2 Chronicles 4:10

 2 Chronicles 4:10 says, And he set the sea on the right side of the east end, over against the south.  After telling of the doors, there is another reference to the location of the molten sea.  Since this was to be used for the purification of the priests, it may be that the importance of it before entering the temple was being emphasized.  I do know that we need to be purified by the blood of Christ before we enter into God's house if we are going to worship Him effectively and we can never forget that.  Verse eleven adds, And Huram made the pots, and the shovels, and the basons. And Huram finished the work that he was to make for king Solomon for the house of God;  Huram was the craftsman, and he finished the work he was to do for Solomon by making the pots, shovels, and basins.  As Christians, we will never fully complete the work of God in this lifetime, but Jesus Christ completed the work of redemption once and for all time when He died on the cross as a penalty for all sin.  Still, we can choose to go to hell even with our sins forgiven if we don't accept His gift of salvation.  Verse twelve continues, 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;  We have a continuation of the works that were done in the building of the temple, some of which was decorative.  Verse thirteen states, 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 pillars.  The things listed in this verse and the last would have been more to make things look beautiful than for a specific purpose, I believe, and though we need to do things for God's glory, I am not sure He is impressed if we put too much of our resources into just making things look beautiful in the church.  Veres fourteen adds, He made also bases, and lavers made he upon the bases;  These would have been more functional than just decorative, and whatever we do for God today should have a useful function in His church.  Verse fifteen continues, One sea, and twelve oxen under it.  The oxen could have been considered decorative, but they also served a purpose of holding the molten sea.  Verse sixteen says, The pots also, and the shovels, and the fleshhooks, and all their instruments, did Huram his father make to king Solomon for the house of the Lord of bright brass.  We are told once again that Huram was the one who crafted all the things in the temple.  He likely had help, but he was the one who designed them, I would think under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  If we are building for God today, we need to do so under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  Verse seventeen adds, In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredathah.  We are told where they were made.  Our place of worship should always be at the foot of the cross, and any thing we do for God should be done because we have come to Him through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on that cross.  Verse eighteen continues, Thus Solomon made all these vessels in great abundance: for the weight of the brass could not be found out.  We are told that Solomon made all the vessels in great abundance, but he actually just had them made.  Jesus Christ has provided salvation in great abundance, so that none will be left out, and we need to always give Him the glory for anything we accomplish spiritually.  Verse nineteen states, 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;  The next few verses simply state the things that Solomon had built for the temple, I believe under the leadership of God.  Verse twenty adds, Moreover the candlesticks with their lamps, that they should burn after the manner before the oracle, of pure gold; Verse twenty-one continues, And the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs, made he of gold, and that perfect gold;  Verse twenty-one concludes, 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.  The temple was completed and ornate, and Jesus Christ later declared Himself to be the temple.  Instead of being ornately adorned, He was battered and bruised, but He is the only way to salvation.  We come to Him and through Him to worship God.

2 Chronicles 4:1

2 Chronicles 4:1 says, Moreover he made an altar of brass, twenty cubits the length thereof, and twenty cubits the breadth thereof, and ten cubits the height thereof.  The next several verses simply tell of the size of the various things that Solomon made for the temple, starting with the altar. A cubit was about eighteen inches, so the altar was fairly large.  Of course, the size of the altar isn't what is important, but the fact that we worship at it is.  Verse two says, 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.  This was a large basin used in the purification of the priests.  This was at the entrance before they went in.  Today, we as followers of Christ are a part of the priesthood of believers, and we can only be purified by the blood of Christ.  Verse three continues, And under it was the similitude of oxen, 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.  There were statues of oxen the supported the molten sea.  Verse four states, 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 above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward.  There were twelve of these oxen total, with three looking out in each direction.  We are purified by the blood of Christ, and His blood is there to purify people in all the world, if they will only accept His sacrifice for them, and He reaches out in all directions.  Verse five adds, 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; and it received and held three thousand baths.  This verse tells us of the thickness of the molten sea and how it was decorated.  We cannot decorate the cleansing of the blood of Christ, nor should we try to, but His shed blood is ample to cleanse all who believe, and never has to be refilled.  Verse six continues, 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 for the priests to wash in.  There were ten lavers to wash the things brought as a sacrifice to God in, but the molten sea was for the priests alone.  We do not have different places to be cleansed and to cleanse sacrifices, but everything is cleansed by our faith in Christ as long as we are living by that faith. Verse seven says, And he made ten candlesticks of gold according to their form, and set them in the temple, five on the right hand, and five on the left.  There were ten golden candlesticks to provide light in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left.  Jesus Christ is our Light today as Christians, and He shines His light on all equally.  Verse eight adds, 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.  There were ten tables, five on the left and five on the right, that held a hundred basins made of gold.  These would have been used for the people to at least symbolically cleanse themselves before entering the temple.  We cannot be satisfied with just being symbolically clean but must be spiritually cleansed by the shed blood of Christ.  Verse nine continues, 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.  Solomon had the court of the priests built and doors for the court and covered them with brass.  This gave them strength and beauty.  The cross of Christ is the only door to salvation, and it is not a thing of beauty, but it will endure forever.  It is the only way to salvation and spiritual cleansing.

