us the result of their studies in archaeology.<\/p>\n

Solomon built quite a city, not for land commerce, but for sea commerce, at the head of the Gulf of Akaba, and transported a large population there in order that it should be held by loyal Jews, as that was his only good seaport. Those on the Mediterranean coast that lay within the boundary of his country Joppa, for example were very poor seaports. The next great buildings in connection with his reign were the store houses, immense structures on all the lines of traffic leading to Jerusalem where the revenues of the king were collected. Then the great stables that he had erected for the housing of his chariot horses and cavalry horses.<\/p>\n

Another great work of Solomon was the building of roads. Our city papers say much about the split-log drag and the necessity for good wagon roads, roads for foot passengers and horsemen, for bringing the country products to the city markets. Solomon’s system of roads became as famous as the roads described by Prescott in the history of Peru, which are ahead of any in history except the Roman roads.<\/p>\n

A very difficult work of Solomon was the building of a navy of his own. When he traded in the Mediterranean he had to use the ships of Tyre, just as a great part of our trade now is carried on in English or German bottoms. That is not as helpful to a country as to have its own merchant marine, its own ships for carriage. A tremendous change in Solomon’s kingdom was brought about by the establishment of this navy of his at Eziongeber at the head of the Gulf of Akaba, which is a part of the Red Sea. Those ships were manned largely by Tyrians, as the Jews were not good sailors, and that fleet would sail with imposing ceremony, to be gone three years. That is a very considerable voyage. The fleet would sail down the Indian Ocean to the East Indies, Borneo, Sumatra, and other islands of the archipelago in the. Indian Ocean, and then on to the archipelagos in the Pacific Ocean, and all down the eastern coast of Africa.<\/p>\n

Before Solomon’s time Africa had been circumnavigated. Fleets, starting in the Red Sea, had gone clear around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, and back into the Mediterranean through the Straits of Gibraltar. They seemed to have forgotten about this when, not long before the time of Columbus, Vasco da Gama circumnavigated Africa, but it had been done before Solomon’s time. That fleet would bring him back spices, jewels, gold, and silver, and it mentions in your text here peacocks among other things, with the hundred eyes of Argus in their tails, according to Greek legend. You remember that Juno appointed Argus, because he had a hundred eyes, to watch Jupiter and see that he did not stay out at night, and Jupiter employed Mercury to play on his flute, and by its music to put Argus to sleep, and while asleep to kill him; and then Jupiter had his own sweet will without espionage. But Juno put the eyes of Argus in the peacock’s tail, and indeed if his eyes could serve no better purpose while in his head, they might as well be in a bird’s tail. In Huribut’s Bible Atlas<\/em><\/strong> is a detailed description of Solomon’s famous building, the Temple of the Lord. You must not expect from me an elaborate description of the Temple. I submit, rather, some salient points.<\/p>\n

I. The plan and specifications. These were all given to David by inspiration of God. The Temple proper was but an enlargement of the house built by Moses, with relative proportions preserved throughout. The plan of the house built by Moses was also inspired. This we studied in Exodus.<\/p>\n

II. The date. In 1Ki 6:1<\/span> , this statement is made: “And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the Lord,” and on the second day of that second month, as you see from the corresponding passage in Chronicles, this Temple was commenced. This specific date, so circumstantially given, has puzzled many commentators. They don’t know how to fit the events of Moses, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and David into just 480 years. It is the governing passage that largely influenced Archbishop Usher in arranging the chronology as you see it at the head of your King James Bible.<\/p>\n

Turn now to 1Ki 6:37<\/span> : “In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of the Lord laid, in the month of Ziv. And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it.” Not only the building itself, but all its furniture, the utensils, and implements of every kind put in the Temple and used in its worship, was a work of seven years.<\/p>\n

The next salient point worthy of your attention is the message of the Lord to Solomon when he was about to commence this work. You will find it on 1Ki 6:11<\/span> : “And the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying, Concerning this house which thou art building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes and execute my judgments, and keep all of my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee, which I spake unto David, thy father. And I will dwell among the children of Israel and will not forsake my people Israel.” This is what he says to Solomon, “You have commenced to build a house for me. I come to tell you that I am with you, and give you my promise at the start that it shall be God’s dwelling-place.” When we come to the next visit the Lord makes to Solomon, when the house was dedicated, I will give you another remarkable passage, but this one is at the commencement of the work.<\/p>\n

The next thing we note is the site. The first intimation of the site is given to us in Abraham’s time. Abraham was commanded to take his son Isaac and offer him up as a burnt offering upon Mount Moriah, then held by the Jebusites; and on that mountain and at the very place where the Temple wag subsequently erected, there the symbolic forecast of the offering up of a greater Isaac took place. The next account that we have of the site is when the great plague came upon the people of Jerusalem, and David to avert the plague presented himself before God, and offered to die for his people, to let the punishment come upon him and spare the people. When he saw the angel of death approaching Jerusalem, he boldly went forth to meet the angel, and proposed a substitutionary sacrifice of himself; and then the plague was stayed, and at the place where the plague was stayed, David bought the threshing-floor of Araunah, the Jebusite, and marked it out as the site where God’s house was to be erected, where the great sacrifices were to be offered throughout the ages, that were to foretell the coming of the greatest Sacrifice.<\/p>\n

Next in importance is the great work of preparing the foundation. You must conceive of an irregularly shaped mountain whose crest was taken off low enough down the mountain to give sufficient area. If on three sides the mountain sloped down into the valley, a wall must be built on those three sides high enough for the desired level, and the crest taken off must be used to fill in all the space to a level with the wall summit. On one side there would be no wall. The area of the space thus leveled was about thirty acres in the shape of a trapezoid, one side of which was 1,520 feet; the opposite side 1,611 feet; one end 1,017 feet, and the other end 921 feet. Of course, the height of the wall would vary on the three sides, according to the dip of the slope into the valley below. The greatest height of the wall was 143 feet. This perpendicular wall, built of immense stones bevelled into each other would cement, would render the Temple area unapproachable and impregnable on three sides. The fourth side was safe-guarded by an immense moat, and by the fortified tower of Millo. The crest of the mountain taken off was not sufficient in bulk to fill on the three sides up to the top of the wall, and then to furnish stones for the buildings and terraces. So Solomon opened quarries on the other mountainsides, tunneling under the city itself. There today may be seen Solomon’s subterranean quarries, where slaves toiled in the heart of the earth. Their bones are yet where they died, and the marks of their implements on the everlasting rock, and some of the mammoth unused stones. These slaves were the unassimilated Canaanites, fed and clothed indeed after a fashion, but without wages. So also the multitude of laborerg who were sent to Tyre under overseers to get out the forest timbers, were conscript laborers, thousands of them, working in reliefs under taskmasters.<\/p>\n

But Solomon had nobody in his kingdom skilful enough to direct the stone work and establish foundries for the materials of brass, silver, and gold. So he appealed to Hiram, king of Tyre, for an expert superintendent. The king of Tyre sent him the son of a widow, also called Hiram. If you ever get to be a Mason, you will hear more about Hiram Abiff. He was the architect of the whole business, and had the full superintendence of everything. Your text here gives an account of him, and of what he did in constructing the Temple.<\/p>\n

An equally stupendous work in the way of preparation had to be done, namely, to provide an adequate water supply. To this end, he built enormous cisterns capable of holding many millions of barrels of water, and aqueducts for carrying the water. He built pools, like the Pool of Siloam, and vast reservoirs.<\/p>\n

You must not conceive of the thirty-five acres as one level, but several terraced levels, one terrace rising above another until on the highest level is the Temple proper and its immediate approaches. The lowest level was the court of the Gentiles, a higher level the court of the women. The whole area with its inner divisions corresponds in general plan to the enclosed area around the tabernacle of Moses and the tent itself. The Temple proper, itself a small building, was only the tent of Moses on a larger scale, all relative proportions preserved.<\/p>\n

