Solomon Furnishes the Temple
As we
open to 2 Chronicles 4, we can hear about how Solomon furnishes the
temple. The very first thing that we
come to is the altar. I think it is
significant that we hear about the altar immediately after talking about the
places in which God dwells. In order to
come into the presence of the Lord, a sacrifice must take place. Sin must be atoned. In Christianity we believe that Jesus was the
ultimate and final sacrifice, but the point is still the same. In order to approach God, sin must be atoned.
Furthermore,
let’s look at the impressive size of the altar.
It is 20 cubits long by 20 cubits wide.
The altar is square in its base.
Furthermore, a cubit is roughly 18 inches. Thus, 20 cubits measures 360 inches, or about
30 feet. The altar is 30 feet long and
30 feet wide. This is no insignificant
altar! In fact, the altar was so large
that the vast majority of the altar would be unreachable from the edges.
Of
course, we haven’t even looked at the height of the altar. 10 cubits would be about 180 inches, or
roughly 15 feet tall. Not only is the
middle of the altar unreachable from the edges, all of it is unreachable from
the ground without the aid of stairs or ladders!
What can
we glean from this? You need a large
altar when you plan on doing a great amount of sacrificing. You need a great amount of sacrificing when
there is a great amount of sin. The size
of the altar that Solomon builds is a symbol to us about the vast nature of sin
that lies within humanity. We’re not
simply talking about a sacrifice every so often when it comes to the need for
repentance. With respect to Solomon’s
temple, we are talking about large amounts of daily sacrifices happening. I’m willing to bet that just as the temple
altar is larger than most of us would have ever imagined, the amount of
repentance that we need to do before God is larger than we all ever imagined,
too. If my body is a temple of God as
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:16 or 6:19, then what is the size of my altar upon
which I take my sin before God? Do I
take seriously enough my need for repentance?
We move
from the altar to the sea. The sea – a strange
name – got its name because it was essentially a large washbasin for the
priests to use. It was so large that it
had a radius and depth of about 7.5 feet.
As such, 2 Chronicles reports that it had a capacity of 17,000
gallons. {Assuming a cylindrical structure, the formula for volume would suggest
the real number is about 10,000. Either
way, it is indeed much water!}
The sea
was a washbasin for the priests to use to wash prior to coming before the altar. The size of the sea was not to indicate that
the priests would wash their whole selves but rather so that there would be a
vast quantity of fresh clean water in which they could wash their hands. The small amount of impurity brought to the
basin was nothing compared to the amount of cleanliness afforded by the sea.
The sea
rested upon twelve oxen, three facing each of the main compass directions. This was a symbolic statement referring back
to the arrangement of the tribes of Israel as they camped around the tabernacle
in the wilderness as they came out of Egypt.
The point here would be to remind the priests that as they cleansed
themselves they did so in preparation for acting on behalf of the whole Hebrew
people. Atonement was both an individual
and a communal idea. Individuals from
all twelve tribes would need to be cleansed.
The whole community would also need to be cleansed.
Necessary Tools
In
addition to the temple furnishings, we are told about the tools used by the
priests. Solomon made 10 wash basins in
which the sacrifices themselves could be washed before being consumed upon the
altar. There were lamp stands so that
the temple work could proceed at all times.
There were tables upon which the work of the temple could happen. There were 100 gold basins of unknown usage,
but perhaps these basins were used to transport the sacrifices from the tables
to the wash basins to the altar. There
was an altar for burning incense. There
were golden tools developed for the work that needed to be done.
What is
significant about the description of the temple is that there was no
shortage. There was enough gold and
prosperity in the land that the altar was furnished with gold effects. There was such prosperity in the land that
the bronze used wasn’t even measured!
This is not a simple temple built in humble surroundings. This is a building in which no expense was
spared.
As a
Christian, I cannot help but reflect this passage upon myself. As I mentioned earlier, we are the temple of
the Lord. So I have to wonder. Have I spared any expense in my life to make
me a sufficient temple unto the Lord?
Would God look upon my life and see His greatness and His majesty reflected
in me?
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