2 Chronicles 3:10

2 Chronicles 3:10 says, And in the most holy house he made two cherubims of image work, and overlaid them with gold.  We continue with the account of the particulars of the building of the temple.  Everything was still being overlaid with gold.  Solomon wanted to make everything beautiful for God, but God still wasn't going to be confined to a building, and no matter how beautiful we make church buildings today, God is not going to be confined there.  Verse eleven adds, And the wings of the cherubims were twenty cubits long: one 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.  This verse and the next two give the size of the cherubim.  Verse twelve continues, And one 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.  Verse thirteen concludes, The wings of these cherubims spread themselves forth twenty cubits: and they stood on their feet, and their faces were inward.  Verse fourteen states, And he made the vail of blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and wrought cherubims thereon.  The cherubim were standing on their feet with their wings spread, facing inward, or away from the people.  The veil was made to separate the people from the holy of holies, but the veil was rent when Jesus Christ died for our sins.  We all have equal access to God through Jesus Christ and don't have to go through anyone else to know His will for our life.  Verse fifteen adds, Also he made before the house two pillars of thirty and five cubits high, and the chapiter that was on the top of each of them was five cubits.  Solomon made some high pillars and put chapiters, or caps, on top of them.  Verse sixteen continues, And he made chains, as in the oracle, and put them on the heads of the pillars; and made an hundred pomegranates, and put them on the chains.  He also made ornate chains to put on the heads of the pillars.  I believe the only real purpose of these was to make the temple look more impressive.  This may not be the case, but I do know that we should never do anything in the name of God just to make what we are doing or ourselves look impressive.  Verse seventeen concludes, And he reared 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.  Solomon had the two pillars raised before the temple and named them.  Matthew Henry implies that the names meant establishment and strength.

2 Chronicles 3:1

2 Chronicles 3:1 says, Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the Lord appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.  Having everything assembled, Solomon began to build the temple, or have it built would be more accurate.  When we assemble things to build something for God under His leadership, we don't need to just continue to wait, but we need to start to build.  I don't believe we will please God if He has blessed us with enough to start doing His work and we are afraid to start because we lack faith in Him to continue to provide for the work to be completed.  Verse two adds, And he began to build in the second day of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign.  Solomon had reigned for over three years when he started building.  We aren't told why he waited this long, but I will assume there was a reason, which might have been the gathering of the timbers and stones needed for the building, even if David had amassed the gold, silver, brass and iron needed.  I do know that we must have enough support materials to build things with even if we already have the expensive things in place.  Verse three continues, Now these are the things wherein Solomon was instructed for the building of the house of God. The length by cubits after the first measure was threescore cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits.  The next few verses give the dimensions of temple, and it was a large building.  Even if we are not building a large, ornate building to worship in, we still need to build it in accordance with the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  Verse four states, And the porch that was in the front of the house, the length of it was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the height was an hundred and twenty: and he overlaid it within with pure gold.  We are also told that as things were built, they were overlaid with gold.  Not only was the temple large, it was very ornate as well.  Still, I don't believe that God calls us to build large ornate buildings today, because Jesus Christ is our temple.  I am not saying that we shouldn't build things for God's glory, but simply that we sometimes seem to put more importance on buildings than we do on the work of God that should go on in them.  Verse five adds, And the greater house he cieled with fir tree, which he overlaid with fine gold, and set thereon palm trees and chains.  Solomon had the ceiling overlaid with gold, but also had it decorated with palm trees and chains.  I believe these would have been engraved palm trees.  Verse six continues, And he garnished the house with precious stones for beauty: and the gold was gold of Parvaim.  Solomon had precious stones added to make the temple more beautiful.  The temple was going to represent God, so it needed to be magnificent, but we as followers of Christ represent Him today, so we need to make our lives magnificent for His glory.  Verse seven says, He overlaid also the house, the beams, the posts, and the walls thereof, and the doors thereof, with gold; and graved cherubims on the walls.  He overlaid the beams and posts with gold and decorated the walls with cherubim.  Verse eight adds, And he made the most holy house, the length whereof was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits: and he overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents.  The most holy place was within the temple and was about ten yards square.  This was the place where the priests went to meet God and was limited in its access to the people, but as Christians, we all have total access to God all the time.  Verse nine continues, And the weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. And he overlaid the upper chambers with gold.  Then, we are told the weight of the nails and their cost and once again that everything was over laid with gold.  Our bodies as followers of Christ are the temple of the Holy Spirit, and we are overlaid with His blood and not gold.