The lumber material was more difficult to procure than the stone material. It came from the forests of Lebanon cedar and fir. The getting out of the timber from the forest, and the floating of it in great rafts from Tyre to Joppa, was performed by Hiram’s men. Solomon furnished the rations and compensated for the labor by giving King Hiram ten cities. When Hiram came to inspect the cities, he found them to be only sites for cities, something like Charles Dickens’ description of American cities, which existed only in sanguine prospect, or like the Bible description of Jerusalem in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah: “Now the city was exceedingly large, only the houses were not yet built, and the inhabitants thereof were few.” Hiram, in disgust, refused to receive them, and Solomon built them and peopled them with Jews. It has always seemed, on the face of it, that Solomon played an unworthy Yankee trick on his confiding and generous ally. Solomon’s own men had to transport this lumber material all the way up hill from Joppa to Jerusalem, and there, under the skilled supervision of Hiram, the widow’s son, they were fashioned for their place in the Temple. Indeed, every part, whether of stone, timber, or metal, was so skilfully fashioned that the Temple went up without the sound of ax, saw, or hammer. So the spiritual temple arises in silence rather than noise. The kingdom of heaven comes not with observation. “Sanctified rows,” as in many modern meetings, and confusions of mingled services, as at Corinth, are not contributory to the edifying of the temple of Christ.<\/p>\n

There are some very striking references to the works of Solomon in the books of Ecclesiastes and the Song. For instance, this passage from Ecclesiastes 2 Solomon himself talking: “I made me great works, I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards; I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kinds of fruits; I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees.”<\/p>\n

The gardens or paradises built by Solomon, the principal ones, were these: One near Jerusalem, where tremendous work in the rock had to be made to get space terrace space for his garden. Another was built about seven miles south of Jerusalem, near Bethlehem; and his summer park was at Mount Lebanon, described in the Song of Solomon, and when the hot summertime would come, and he would start to that summer resort in the mountains, a palanquin, or traveling carriage was made, and what a gorgeous thing it was! As it was a mountainous country, a palanquin was used and carried on the shoulders of men, but not until he got to a point where a chariot could not be used; up to that point he went in a beautiful chariot, the finest ever known, drawn by the finest of horses, as that Song tells you: “Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all the powders of the merchant?”<\/p>\n

The era of all these famous works was one of peace. These are not the achievements of unsettled times. War is destructive, not constructive. Solomon was not a man of blood, but the prince of peace, and hence the type of him at whose triumph all wars cease forever.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

QUESTIONS<\/p>\n

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1. What was the principal building works of Solomon in Jerusalem?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

2. What two kinds of cities elsewhere?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

3. Cite the more important fortified cities and the purpose of each.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

4. Locate and describe the trade city of Tadmor, and give something of its subsequent history.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

5. What was city for sea trade, and how peopled?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

6. Why was he dependent upon the Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon for Mediterranean trade?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

7. Locate and give the reason for building Eziongeber, and describe the commerce promoted by it. Tell about his fleet there, how manned and why, the time length of its voyages, the countries visited, and the products imported.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

8. Was Africa circumnavigated before the famous voyages around it by Vasco da Gama? How was it done?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

9. Where, probably, the Ophir of the ancients? Where Tarshish?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

10. What did Solomon build in the way of roads, and what other countries since his time were noted for the building of good roads?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

11. What attention is given to this matter by our country now?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

12. How were the plans and specifications of the Temple obtained, and through whom?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

13. What previous plan on a smaller scale was followed, and how and through whom was it obtained?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

14. Why was Jehovah so particular in insisting on exact conformity with every detail of his plan?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

15. What was the site of the Temple, and the two great historical events leading to its selection, and their typical import?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

16. Where may we find the details of the Temple structure?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

17. Give the date of its beginning, and time of its building.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

18. Describe the foundation work, the area obtained, and its shape and side dimensions.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

19. Whence the material for this foundation work, the laborers, and the modern evidence of their labor?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

20. How many levels on this area, and the purpose of each?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

21. Whence and what the materials of wood, how gotten out and transported, who the laborers, how many, and how supplied with food?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

22. Who was the human architect?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

23. Besides food supplies, how did Solomon compensate Hiram, king of Tyre, for his help, what Hiram’s opinion of the bargain, and what became of the rejected compensation?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

24. What evidence of the perfect preparation of every piece of material before it was put into the building, and what the typical import?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

25. What became of Solomon’s Temple, and whose succeeded it? What were its fortunes, and who restored it on a grand scale near the time of our Lord, and what became of it? What building now occupies the ancient building site?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

26. Of what was the tabernacle of Moses and Solomon’s Temple a type?<\/p>\n

Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

2Ch 4:1 Moreover he made an altar of brass, twenty cubits the length thereof, and twenty cubits the breadth thereof, and ten cubits the height thereof.<\/p>\n

Ver. 1. Moreover, he made an altar of brass.<\/strong> ] This altar was a type of the cross of Christ, yea, of Christ himself. “We also have an altar,” &c. Heb 13:10 <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

And ten cubits the height thereof.<\/strong> ] That all the people might see the burnt offerings, and be reminded of their sins and of their Saviour; for the ceremonial law was their gospel.<\/p>\n

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

2 Chronicles Chapter 4<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

So in the next chapter (4) we find all the appurtenances – the altar and the sea of brass, and the pots and shovels and basins – for everything has its place. And, further, all the golden vessels were made by Solomon. Huram, a Gentile, might be entrusted with the outside vessels; but “Solomon made all the vessels that were for the house of God” (v. 19). They were under his own superintendence directly as it became him.<\/p>\n

Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Chapter 4<\/p>\n

Moreover he made an altar of brass, that was thirty feet long, and thirty feet wide, and it was fifteen feet high ( 2Ch 4:1 ).<\/p>\n

This brazen altar for the offering of the sacrifices.<\/p>\n

And he made this molten ( 2Ch 4:2 )<\/p>\n

They cast this huge brass bath for the priests to bathe in.<\/p>\n

the sea of fifteen feet from brim to brim, around in compass, seven and a half feet high; and it was, of course, forty-five feet around it. And under it was the likeness of oxen, twelve oxen that they carved of brass; and three pointing towards the north, three facing towards the south, three facing towards the east and three facing towards the west ( 2Ch 4:2-4 ).<\/p>\n

All facing outward and this big brass pool on top of it.<\/p>\n

Now the thickness of the brass pool was the thickness of your handbreadth ( 2Ch 4:5 ),<\/p>\n

If you can picture it. And it held about twenty-four thousand gallons of water. Now to cast something like this today would be near impossible. A brass swimming pool, seven and a half feet deep, fifteen feet across, and the width of it about six to eight inches thick. And this was for the priests to bathe in.<\/p>\n

And then around the top of it, all kinds of fancy work. Flowers and lilies and so forth carved in it. And then he made ten other basins so that they could wash the instruments. Of course, with the sacrifices there was a lot of blood and all. And thus, it was necessary that the priests bathe and get this blood off of them. And, of course, the knives and the instruments and all that they used would all be bloody after the offering of these sacrifices. And so ten of these lavers to wash the various instruments in, and the big pool for the priests to wash in.<\/p>\n

And then he made ten candlesticks of gold. And ten tables, that he placed in the temple, five on the right side, five on the left. And he made a hundred basins of gold. And then he made the court of the priests, the doors of the court, he overlaid them with brass. And this big basin was on the right side at the east end. And Huram made the pots, and the shovels, and the basins. And Huram finished the work that he was to make for king Solomon for the house of God; That is, the two pillars, and the pommels, and the chapiters which were on the top of the two pillars, the two wreaths to cover the two pommels; And the four hundred pomegranates and so forth. And the bases, and the lavers; and the oxen. And Solomon made all of these vessels in great abundance ( 2Ch 4:7-15 , 2Ch 4:18 ):<\/p>\n

They cast them, actually, down in the Jordan River in the clay area down there, and then carried them on up to Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

Moreover the candlesticks and their lamps, they made for the holy place out of pure gold; and the flowers, and the lamps, the tongs, they made of gold, perfect gold; the snuffers, and the basins, and the spoons, and all the instruments for the worship made of pure gold ( 2Ch 4:20-22 ): “<\/p>\n

Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

2Ch 4:1-6<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:1-6<\/p>\n

MORE OF SOLOMON’S SINFUL CHANGES;<\/p>\n

THE SINFUL LAVER AND THE SINFUL IMAGES PLACED UNDER THE LAVER<\/p>\n

“Moreover he made an altar of brass, twenty cubits the length thereof, and twenty cubits the breadth thereof, and ten cubits the height thereof. Also he made the molten sea often cubits from brim to brim, round in compass; and the height thereof was five cubits; and a line of thirty cubits compassed it round about. And under it was the likeness of oxen, which did compass it round about, for ten cubits, compassing the sea round about. The oxen were in two rows, cast when it was cast. It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea was set upon them, above, and all their hinder parts were inward. And it was a handbreadth thick; and the brim thereof was wrought like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily: it received and held three thousand baths. He made also ten lavers, and put five on the right hand, and five on the left, to wash in them; such things as belonged to the burnt-offering they washed in them; but the sea was for the priests to wash in.”<\/p>\n

