The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 24, The Furnishings Of The Temple, Part One: The Two Bronze Pillars

We begin our study of the second half of Chapter 7 today. This portion of Scripture describes the articles with which Solomon furnished the temple. A parallel account of the segment we're reading today can be found in 2 Chronicles 3 and 2 Chronicles 4. The same furnishings are listed there but in a different order. Today we'll be studying the two bronze pillars that stood in front of the temple. 

"King Solomon sent to Tyre and brought Huram, whose mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali and whose father was from Tyre and a skilled craftsman in bronze. Huram was filled with wisdom, with understanding and with knowledge to do all kinds of bronze work. He came to King Solomon and did all the work assigned to him." (1 Kings 7:13-14) Huram, who is half Jewish and half Gentile, is apparently the best craftsman of bronze known to anyone within Solomon's region of the world. He hires him to make the fine bronze objects of the temple.

"He cast two bronze pillars, each eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference. He also made two capitals of cast bronze to set on the tops of the pillars; each capital was five cubits high." (1 Kings 7:15-16) In 2 Chronicles 3:15 we find the author saying that the combined length of the pillars is thirty-five cubits. If each pillar was eighteen cubits long as stated here in 1 Kings 7 then their combined length was actually thirty-six cubits but I'm assuming these measurements are approximate since the cubit varied from culture to culture in the ancient world. An artisan from Tyre might measure a cubit differently than a man of Israel, so I don't consider it a problem that in one book of the Bible each pillar is eighteen cubits tall and that in another book of the Bible each pillar is seventeen and a half cubits tall. 

"A network of interwoven chains adorned the capitals on top of the pillars, seven for each capital. He made pomegranates in two rows encircling each network to decorate the capitals on top of the pillars. He did the same for each capital. The capitals on top of the pillars were in the shape of lilies, four cubits high. On the capitals of both pillars, above the bowl-shaped part next to the network, were the two hundred pomegranates in rows all around." (1 Kings 7:17-20). This same description can be found in 2 Chronicles 3:16 combined with 2 Chronicles 4:12-13.

We don't know the exact cubit measurement that Huram was using for the objects he fashioned for the temple but it's commonly estimated that each pillar stood approximately twenty-seven feet tall and that each pillar was about eighteen feet in circumference. In verse 15 we were told that each capital was five cubits high (around seven and a half feet) and in verse 19 we were told that the capitals were in the shape of lilies that were four cubits high. I think the capitals themselves were a total of five cubits high but that the lilies, which were four cubits high, probably stood on a base that was one cubit high. It was that base that was decorated with the carved chains and pomegranates, if I'm understanding the description correctly. I'm inserting an artist's rendering below of what the capitals may have looked like.

"He erected the pillars at the portico of the temple. The pillar to the south he named Jakin and the one to the north Boaz. The capitals on top were in the shape of lilies. And so the work on the pillars was completed." (1 Kings 7:21-22, 2 Chronicles 3:17) "Jakin" is believed to mean something like "He establishes" or "He shall establish" and "Boaz" is thought to mean "in Him is strength". Some scholars translate these together as: "He establishes in strength" or as "He shall establish in strength". I believe these pillars were placed in front of the entrance to the temple and were given these names to remind everyone who sees them that it is by the Lord's grace that the nation of Israel was established and that it is by the Lord's strength that the nation is kept secure. As Solomon said in Psalm 127:1: "Unless the Lord builds the house, the laborers labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain." 

I think these pillars also served as a reminder to the king, the priests, the people of Israel, and the Gentile converts to remain faithful to the Lord so that the nation will continue being secure from enemies and so that the house of the Lord will remain in their midst. The reason I believe this is one purpose for the pillars is because, after the temple and all its furnishings have been completed, the Lord will issue a stern warning to Solomon that if the people turn away from Him and fall into idolatry, He will allow enemies to conquer the nation and He will allow the temple to become "a heap of rubble". (1 Kings 9:8a) 

What use is a temple if the people's hearts are far from the One in whose name it was built? I am a member of what has become, over the last couple of decades, one of the largest and fastest growing churches in Northeast Tennessee. A new church building and extra parking lots had to be constructed because there wasn't enough room for everyone who attends Sunday morning services. It's not what I would call an "ornate" building but it is very large and has an eye-appealing modern design and is laid out in a practical manner to utilize every square foot of space to the best of its ability. But what use would such a building be if those of us who attend services there were just going through the motions? Would the Lord be honored by such a structure in that case? No, and I think that the two bronze pillars in front of the temple were intended to remind the people that if it were not for the Lord they would have no prosperity, no peace from their enemies, no temple, no king, and no nation. This is why the Lord will warn Solomon that if the people don't remain faithful to Him, He will allow the temple to be destroyed. It's their hearts He cares about, not a fine building. He's pleased to allow them to have this fine building as long as they are directing their worship toward Him but He has no problem removing this blessing if they go astray. This very thing, sadly, will happen later on in the Bible. 

A similar thing can happen to any church congregation or to any nation in the world today if we do not remain faithful to our precious Lord who created us, who loves us, and who has blessed us with so much. If our hearts are not true to the Lord, it doesn't matter how many fine churches and temples we have. It's our hearts He's concerned with and, in order to help us get our hearts right with Him, He will do what it takes for the sake of our spiritual health. If it takes losing prosperity, invasion by enemies, the loss of our houses of worship, or the loss of the freedom to openly attend services or carry Bibles or to pray in public, I think He would be willing to use those hardships to show us how much we've taken for granted and to show us how far we've fallen from fellowship with Him. He had to use these methods in ancient Israel and He may have to use these methods in our times if we fall so far from fellowship with Him that nothing short of such hardships will get our attention. Our eternal souls are far more important than any worldly comforts and pleasures, so as a loving father He will employ whatever methods of correction are needed to snatch us out of the clutches of apostasy. We can't control what our fellow citizens do but we can each control what we do. We each can choose to remain faithful to the Lord. He may continue placing a hedge of protection around our nation for the sake of those of us who have not turned astray. In remaining faithful to Him and in proclaiming His love for mankind, we can draw others to Him and light their way out of darkness. We should want every soul of every human on the face of the earth to come to salvation in the Lord. And for the sake of our nation we should want it too, for, "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord." (Psalm 33:12)