2 Chronicles 2:11

2 Chronicles 2:11 says, Then Huram the king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon, Because the Lord hath loved his people, he hath made thee king over them.  Huram wrote to Solomon, stating first that since God loved His people, He had made Solomon their king.  God still loves His people, followers of Christ, and He still appoints people to be spiritual leaders today.  Verse twelve adds, Huram said moreover, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, that made heaven and earth, who hath given to David the king a wise son, endued with prudence and understanding, that might build an house for the Lord, and an house for his kingdom.  Huram continued by acknowledging that the God of Israel had made heaven and earth, and that God had given Solomon wisdom and prudence and understanding, so that he might build a house for God and a house for the king of Israel.  Matthew Henry says that Huram was a proselyte to the God of Israel. We must first acknowledge that God is the only God, Who created everything, and then rely on Him for wisdom to do what He calls us to do.  Then, we should do the things of God first, and rely on Him to bless us with all that we need in this life.  Verse thirteen continues, And now I have sent a cunning man, endued with understanding, of Huram my father's,  Though it says that he said he sent a cunning, or skillful man of his father Huram, we are told that Huram wrote this letter, so it would have been him who was sending the man..  Still, he sent him a skillful person to help build the temple.  Verse fourteen states, The son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre, skilful to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson; also to grave any manner of graving, and to find out every device which shall be put to him, with thy cunning men, and with the cunning men of my lord David thy father.  This man's mother was from the tribe of Dan, so he was both Jewish and Gentile by birth.  It no longer matters where we are born or who our parents were in order to be saved.  There is no longer Jew and Gentile in God's kingdom, but all Christians are brothers and sisters in Christ.  Verse fifteen adds, Now therefore the wheat, and the barley, the oil, and the wine, which my lord hath spoken of, let him send unto his servants:  Huram asked that Solomon send the wheat, barley, oil and wine that he had said he would send for the help that Hiram provided.  We should never expect someone to do the work needed to be done to build and maintain churches today without being willing to pay our part, especially if we have promised to do so.  Verse sixteen continues, And we will cut wood out of Lebanon, as much as thou shalt need: and we will bring it to thee in floats by sea to Joppa; and thou shalt carry it up to Jerusalem.  Huram said he would have the timber cut and get it to Joppa, and Solomon could get it the rest of the way.  We need to work together to accomplish God's work in the world today.  Verse seventeen says, And Solomon numbered all the strangers that were in the land of Israel, after the numbering wherewith David his father had numbered them; and they were found an hundred and fifty thousand and three thousand and six hundred.  Solomon found a hundred fifty-three thousand six hundred strangers in Israel.  We cannot just count on those who are not Christians to do the work of God, but we must actively be involved ourselves.  Verse eighteen adds, And he set threescore and ten thousand of them to be bearers of burdens, and fourscore thousand to be hewers in the mountain, and three thousand and six hundred overseers to set the people a work.  Solomon then divided this group of men into three different crews, seventy thousand to be those who carried materials, eighty thousand to hew stone out of the mountains, and thirty-six hundred to be overseers.  Some of us as followers of Christ today are more grunt labor than supervisors. but we all need to work under the leadership of Holy Spirit. 