“He made an altar of brass … the height thereof ten cubits” (2Ch 4:1). What was wrong with this? Ten cubits was a height of something like fifteen feet, which required that steps would have to be used by the priests in making sacrifices upon it; and God had specifically commanded Israel, “Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto my altar” (Exo 20:26).<\/p>\n

Not only did Solomon’s temple and all that it contained violate many of God’s specific commandments, such as this one; but there were also countless concessions to paganism, as seen in the images of the bulls (politely called oxen here) placed under the laver. The bulls, calves, oxen, whatever they were called, were the usual images under which the old Canaanite fertility god Baal was worshipped. Even the Jewish historian Josephus condemned Solomon for what he did in this. It is an unqualified mystery to us why “Christian” writers attempt to justify it! Besides that, the Decalogue specifically forbade the making of images, or `likenesses’ of anything either in heaven or on earth, the sacred images of the cherubim commanded by Moses, having been one exception to this.<\/p>\n

“It … held three thousand baths” (2Ch 4:5). The bath was a Jewish measure, being the equivalent of about 4,7\/8 gallons. The very size of this laver was a testimonial to the type of `washing’ to which the priests submitted. It was by immersion, being in that particular typical of Christian baptism. <\/p>\n

E.M. Zerr:<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:1. This altar of brass corresponds to the “brasen altar” of the tabernacle. We will not criticize the enlarged size of this one over the old. We have already learned that Solomon received divine instructions on the building of this house, therefore the work was right in the sight of God. We should keep in mind the fact that the nation was growing all the time, and the needs for service would grow with it. <\/p>\n

2Ch 4:2. In the place of the laver which Moses made, Solomon made a vessel that was so large that it was called a sea. It was 15 feet across and seven and a half high. <\/p>\n

2Ch 4:3. Under it, that is, under the brim of the sea, were two rows of work in the form of oxen. They were small for there were ten to every cubit. Cast, when it was cast, means the mould was formed with these ornamental oxen so that they were all cast together at the same time the sea was cast. <\/p>\n

2Ch 4:4. According to 1Ki 7:45 these oxen were made of brass. They were large enough to serve as a base for the large sea or tank, and were arranged so that the faces of three of them could be seen from each of the four sides. <\/p>\n

2Ch 4:5. The walls of the sea were about three inches thick and the brim was ornamented with formations like lilies. All of this was cast with the sea in the same operation. Held 3,000 baths means its capacity was that–it could hold that much, but it did not need to be filled to capacity. It usually had in it only 2,000 baths. (1Ki 7:26.) According to Moffatt the capacity of this tank was 24,000 gallons. <\/p>\n

2Ch 4:6. The law of Moses required that the beasts to be offered on the altar be washed. These ten lavers were for that use, leaving the sea or large tank for the use of the priests. They were required to wash their hands and feet every time they went into the house of the Lord. (Exo 30:19-21.) <\/p>\n

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

The period occupied in building the Temple was seven years (1Ki 6:38). The work being completed with filial and godly care, the king carried into the sacred enclosure all that his father had collected and dedicated to the purpose. Thus nearly half a millennium after the Exodus the chosen people are found in the land, with a king on the throne, and a permanent Temple in the midst of the chief city at the center of the national life. “Permanent,” do we say? The only principles of permanence are faithfulness and purity. Already the elements of decay were at work in the heart of the king and among the people.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the building of the Temple was a link in the chain of events moving surely forward under God to the Advent, “in the fullness of the time” of Him in whom all that the Temple symbolized, and infinitely more, was realized. <\/p>\n

Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

CHAPTER 4 The Vessels that were for the House<\/p>\n

1. The altar of brass (2Ch 4:1)<\/p>\n

2. The molten sea (2Ch 4:2-5)<\/p>\n

3. The ten loaves (2Ch 4:6)<\/p>\n

4. The ten candlesticks (2Ch 4:7)<\/p>\n

5. The ten tables (2Ch 4:8)<\/p>\n

6. The court (2Ch 4:9-10)<\/p>\n

7. The work of Huram (2Ch 4:11-17)<\/p>\n

8. The work of Solomon (2Ch 4:18-22)<\/p>\n

The altar of brass, twenty cubits long, twenty cubits broad and ten cubits high, is not mentioned in the book of Kings. In the south-east of the court of the temple, stood the molten sea, which rested upon twelve oxen, three looking northward, three looking westward, three southward and three eastward. It received and held 3,000 measures of water. (3,000 measures was the full amount it could contain; the usual contents, however, were 2,000 measures [1Ki 7:26].) The molten sea was for the priests and the Levites to perform their ablutions. It is typical of that cleansing which His people need and which is so graciously provided by the Lord Himself. The immense quantity of water contained in the molten sea suggests the unlimited provision grace has made. In Rev 4:6, we read that before the throne was a sea of glass like crystal. This sea of glass is an allusion to the molten sea in Solomons temple. But it is not a sea of water, but of glass like crystal, because the redeemed (symbolically seen in the twenty-four elders) in glory do no longer need cleansing. They have entered upon a perfect and fixed state of holiness. The ten lavers with their bases were for the washing of the sacrifices. We see that instead of one laver there were ten; and there were also ten candlesticks and ten tables. Everything was an increase and on a large scale, while the whole house and its contents represented an untold wealth. It all foreshadows that coming glorious Kingdom of Christ. Then there will be the increase and the blessing typified by the ten lavers, the ten candlesticks and the ten tables. The brazen scaffold, five cubits long, five cubits broad and three cubits high which Solomon had made upon which he stood and kneeled in prayer (2Ch 6:13) is not mentioned in this chapter.<\/p>\n

The Priests court was enclosed by a wall of hewn stones and a row of cedar beams (1Ki 6:36). It had massive gates covered with brass. What Huram had worked for Solomon and Solomons own work concludes this chapter and the account of the building the temple.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

an altar: 2Ch 1:5, Exo 27:1-8, 1Ki 8:22, 1Ki 8:64, 1Ki 9:25, 2Ki 16:14, 2Ki 16:15, Eze 43:13-17 <\/p>\n

Reciprocal: Exo 38:1 – the altar 2Sa 8:8 – exceeding 2Ch 7:7 – the brazen 2Ch 8:12 – on the altar 2Ch 15:8 – the altar of the Lord 2Ch 29:18 – the altar 2Ch 32:12 – one altar Ezr 3:3 – the altar Eze 9:2 – beside Eze 43:16 – twelve cubits<\/p>\n

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

A.M. 2992. B.C. 1012.<\/p>\n

The brazen altar, sea, and lavers, 2Ch 4:1-6. The golden candlesticks and tables, 2Ch 4:7, 2Ch 4:8. The doors overlaid with brass, the vessels of the altar, and other brass work, 2Ch 4:9-18. The golden altar of incense, with its appurtenances, 2Ch 4:19-22.<\/p>\n

NOTES ON CHAPTER 4.<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:1-2. Ten cubits the height thereof This was too high for the priests to lay the victims on it, without going up some kind of ascent; but as it was expressly commanded (Exo 20:26) that they should not go up by steps unto Gods altar; they doubtless ascended in some other way. Also he made a molten sea of ten cubits This and the following verses are explained 1Ki 7:23, &c.<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:7. According to their form The old form which God proscribed to Moses, Exo 25:31, &c. And this seems to be mentioned here, because in many other things there was a great variation from the old form; as in the posture of the cherubim, the height of the altar, and divers other things.<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:8. He made also ten tables Whereon the show-bread was set, 2Ch 4:19. Perhaps each of these had twelve loaves on it. As the house was enlarged, so was the provision.<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:16. Huram his father He is so called, because Solomon, it seems, usually called him by that name, out of that great respect which he bare to him for his excellent art, and the service which he did for him; it being usual to call great artists and inventors of things by this name. See Gen 4:20-21.<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:20-22. That they should burn after the manner According to the prescription of God to them by Moses. The doors of the house were of gold To wit, in part. For they were not entirely of massy gold, but wood covered with plates of gold, 1Ki 6:31-35, and 2Ki 18:16. <\/p>\n

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

2Ch 4:1. An altar of brass, twenty cubits in length and breadth, and ten cubits high, which was ascended, not by steps, Exo 20:26, but by a sort of inclined plane; a very magnificent and most instructive altar, where sin was confessed, and typically expiated.<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:3. Similitude of oxenten in a cubit. This is a strange translation. The sense of the original appears to be, a wreath of the ox-eye, a species of grape or plum of a large size and dark colour, resembling the eye of the ox, and thence named: ten plums to a cubit. There was a double wreath of the ox-eye (two rows of oxen) adorning the rim of the molten sea, and which the English version confounds with the twelve oxen, 2Ch 4:4, on which it stood. <\/p>\n

Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

2Ch 4:1 ff. It is probable that the Chronicler, in describing the Temple furniture was influenced by what he saw in Zerubbabels Temple.<\/p>\n

2Ch 4:9. the court of the priests . . . : the courts are described by the Chronicler as he saw them in his day; they were different in the first Temple (see 1Ki 6:36; 1Ki 7:12).<\/p>\n

Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

FURNISHINGS OF THE TEMPLE <\/p>\n

(vv.1-22)<\/p>\n

Some of the furnishings for the temple were placed on the outside, others inside. The bronze altar (v.1) was of course outside, and much larger than that made for the tabernacle, in fact 20 by 20 cubits, and 10 cubits high, – about 30 feet square and 15 feet high. Bronze (or copper) speaks of the holiness of God, so that the bronze altar emphasises the holy judgment of God borne by His holy Son as the one sacrifice for sin. Thus, we must meet God at the cross before there is any possibility of entering His temple.<\/p>\n

The Sea answers to the laver of the tabernacle, but again how much higher! It was 10 cubits in diameter (about 15 feet) and its height 5 cubits (7 112 feet) (v.2). It was supported by 12 bronze oxen, all facing outward, three toward each direction of the compass. The 12 tribes of Israel are thus represented. The oxen speak of lowly, patient service. The priests washed in the Sea (v.6), symbolising moral cleansing necessary for carrying out their service. The sea contained 3,000 baths of water (v.5), which amounts to over 12,600 gallons. Being a hand-breadth thick (about 4 inches), its weight must have been great.<\/p>\n

Solomon also made ten lavers, their size not noted, putting five on the right side and five on the left of the Sea (v 6). The lavers were for washing the burn offerings before offering them. The sacrifice had to be clean as symbolising the perfect purity of Christ. He required no cleansing, but if the animal was to picture Him, the animal must be cleansed.<\/p>\n

The tabernacle had only one golden lampstand, but the temple had ten, five of them being on each side of the outer sanctuary (v.7). Each of these no doubt had seven branches. The lampstands speak of Christ as the Sustainer of testimony, and being ten reminds us that all the claims of the law are fulfilled in this One whose testimony is perfection, including His great sacrifice by which He has fulfilled the law on behalf of others.<\/p>\n

Similarly, though the tabernacle had only one table, the temple had ten, with five on each side of the outer sanctuary. The table pictures Christ as the Sustainer of communion. A mere legal covenant would only hinder communion, for the law could not bring anyone near to God. But the number ten again shows that Christ has fulfilled all the law’s requirements. Israel will understand this in the millennium, to which the temple has special application, so that nothing will be present to hinder the precious flow of fellowship based on the person of the Lord Jesus.<\/p>\n

It seems difficult to understand what purpose 100 golden bowls would serve in the temple, though we may be sure that God has a spiritual reason for this. These things in verses 7 and 8 were inside the outer sanctuary.<\/p>\n

The court of the priests would be close to the temple and the great courts on the outside of that (v.9). The doors (or gates) were overlaid with bronze, emphasising the holiness that is necessary for any entering of the temple area.<\/p>\n

Pots, shovels and bowls are mentioned in verse 11, and in verse 16 these are said to be made of burnished bronze (or copper), so that they were used outside the temple in connection with the sacrifices and the fire provided for the sacrifices. The furniture inside the temple was either of gold or covered with gold.<\/p>\n

The list of things Huram provided is seen from verse 11 to verse 16. Added to what was previously mentioned are carts (v.14) that carried the lavers. It may be that the carts were made in order that the lavers could be moved to the location where the animal of sacrifice was brought. The amount of bronze used in connection with the temple was so great that its weight was not determined (v.18).<\/p>\n

Verses 19 to 22 recount the furnishings inside the holy place (not the most holy); the golden incense altar, the tables of showbread, the lampstands with their flowers and lamps of pure gold, wick trimmers, bowls, ladles and censers. Wicks themselves are not mentioned, for they do not speak of the Lord Jesus, but of believers who bear testimony, but must be trimmed, for the testimony of one day cannot avail for the next day. No matter how brightly we may have shone for the Lord at one time, the burnt wick must be removed, so that we may continue to shine with new energy. Forgetting the things that are past, we should press forward with constantly renewed desire for the honour of the Lord Jesus.<\/p>\n

Inner doors leading in to the most holy place were gold. Thus, there were both doors and a veil separating the two sanctuaries. The doors of the main hall also, that is, apparently the doors of the entry into the outer sanctuary were of gold. It is said they were gold, not overlaid with gold, so their value must have been great indeed. Gold speaks of the glory of God, so that the very entrance into the holy place was to be for the glory of God, not for the blessing of the one who entered, though if God is glorified, there cannot but be blessing for the entrant. There may have been a curtain also, as there was in the tabernacle, but this is not said.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Grant’s Commentary on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

SOLOMON<\/p>\n

THE chroniclers history of Solomon is constructed on the same principles as that of David, and for similar reasons. The builder of the first Temple commanded the grateful reverence of a community whose national and religious life centered in the second Temple. While the Davidic king became the symbol of the hope of Israel, the Jews could not forget that this symbol derived much of its significance from the widespread dominion and royal magnificence of Solomon. The chronicler, indeed, attributes great splendor to the court of David, and ascribes to him a lions share in the Temple itself. He provided his successor with treasure and materials and even the complete plans, so that on the principle, “Qui facit per alium, facit per se,” David might have been credited with the actual building. Solomon was almost in the position of a modern engineer who puts together a steamer that has been built in sections. But, with all these limitations, the clear and obvious fact remained that Solomon actually built and dedicated the Temple. Moreover, the memory of his wealth and grandeur kept a firm hold on the popular imagination; and these conspicuous blessings were received as certain tokens of the favor of Jehovah.<\/p>\n

Solomons fame, however, was threefold: he was not only the Divinely appointed builder of the Temple and, by the same Divine grace, the richest and most powerful king of Israel: he had also received from Jehovah the gift of “wisdom and knowledge.” In his royal splendor and his sacred buildings he only differed in degree from other kings; but in his wisdom he stood alone, not only without equal, but almost without competitor. Herein he was under no obligation to his father, and the glory of Solomon could not be diminished by representing that he bad been anticipated by David. Hence the name of Solomon came to symbolize Hebrew learning and philosophy.<\/p>\n

In religious significance, however, Solomon cannot rank with David. The dynasty of Judah could have only one representative, and the founder and eponym of the royal house was the most important figure for the subsequent theology. The interest that later generations felt in Solomon lay apart from the main line of Jewish orthodoxy, and he is never mentioned by the prophets.<\/p>\n

Moreover, the darker aspects of Solomons reign made more impression upon succeeding generations than even Davids sins and misfortunes. Occasional lapses into vices and cruelty might be forgiven or even forgotten; but the systematic oppression of Solomon rankled for long generations in the hearts of the people, and the prophets always remembered his wanton idolatry. His memory was further discredited by the disasters which marked the close of his own reign and the beginning of Rehoboams. Centuries later these feelings still prevailed. The prophets who adopted the Mosaic law for the closing period of the monarchy exhort the king to take warning by Solomon, and to multiply neither horses, nor wives, nor gold and silver. {Deu 17:16-17; Cf. 2Ch 1:14-17 and 1Ki 11:3-8}<\/p>\n

But as time went on Judah fell into growing poverty and distress, which came to a head in the Captivity and were renewed with the Restoration. The Jews were willing to forget Solomons faults in order that they might indulge in fond recollections of the material prosperity of his reign. Their experience of the culture of Babylon led them to feel greater interest and pride in his wisdom, and the figure of Solomon began to assume a mysterious grandeur, which has since become the nucleus for Jewish and Mohammedan legends. The chief monument of his fame in Jewish literature is the book of Proverbs, but his growing reputation is shown by the numerous Biblical and apocryphal works ascribed to him. His name was no doubt attached to Canticles because of a feature in his character which the chronicler ignores. His supposed authorship of Ecclesiastes and of the Wisdom of Solomon testifies to the fame of his wisdom, while the titles of the “Psalms of Solomon” and even of some canonical psalms credit him with spiritual feeling and poetic power.<\/p>\n