2 Chronicles 2:1

2 Chronicles 2:1 says, And Solomon determined to build an house for the name of the Lord, and an house for his kingdom. Solomon decided to build a house for God and a house for his kingdom.  He was to have the temple built first, and then his palace.  Matthew Henry points out that the palace was not so much for Solomon's convenience and glory, but to bring honor to the nation of Israel from the nations around it.  We should likewise first do God's kingdom work, and then build up things that will show His greatness to the world, and not just our greatness.  I don't believe that God ever blesses His people just so they can brag about or show of their riches.  Verse two adds, And Solomon told out threescore and ten thousand men to bear burdens, and fourscore thousand to hew in the mountain, and three thousand and six hundred to oversee them.  Solomon then had seventy thousand men to bear burdens, eighty thousand men to hew out of the mountain, and thirty-six hundred men to oversee them.  It took a lot of people to build the temple, and much of the work was what we might call grunt labor, but it was necessary for it to be done.  What we do for God today may not be glorious in the view of the world, but we should not feel above doing it, and we need people to make sure that we are doing things in an organized way.  Verse three continues, And Solomon sent to Huram the king of Tyre, saying, As thou didst deal with David my father, and didst send him cedars to build him an house to dwell therein, even so deal with me.  Solomon was not above reaching out to others for help, and he did so with Huram, who had helped David by sending him cedars.  He asked Huram to deal with him just as he had with David his father.  As followers of Christ, we should never feel that we are too good to reach out to others for help when we need it, and we need to pray that they will treat us fairly.  Verse four states, Behold, I build an house to the name of the Lord my God, to dedicate it to him, and to burn before him sweet incense, and for the continual shewbread, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts of the Lord our God. This is an ordinance for ever to Israel.  Solomon told Huram that he was going to build a house to the name of God, or dedicated to Him, for the purpose of worshipping Him.  I believe that whatever we are doing as Christians and as a group of believers collectively should be to honor God, and our church buildings should be there to worship in and glorify God.  Verse five adds, And the house which I build is great: for great is our God above all gods.  Solomon said that the house he built was going to be great, because his God was great and above all other gods.  Of course, there is really only one God, and all others are just manmade creations.  Verse six continues, But who is able to build him an house, seeing the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain him? who am I then, that I should build him an house, save only to burn sacrifice before him?  Solomon then asked who was worthy to build God a house.  He asked who he himself was to build as house for God, to serve to burn sacrifices.  Solomon knew that God was too great to be confined to one place, but that people could gather at a particular place to worship and offer their sacrifices to Him.  We may build beautiful buildings in which to worship God today, but we must never try to confine God to that building.  Verse seven says, Send me now therefore a man cunning to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in iron, and in purple, and crimson, and blue, and that can skill to grave with the cunning men that are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my father did provide.  Solomon the asked Huram to send him a man who was skilled in building to help those that were in Judah and Jerusalem.  Solmon acknowledged that they people of Tyre were better at doing ornate work than the people of Israel were.  We may need the help of non-Christians when we are doing work for God today, and we should never feel that we are so much superior to them that we don't reach out for help.  Of course, when it comes to spiritual matters, we must look to God's people and not the world for guidance.  Verse eight adds, Send me also cedar trees, fir trees, and algum trees, out of Lebanon: for I know that thy servants can skill to cut timber in Lebanon; and, behold, my servants shall be with thy servants,  Solomon asked Huram to not only send him cedar, fir and algum trees, but to send men who knew how to work with them in building, and he said that the workmen from Israel would work under them.  We may have to work under people who are not Christians today, and we should never believe that we are too good to do so.  We do have to make sure that we remain true to God when we do.  Verse nine continues, Even to prepare me timber in abundance: for the house which I am about to build shall be wonderful great.  Solomon said he wanted timber in abundance, because he was going to build a great house to God.  If we build something for God today, we should want it to be the best that it can be, but I don't believe that means it should be ornate.  Verse ten concludes, And, behold, I will give to thy servants, the hewers that cut timber, twenty thousand measures of beaten wheat, and twenty thousand measures of barley, and twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil.  Solomon promised to pay well those from Tyre who did the work.  We need to pay those who may not be Christians but who help in the building of works for God a fair and honest price.  If they choose to donate their work, that is good, but we should never expect them to do so.

2 Chronicles 1:13

2 Chronicles 1:13 says, Then Solomon came from his journey to the high place that was at Gibeon to Jerusalem, from before the tabernacle of the congregation, and reigned over Israel.  Solomon then came down from the high place at Gibeon and went to stand before the tabernacle in Jerusalem to reign over the people.  We cannot just stay in the high places separated from people and praying to God, but must come down to daily life and interact with people if we are to be effective in sharing God's word.  We also are not called to rule over them spiritually, but to lead them to a relationship with Jesus Christ.  Verse fourteen adds, And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, which he placed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.  Solomon first began to gather and assign his chariots and those who drove them to their place of service.  Though God was his ultimate source of power, he was wisely using what God provided him with, and God is still our source of power today, but we also must wisely use what He provides us with.  Verse fifteen continues, And the king made silver and gold at Jerusalem as plenteous as stones, and cedar trees made he as the sycomore trees that are in the vale for abundance.  Solomon then enriched the city, making silver and gold a plenteous as stones and cedars as abundant as the common sycamore trees.  Not that it is what is going to be important, but when we get to our heavenly home, we are told that the streets are going to be paved with gold, but we are not promised riches here, nor should we be concerned if we don't have them.  Verse sixteen states, And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king's merchants received the linen yarn at a price.  Solomon also brought horses and linen yarn out of Egypt, and his merchants received the linen yarn at a price.  He engaged in trade with other countries and promoted industry in Israel.  We are not an island as a nation, but we need to be engaged in business with other countries, which may provide us with an opportunity to share the gospel.  Verse seventeen adds, And they fetched up, and brought forth out of Egypt a chariot for six hundred shekels of silver, and an horse for an hundred and fifty: and so brought they out horses for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, by their means.  Matthew Henry says that they sold these things to Syria at a profit.  Though if we are engaged in trade with someone, we should want to make a profit, I believe our first concern should be to bring honor to God in what we do and to share His gospel with others.