When the Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach proposes to “praise famous men,” it dwells upon Solomons temple and his wealth, and especially upon his wisdom; but it does not forget his failings. {Sir 47:12-21} Josephus celebrates his glory at great length. The New Testament has comparatively few notices of Solomon; but these include references to his wisdom, {Mat 12:42} his splendor, {Mat 6:29} and his temple. {Act 7:47} The Koran, however, far surpasses the New Testament in its interest in Solomon; and his name and his seal play a leading part in Jewish and Arabian magic. The bulk of this literature is later than the chronicler, but the renewed interest in the glory of Solomon must have begun before his time. Perhaps, by connecting the building of the Temple as far as possible with David, the chronicler marks his sense of <\/p>\n

Solomons unworthiness. On the other hand, there were many reasons why he should welcome the aid of popular sentiment to enable him to include Solomon among the ideal Hebrew kings. After all, Solomon had built and dedicated the Temple; he was the “pious founder,” and the beneficiaries of the foundation would wish to make the most of his piety. “Jehovah” had “magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed upon him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.” {1Ch 29:25} “King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom; and all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.” {2Ch 9:22-23} The chronicler would naturally wish to set forth the better side of Solomons character as an ideal of royal wisdom and splendor, devoted to the service of the sanctuary. Let us briefly compare Chronicles and Kings to see how he accomplished his purpose.<\/p>\n

The structure of the narrative in Kings rendered the task comparatively easy: it could be accomplished by removing the opening and closing sections and making a few minor changes in the intermediate portion. The opening section is the sequel to the conclusion of Davids reign; the chronicler omitted this conclusion, and therefore also its sequel. But the contents of this section were objectionable in themselves. Solomons admirers willingly forgot that his reign was inaugurated by the execution of Shimei, of his brother Adonijah, and of his fathers faithful minister Joab, and by the deposition of the high-priest Abiathar. The chronicler narrates with evident approval the strong measures of Ezra and Nehemiah against foreign marriages, and he is therefore not anxious to remind his readers that Solomon married Pharaohs daughter. He does not, however, carry out his plan consistently. Elsewhere he wishes to emphasize the sanctity of the Ark and tells us that “Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of David unto the house that he had built for her, for he said, My wife shall not dwell in the house of David, king of Israel, because the places are holy whereunto the ark of the Lord hath come.” {2Ch 8:11}<\/p>\n

In Kings the history of Solomon closes with a long account of his numerous wives and concubines, his idolatry and consequent misfortunes. All this is omitted by the chronicler; but later on, with his usual inconsistency, he allows Nehemiah to point the moral of a tale he has left untold: “Did not Solomon, king of Israel, sin by these things? Even him did strange women cause to sin.” {Neh 13:26} In the intervening section he omits the famous judgment of Solomon, probably on account of the character of the women concerned, he introduces sundry changes which naturally follow from his belief that the Levitical law was then in force. His feeling for the dignity of the chosen people and their king comes out rather curiously in two minor alterations. Both authorities agree in telling us that Solomon had recourse to forced labor for his building operations; in fact, after the usual Eastern fashion from the Pyramids down to the Suez Canal, Solomons temple and palaces were built by the corvee. According to the oldest narrative, he “raised a levy out of all Israel.” This suggests that forced labor was exacted from the Israelites themselves, and it would help to account for Jeroboams successful rebellion. The chronicler omits this statement as open to an interpretation derogatory to the dignity of the chosen people, and not only inserts a later explanation which he found in the book of Kings, but also another express statement that Solomon raised his levy of the “strangers that were in the land of Israel.” {2Ch 2:2; 2Ch 2:17-18; 2Ch 8:7-10} These statements may have been partly suggested by the existence of a class of Temple slaves called Solomons servants.<\/p>\n

The other instance relates to Solomons alliance with Hiram, king of Tyre. In the book of Kings we are told that “Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.” {1Ki 9:11-12} There were indeed redeeming features connected with the transaction; the cities were not a very valuable possession for Hiram: “they pleased him not”; yet he “sent to the king six score talents of gold.” However, it seemed incredible to the chronicler that the most powerful and wealthy of the kings of Israel should either cede or sell any portion of Jehovahs inheritance. He emends the text of his authority so as to convert it into a causal reference to certain cities which Hiram had given to Solomon. {2Ch 8:1-2. R.V}<\/p>\n

We will now reproduce the story of Solomon as given by the chronicler. Solomon was the youngest of four sons born to David at Jerusalem by Bathshua, the daughter of Ammiel. Besides these three brothers, he had at least six other eider brothers. As in the cases of Isaac, Jacob, Judah, and David himself, the birthright fell to a younger son. In the prophetic utterance which foretold his birth, he was designated to succeed to his fathers throne and to build the Temple. At the great assembly which closed his fathers reign he received instructions as to the plans and services of the Temple, {1Ch 28:9} and was exhorted to discharge his duties faithfully. He was declared king according to the Divine choice, freely accepted by David and ratified by popular acclamation. At Davids death no one disputed his succession to the throne: “All Israel obeyed him; and all the princes and the mighty men and all the sons likewise of King David submitted themselves unto Solomon the king.” {1Ch 29:23-24}<\/p>\n

His first act after his accession was to sacrifice before the brazen altar of the ancient Tabernacle at Gideon. That night God appeared unto him “and said unto him, Ask what I shall give thee.” Solomon chose wisdom and knowledge to qualify-him for the arduous task of government. Having thus “sought first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,” all other things -” riches, wealth, and honor”-were added unto him. {2Ch 1:7-13}<\/p>\n

He returned to Jerusalem, gathered a great array of chariots and horses by means of traffic with Egypt, and accumulated great wealth, so that silver, and gold, and cedars became abundant at Jerusalem. {2Ch 1:14-17}<\/p>\n

He next proceeded with the building of the Temple, collected workmen, obtained timber from Lebanon and an artificer from Tyre. The Temple was duly erected and dedicated, the king taking the chief and most conspicuous part in all the proceedings. Special reference, however, is made to the presence of the priests and Levites at the dedication. On this occasion the ministry of the sanctuary was not confined to the course whose turn it was to officiate, but “all the priests that were present had sanctified themselves and did not keep their courses; also the Levites, which were the singers, all of them, even Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and their brethren, arrayed in fine linen, with cymbals, and psalteries, and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them a hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets.”<\/p>\n

Solomons dedication prayer concludes with special petitions for the priests, the saints, and the king: “Now therefore arise, O Jehovah Elohim, into Thy resting-place, Thou and the ark of Thy strength; let Thy priests, O Jehovah Elohim, be clothed with salvation, and let Thy saints rejoice in goodness. O Jehovah Elohim, turn not away the face of Thine anointed; remember the mercies of David Thy servant.”<\/p>\n

When David sacrificed at the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite, the place had been indicated as the site of the future Temple by the descent of fire from heaven; and now, in token that the mercy shown to David should be continued to Solomon, the fire again fell from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of Jehovah “filled the house of Jehovah,” as it had done earlier in the day, when the Ark was brought into the Temple. Solomon concluded the opening ceremonies by a great festival: for eight days the Feast of Tabernacles was observed according to the Levitical law, and seven days more were specially devoted to a dedication feast.<\/p>\n

Afterwards Jehovah appeared again to Solomon, as He had before at Gibeon, and told him that this prayer was accepted. Taking up the several petitions that the king had offered, He promised, “If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I send pestilence among My people; if My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Now Mine eyes shall be open, and Mine ears attent, unto the prayer that is made in this place.” Thus Jehovah, in His gracious condescension, adopts Solomons own words to express His answer to the prayer. He allows Solomon to dictate the terms of the agreement, and merely appends His signature and seal.<\/p>\n

Besides the Temple, Solomon built palaces for himself and his wife, and fortified many cities, among the rest Hamath-zobah, formerly allied to David. He also organized the people for civil and military purposes.<\/p>\n

As far as the account of his reign is concerned, the Solomon of Chronicles appears as “the husband of one wife”; and that wife is the daughter of Pharaoh. A second, however, is mentioned later on as the mother of Rehoboam; she too was a “strange woman,” an Ammonitess, Naamah by name.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile Solomon was careful to maintain all the sacrifices and festivals ordained in the Levitical law, and all the musical and other arrangements for the sanctuary commanded by David, the man of God.<\/p>\n

We read next of his commerce by sea and land, his great wealth and wisdom, and the romantic visit of the queen of Sheba.<\/p>\n

And so the story of Solomon closes with this picture of royal state, –<\/p>\n

“The wealth of Ormus and of Ind, Or where the gorgeous East with richest hand Showers on her kings barbaric pearl and gold.”<\/p>\n

Wealth was combined with imperial power and Divine wisdom. Here, as in the case of Platos own pupils Dionysius and Dion of Syracuse, Platos dream came true; the prince was a philosopher, and the philosopher a prince.<\/p>\n

At first sight it seems as if this marriage of authority and wisdom had happier issue at Jerusalem than at Syracuse. Solomons history closes as brilliantly as Davids, and Solomon was subject to no Satanic possession and brought no pestilence upon Israel. But testimonials are chiefly significant in what they omit; and when we compare the conclusions of the histories of David and Solomon, we note suggestive differences.<\/p>\n

Solomons life does not close with any scene in which his people and his heir assemble to do him honor and to receive his last injunctions. There are no “last words” of the wise king; and it is not said of him that “he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honor.” “Solomon slept with his fathers, and he was buried in the city of David his father; and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead” that is all. When the chronicler, the professed panegyrist of the house of David, brings his narrative of this great reign to so lame and impotent a conclusion, he really implies as severe a condemnation upon Solomon as the book of Kings does by its narrative of his sins.<\/p>\n

Thus the Solomon of Chronicles shows the same piety and devotion to the Temple and its ritual which were shown by his father. His prayer at the dedication of the Temple is parallel to similar utterances of David. Instead of being a general and a soldier, he is a scholar and a philosopher. He succeeded to the administrative abilities of his father; and his prayer displays a deep interest in the welfare of his subjects. His record-in Chronicles-is even more faultless than that of David. And yet the careful student with nothing but Chronicles, even without Ezra and Nehemiah, might somehow get the impression that the story of Solomon, like that of Cambuscan, had been “left half told.” In addition to the points suggested by a comparison with the history of David, there is a certain abruptness about its conclusion. The last fact noted of Solomon, before the formal statistics about “the rest of his acts” and the years of his reign, is that horses were brought for him “out of Egypt and out of all lands.” Elsewhere the chroniclers use of his materials shows a feeling for dramatic effect. We should not have expected him to close the history of a great reign by a reference to the kings trade in horses. {1Ch 9:28}<\/p>\n

Perhaps we are apt to read into Chronicles what we know from the book of Kings; yet surely this abrupt conclusion would have raised a suspicion that there were omissions, that facts had been suppressed because they could not bear the light. Upon the splendid figure of the great king, with his wealth and wisdom, his piety and devotion, rests the vague shadow of unnamed sins and unrecorded misfortunes. A suggestion of unhallowed mystery attaches itself to the name of the builder of the Temple, and Solomon is already on the way to become the Master of the Genii and the chief of magicians.<\/p>\n

When we turn to consider the spiritual significance of this ideal picture of the history and character of Solomon, we are confronted by a difficulty that attends the exposition of any ideal history. An authors ideal of kingship in the early stages of literature is usually as much one and indivisible as his ideal of priesthood, of the office of the prophet, and of the wicked king. His authorities may record different incidents in connection with each individual; but he emphasizes those which correspond with his ideal, or even anticipates the higher criticism by constructing incidents which seem required by the character and circumstances of his heroes. On the other hand, where the priest, or the prophet, or the king departs from the ideal, the incidents are minimized or passed over in silence. There will still be a certain variety because different individuals may present different elements of the ideal, and the chronicler does not insist on each of his good kings possessing all the characteristics of royal perfection. Still the tendency of the process is to make all the good kings alike. It would be monotonous to take each of them separately and deduce the lessons taught by their virtues, because the chroniclers intention is that they shall all teach the same lessons by the same kind of behavior described from the same point of view. David has a unique position, and has to be taken by himself; but in considering the features that must be added to the picture of David in order to complete the picture of the good king, it is convenient to group Solomon with the reforming kings of Judah. We shall therefore defer for more consecutive treatment the chroniclers account of their general characters and careers. Here we shall merely gather up the suggestions of the different narratives as to the chroniclers ideal Hebrew king. The leading points have already been indicated from the chroniclers history of David. The first and most indispensable feature is devotion to the temple at Jerusalem and the ritual of the Pentateuch. This has been abundantly illustrated from the account of Solomon. Taking the reforming kings in their order:-<\/p>\n

Asa removed the high places which were rivals of the Temple, renewed the altar of Jehovah, gathered the people together for a great sacrifice, and made munificent donations to the Temple treasury. {2Ch 15:18-19}<\/p>\n

Similarly Jehoshaphat took away the high places, and sent out a commission to teach the Law.<\/p>\n

Joash repaired the Temple; {2Ch 24:1-14} but, curiously enough, though Jehoram had restored the high places and Joash was acting under the direction of the high-priest Jehoiada, it is not stated that the high places were done away with. This is one of the chroniclers rather numerous oversights. Perhaps, however, he expected that so obvious a reform would be taken for granted. Amaziah was careful to observe “the law in the book of Moses” that “the children should not die for the fathers,” {2Ch 25:4} but Amaziah soon turned away from following Jehovah. This is perhaps the reason why in his case also nothing is said about doing away with the high places. Hezekiah had a special opportunity of showing his devotion to the Temple and the Law. The Temple had been polluted and closed by Ahaz, and its services discontinued. Hezekiah purified the Temple, reinstated the priests and Levites, and renewed the services; he made arrangements for the payment of the Temple revenues according to the provisions of the Levitical law, and took away the high places. He also held a reopening festival and a passover with numerous sacrifices. Manassehs repentance is indicated by the restoration of the Temple ritual. {2Ch 33:16} Josiah took away the high places, repaired the Temple, made the people enter into a covenant to observe the rediscovered Law, and, like Hezekiah, held a great Passover {2Ch 34:1-33; 2Ch 35:1-27} The reforming kings, like David and Solomon, are specially interested in the music of the Temple and in all the arrangements that have to do with the porters and doorkeepers and other classes of Levites. Their enthusiasm for the exclusive rights of the one Temple symbolizes their loyalty to the one God, Jehovah, and their hatred of idolatry. Zeal for Jehovah and His temple is still combined with uncompromising assertion of the royal supremacy in matters of religion. The king, and not the priest, is the highest spiritual authority in the nation. Solomon, Hezekiah, and Josiah control the arrangements for public worship as completely as Moses or David. Solomon receives Divine communications without the intervention of either priest or prophet; he himself offers the great dedication prayer, and when he makes an end of praying, fire comes down from heaven. Under Hezekiah the civil authorities decide when the passover shall be observed: “For the king had taken counsel, and his princes, and all the congregation in Jerusalem, to keep the passover in the second month.” {2Ch 30:2} The great reforms of Josiah are throughout initiated and controlled by the king. He himself goes up to the Temple and reads in the ears of the people all the words of the book of the covenant that was found in the house of Jehovah. The chronicler still adheres to the primitive idea of the theocracy, according to which the chief, or judge, or king is the representative of Jehovah. The title to the crown rests throughout on the grace of God and the will of the people. In Judah, however, the principle of hereditary succession prevails throughout. Athaliah is not really an exception: she reigned as the widow of a Davidic king. The double election of David by Jehovah and by Israel carried with it the election of his dynasty. The permanent rule of the house of David was secured by the Divine promise to its founder. Yet the title is not allowed to rest on mere hereditary right. Divine choice and popular recognition are recorded in the case of Solomon and other kings. “All Israel came to Shechem to make Rehoboam king,” and yet revolted from him when he refused to accept their conditions; but the obstinacy which caused the disruption “was brought about of God, that Jehovah might establish His word which He spake by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite.”<\/p>\n

Ahaziah, Joash, Uzziah, Josiah, Jehoahaz, were all set upon the throne by the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. {2Ch 22:1, 2Ch 23:1-15, 2Ch 26:1, 2Ch 33:25, 2Ch 36:1} After Solomon the Divine appointment of kings is not expressly mentioned; Jehovahs control over the tenure of the throne is chiefly shown by the removal of unworthy occupants.<\/p>\n

It is interesting to note that the chronicler does not hesitate to record that of the last three sovereigns of Judah two were appointed by foreign kings: Jehoiakim was the nominee of Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt; and the last king of all, Zedekiah, was appointed by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. In like manner, the Herods, the last rulers of the restored kingdom of Judah, were the nominees of the Roman emperors. Such nominations forcibly illustrate the degradations and ruin of the theocratic monarchy. But yet, according to the teaching of the prophets, Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar were tools in the hand of Jehovah: and their nomination was still an indirect Divine appointment. In the chroniclers time, however, Judah was thoroughly accustomed to receive her governors from a Persian or Greek king; and Jewish readers would not be scandalized by a similar state of affairs in the closing years of the earlier kingdom.<\/p>\n

Thus the reforming kings illustrate the ideal kingship set forth in the history of David and Solomon: the royal authority originates in, and is controlled by, the will of God and the consent of the people: the kings highest duty is the maintenance of the worship of Jehovah; but the king and people are supreme both in Church and state.<\/p>\n

The personal character of the good kings is also very similar to that of David and Solomon. Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and Josiah are men of spiritual feeling as well as careful observers of correct ritual. None of the good kings, with the exception of Joash and Josiah, are unsuccessful in war; and good reasons are given for the exceptions. They all display administrative ability by their buildings, the organization of the Temple services and the army, and the arrangements for the collection of the revenue, especially the dues of the priests and Levites.<\/p>\n

There is nothing, however, to indicate that the personal charm of Davids character was inherited by his descendants; but when biography is made merely a means of edification, it often loses those touches of nature which make the whole world kin, and are capable of exciting either admiration or disgust.<\/p>\n

The later narrative affords another illustration of the absence of any sentiment of humanity towards enemies. As in the case of David, the chronicler records the cruelty of a good king as if it were quite consistent with loyalty to Jehovah. Before he turned away from following Jehovah, Amaziah defeated the Edomites and smote ten thousand of them. Others were treated like some of the Malagasy martyrs: “And other ten thousand did the children of Judah carry away alive, and brought them unto the top of the rock, and cast them down from the top of the rock, that they all were broken in pieces.” {1Ch 25:11} In this case, however, the chronicler is not simply reproducing Kings: he has taken the trouble to supplement his main authority from some other source, probably local tradition. His insertion of this verse is another testimony to the undying hatred of Israel for Edom.<\/p>\n

But in one respect the reforming kings are sharply distinguished from David and Solomon. The record of their lives is by no means blameless, and their sins are visited by condign chastisement. They all, with the single exception of Jotham, come to a bad end. Asa consulted physicians, and was punished by being allowed to die of a painful disease. {2Ch 16:12} The last event of Jehoshaphats life was the ruin of the navy, which he had built in unholy alliance with Ahaziah, king of Israel, who did very wickedly. {2Ch 20:37} Joash murdered the prophet Zechariah, the son of the high-priest Jehoiada; his great host was routed by a small company of Syrians, and Joash himself was assassinated by his servants. {2Ch 24:20-27} Amaziah turned away from following Jehovah, and “brought the gods of the children of Self, and set them up to be his gods, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense unto them.” He was accordingly defeated by Joash, king of Israel, and assassinated by his own people. {2Ch 25:14-27} Uzziah insisted on exercising the priestly function of burning incense to Jehovah, and so died a leper. {2Ch 26:16-23} “Even Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit done unto him, for his heart was lifted up in the business of ambassadors of the princes of Babylon; therefore there was wrath upon him and upon Judah and Jerusalem. Notwithstanding Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of Jehovah came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah.” But yet the last days of Hezekiah were clouded by the thought that he was leaving the punishment of his sin as a legacy to Judah and the house of David. {2Ch 32:25-33} Josiah refused to heed the warning sent to him by God through the king of Egypt: “He hearkened not unto the words of Neco from the mouth of God, and came to fight in the valley of Megiddo”; and so Josiah died like Ahab: he was wounded by the archers, carried out of the battle in his chariot, and died at Jerusalem. {2Ch 35:20-27}<\/p>\n

The melancholy record of the misfortunes of the good kings in their closing years is also found in the book of Kings. There too Asa in his old age was diseased in his feet, Jehoshaphats ships were wrecked, Joash and Amaziah were assassinated, Uzziah became a leper, Hezekiah was rebuked for his pride, and Josiah slain at Megiddo. But, except in the case of Hezekiah, the book of Kings says nothing about the sins which, according to Chronicles, occasioned these sufferings and catastrophes. The narrative in the book of Kings carries upon the face of it the lesson that piety is not usually rewarded with unbroken prosperity, and that a pious career does not necessarily ensure a happy deathbed. The significance of the chroniclers additions will be considered elsewhere: what concerns us here is his departure from the principles he observed in dealing with the lives of David and Solomon. They also sinned and suffered; but the chronicler omits their sins and sufferings, especially in the case of Solomon. Why does he pursue an opposite course with other good kings and blacken their characters by perpetuating the memory of sins not mentioned in the book of Kings, instead of confining his record to the happier incidents of their career? Many considerations may have influenced him. The violent deaths of Joash, Amaziah, and Josiah could neither be ignored nor explained away. Hezekiahs sin and repentance are closely parallel to Davids in the matter of the census. Although Asas disease, Jehoshaphats alliance with Israel, and Uzziahs leprosy might easily have been omitted, yet, if some reformers must be allowed to remain imperfect, there was no imperative necessity to ignore the infirmities of the rest. The great advantage of the course pursued by the chronicler consisted in bringing out a clearly defined contrast between David and Solomon on the one hand and the reforming kings on the other. The piety of the latter is conformed to the chroniclers ideal; but the glory and devotion of the former are enhanced by the crimes and humiliation of the best of their successors. Hezekiah, doubtless, is not more culpable than David, but Davids pride was the first of a series of events which terminated in the building of the Temple; while the uplifting of Hezekiahs heart was a precursor of its destruction. Besides, Hezekiah ought to have profited by Davids experience.<\/p>\n

By developing this contrast, the chronicler renders the position of David and Solomon even more unique, illustrious, and full of religious significance.<\/p>\n

Thus as illustrations of ideal kingship the accounts of the good kings of Judah are altogether subordinate to the history of David and Solomon. While these kings of Judah remained loyal to Jehovah, they further illustrated the virtues of their great predecessors by showing how these virtues might have been exercised Under different circumstances: how David would have dealt with an Ethiopian invasion and what Solomon would have done if he had found the Temple desecrated and its services stopped. But no essential feature is added to the earlier pictures.<\/p>\n

The lapses of kings who began to walk in the law of the Lord and then fell away serve as foils to the undimmed glory of David and Solomon. Abrupt transitions within the limits of the individual lives of Asa, Joash, and Amaziah bring out the contrast between piety and apostasy with startling, dramatic effect.<\/p>\n

We return from this brief survey to consider the significance of the life of Solomon according to Chronicles. Its relation to the life of David is summed up in the name Solomon, the Prince of peace. David is the ideal king, winning by force of arms for Israel empire and victory, security at home and tribute from abroad. Utterly subdued by his prowess, the natural enemies of Israel no longer venture to disturb her tranquility. His successor inherits wide dominion, immense wealth, and assured peace. Solomon, the Prince of peace, is the ideal king, administering a great inheritance for the glory of Jehovah and His temple. His history in Chronicles is one of unbroken calm. He has a great army and many strong fortresses, but he never has occasion to use them. He implores Jehovah to be merciful to Israel when they suffer from the horrors of war; but he is interceding, not for his own subjects, but for future generations. In his time-<\/p>\n

“No war or battles sound <\/p>\n

Was heard the world around: <\/p>\n

The idle spear and shield were high uphung; <\/p>\n

The hooked chariot stood <\/p>\n

Unstained with hostile blood; <\/p>\n

The trumpet spake not to the armed throng.”<\/p>\n

Perhaps, to use a paradox, the greatest proof of Solomons wisdom was that he asked for wisdom. He realized at the outset of his career that a wide dominion is more easily won than governed, that to use great wealth honorably requires more skill and character than are needed to amass it. Today the world can boast half a dozen empires surpassing not merely Israel, but even Rome, in extent of dominion; the aggregate wealth of the world is far beyond the wildest dreams of the chronicler: but still the people perish for lack of knowledge. The physical and moral foulness of modern cities taints all the culture and tarnishes all the splendor of our civilization; classes and trades, employers and employed, maim and crush one another in blind struggles to work out a selfish salvation; newly devised organizations move their unwieldy masses-<\/p>\n

“like dragons of the prime That tare each other.”<\/p>\n

They have a giants strength, and use it like a giant. Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers; and the world waits for the reign of the Prince of peace who is not only the wise king, but the incarnate wisdom of God.<\/p>\n

Thus one striking suggestion of the chroniclers history of Solomon is the special need of wisdom and Divine guidance for the administration of a great and prosperous empire.<\/p>\n

Too much stress, however, must not be laid on the twofold personality of the ideal king. This feature is adopted from the history, and does not express any opinion of the chronicler that the characteristic gifts of David and Solomon could not be combined in a single individual. Many great generals have also been successful administrators. Before Julius Caesar was assassinated he had already shown his capacity to restore order and tranquility to the Roman world; Alexanders plans for the civil government of his conquests were as far-reaching as his warlike ambition; Diocletian reorganized the empire which his sword had re-established; Cromwells schemes of reform showed an almost prophetic insight into the future needs of the English people; the glory of Napoleons victories is a doubtful legacy to France compared with the solid benefits of his internal reforms.<\/p>\n

But even these instances, which illustrate the union of military genius and administrative ability, remind us that the assignment of success in war to one king and a reign of peace to the next is, after all, typical. The limits of human life narrow its possibilities. Caesars work had to be completed by Augustus; the great schemes of Alexander and Cromwell fell to the ground because no one arose to play Solomon to their David.<\/p>\n

The chronicler has specially emphasized the indebtedness of Solomon to David. According to his narrative, the great achievement of Solomons reign, the building of the Temple, has been rendered possible by Davids preparations. Quite apart from plans and materials, the chroniclers view of the credit due to David in this matter is only reasonable recognition of service rendered to the religion of Israel. Whoever provided the timber and stone, the silver and gold, for the Temple, David won for Jehovah the land and the city that were the outer courts of the sanctuary, and roused the national spirit that gave to Zion its most solemn consecration. Solomons temple was alike the symbol of Davids achievements and the coping-stone of his work.<\/p>\n

By compelling our attention to the dependence of the Prince of Peace upon the man who “had shed much blood,” the chronicler admonishes us against forgetting the price that has been paid for liberty and culture. The splendid courtiers whose “apparel” specially pleased the feminine tastes of the queen of Sheba might feel all the contempt of the superior person for Davids war-worn veterans. The latter probably were more at home in the “store cities” than at Jerusalem. But without the blood and toil of these rough soldiers Solomon would have had no opportunity to exchange riddles with his fair visitor and to dazzle her admiring eyes with the glories of his temple and palaces.<\/p>\n

The blessings of peace are not likely to be preserved unless men still appreciate and cherish the stern virtues that flourish in troubled times. If our own times become troubled, and their serenity be invaded by fierce conflict, it will be ours to remember that the rugged life of “the hold in the wilderness” and the struggles with the Philistines may enable a later generation to build its temple to the Lord and to learn the answers to “hard questions.” {2Ch 9:1} Moses and Joshua, David and Solomon, remind us again how the Divine work is handed on from generation to generation: Moses leads Israel through the wilderness, but Joshua brings them into the Land of Promise: David collects the materials, but Solomon builds the Temple. The settlement in Palestine and the building of the Temple were only episodes in the working out of the “one increasing purpose,” but one leader and one lifetime did not suffice for either episode. We grow impatient of the scale upon which God works: we want it reduced to the limits of our human faculties and of our earthly lives; yet all history preaches patience. In our demand for Divine interventions whereby-<\/p>\n

“sudden in a minute All is accomplished, and the work is done,”<\/p>\n

we are very Esaus, eager to sell the birthright of the future for a mess of pottage today.<\/p>\n

And the continuity of the Divine purpose is only realized through the continuity of human effort. We must indeed serve our own generation; but part of that service consists in providing that the next generation shall be trained to carry on the work, and that after David shall come Solomon-the Solomon of Chronicles, and not the Solomon of Kings-and that, if possible, Solomon shall not be succeeded by Rehoboam. As we attain this larger outlook, we shall be less tempted to employ doubtful means, which are supposed to be justified by their end; we shall be less enthusiastic for processes that bring “quick returns,” but give very “small profits” in the long run. Christian workers are a little too fond of spiritual jerry-building, as if sites in the kingdom of Heaven were let out on ninety-nine-year leases; but God builds for eternity, and we are fellow-workers together with Him.<\/p>\n

To complete the chroniclers picture of the ideal king, we have to add Davids warlike prowess and Solomons wisdom and splendor to the piety and graces common to both. The result is unique among the many pictures that have been drawn by historians, philosophers, and poets. It has a value of its own, because the chroniclers gifts in the way of history, philosophy, and poetry were entirely subordinated to his interest in theology; and most theologians have only been interested in the doctrine of the king when they could use it to gratify the vanity of a royal patron.<\/p>\n

The full-length portrait in Chronicles contrasts curiously with the little vignette preserved in the book which bears the name of Solomon. There, in the oracle which King Lemuels mother taught him, the king is simply admonished to avoid strange women and strong drink, to “judge righteously, and minister judgment to the poor and needy.” {Pro 31:1-9}<\/p>\n

To pass to more modern theology, the theory of the king that is implied in Chronicles has much in common with Wyclifs doctrine of dominion: they both recognize the sanctity of the royal power and its temporal supremacy, and they both hold that obedience to God is the condition of the continued exercise of legitimate rule. But the priest of Lutterworth was less ecclesiastical and more democratic than our Levite.<\/p>\n

A more orthodox authority on the Protestant doctrine of the king would be the Thirty-nine Articles. These, however, deal with the subject somewhat slightly. As far as they go, they are in harmony with the chronicler. They assert the unqualified supremacy of the king, both ecclesiastical and civil. Even “general councils may not be gathered together without the commandment and will of princes.” On the other hand, princes are not to imitate Uzziah in presuming to exercise the priestly function of offering incense: they are not to minister Gods word or sacraments.<\/p>\n

Outside theology the ideal of the king has been stated with greater fullness and freedom, but not many of the pictures drawn have much in common with the chroniclers David and Solomon. Machiavellis Prince and Bolingbrokes Patriot King belong to a different world; moreover, their method is philosophical, and not historical: they state a theory rather than draw a picture. Tennysons Arthur is what he himself calls him, an “ideal knight” rather than an ideal king. Perhaps the best parallels to David are to be found in the Cyrus of the Greek historians and philosophers and the Alfred of English story. Alfred indeed combines many of the features both of David and Solomon: he secured English unity, and was the founder of English culture and literature; he had a keen interest in ecclesiastical affairs; great gifts of administration, and much personal attractiveness. Cyrus, again, specially illustrates what we may call the posthumous fortunes of David: his name stood for the ideal of kingship with both Greeks and Persians, and in the “Cyropaedia” his life and character are made the basis of a picture of the ideal king.<\/p>\n

Many points are of course common to almost all such pictures; they portray the king as a capable and benevolent ruler and a man of high personal character. The distinctive characteristic of Chronicles is the stress laid on the piety of the king, his care for the honor of God and the spiritual welfare of his subjects. If the practical influence of this teaching has not been altogether beneficent, it is because men have too invariably connected spiritual profit with organization, and ceremonies, and forms of words, sound or otherwise.<\/p>\n

But today the doctrine of the state takes the place of the doctrine of the king. Instead of Cyropaedias we have Utopias. We are asked sometimes to look back, not to an ideal king, but to an ideal commonwealth, to the age of the Antonines or to some happy century of English history when we are told that the human race or the English people were “most happy and prosperous”; oftener we are invited to contemplate an imaginary future. We may add to those already made one or two further applications of the chroniclers principles to the modern state. His method suggests that the perfect society will have the virtues of our actual life without its vices, and that the possibilities of the future are best divined from a careful study of the past. The devotion of his kings to the Temple symbolizes the truth that the ideal state is impossible without recognition of a Divine presence and obedience to a Divine will.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Expositors Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Moreover he made an altar of brass, twenty cubits the length thereof, and twenty cubits the breadth thereof, and ten cubits the height thereof. Ch. 2Ch 4:1. The Altar of Brass 1. twenty cubits ] The measurements of the altar belonging to Solomon’s Temple are not given in 1 Kings; but in Exo 38:1 the … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Chronicles 4:1”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11259","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11259"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11259\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}