seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
2 Chronicles 4:1 He made a bronze altar twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide and ten cubits high.[a] 2 He made the Sea of cast metal, circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim and five cubits(b) high. It took a line of thirty cubits[c] to measure around it. 3 Below the rim, figures of bulls encircled it—ten to a cubit.[d] The bulls were cast in two rows in one piece with the Sea.
4 The Sea stood on twelve bulls, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south and three facing east. The Sea rested on top of them, and their hindquarters were toward the center. 5 It was a handbreadth[e] in thickness, and its rim was like the rim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It held three thousand baths.[f]
6 He then made ten basins for washing and placed five on the south side and five on the north. In them the things to be used for the burnt offerings were rinsed, but the Sea was to be used by the priests for washing.
7 He made ten gold lampstands according to the specifications for them and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north.
8 He made ten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north. He also made a hundred gold sprinkling bowls.
9 He made the courtyard of the priests, and the large court and the doors for the court, and overlaid the doors with bronze. 10 He placed the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner.
11 And Huram also made the pots and shovels and sprinkling bowls.
So Huram finished the work he had undertaken for King Solomon in the temple of God:
12 the two pillars;
the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars;
the two sets of network decorating the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars;
13 the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of network (two rows of pomegranates for each network, decorating the bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars);
14 the stands with their basins;
15 the Sea and the twelve bulls under it;
16 the pots, shovels, meat forks and all related articles.
All the objects that Huram-Abi made for King Solomon for the temple of the Lordwere of polished bronze. 17 The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Sukkoth and Zarethan.[g] 18 All these things that Solomon made amounted to so much that the weight of the bronze could not be calculated.
19 Solomon also made all the furnishings that were in God’s temple:
the golden altar;
the tables on which was the bread of the Presence;
20 the lampstands of pure gold with their lamps, to burn in front of the inner sanctuary as prescribed;
21 the gold floral work and lamps and tongs (they were solid gold);
22 the pure gold wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, dishes and censers; and the gold doors of the temple: the inner doors to the Most Holy Place and the doors of the main hall.
a. 2 Chronicles 4:1 That is, about 30 feet long and wide and 15 feet high or about 9 meters long and wide and 4.5 meters high
b. 2 Chronicles 4:2 That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters
c. 2 Chronicles 4:2 That is, about 45 feet or about 14 meters
d. 2 Chronicles 4:3 That is, about 18 inches or about 45 centimeters
e. 2 Chronicles 4:5 That is, about 3 inches or about 7.5 centimeters
f. 2 Chronicles 4:5 That is, about 18,000 gallons or about 66,000 liters
g. 2 Chronicles 4:17 Hebrew Zeredatha, a variant of Zarethan
The easy English site has some notes on the importance of the items for the Temple.
The altar was in the temple area in front of the temple. It showed that the way to God was by means of sacrifice. For us, that sacrifice is the Lord Jesus Christ. So, we do not now need to sacrifice animals because Jesus died as a sacrifice for us all (Hebrews 10:8-12).
The large basin was between the altar and the south and east corner of the temple. The large basin had two rows of bull’s images round it. It seems that these images were perhaps bull’s heads. These images were part of the same piece of metal as the large basin. The priests washed in the large basin ( Exodus 30:17-21). The large basin shows that to approach God we must be clean from sin. So we need God to forgive our sins. And Jesus died so that God can forgive our sins
Each basin was on a cart with wheels. The priests took water from the large basin into the smaller basins. The water in the basins was to wash the sacrifices.
The light of the lamps and the loaves of bread were to show that the LORD was there. While in the desert, the lamps had to burn through the night (Exodus 27:21). This taught the Israelites that God brings light.
The holy tent had just one open area. The temple had an open area for the priests and a larger open area for the people. Between these open areas, there were doors. The workmen made the doors out of olive wood and they covered them with bronze. The open area for the priests was higher than the larger area. So the priests’ area was the upper area. The larger area was the outer area.
This is a list of some gold objects which were inside the temple. Solomon used only bronze outside the temple. But he saved the gold (which was the most precious metal) for inside the building.
It must have been a beautiful building. I keep wanting to highlight something in the commentary. See where it says "to approach God we must be clean from sin"? We don't have to be clean from sin..... we only need to be tired of dealing with life without a Savior. Sometimes these commentaries must assume that they are preaching to the choir. The idea of having to be clean from sin before accepting Christ as our personal Savior is dangerous.
I know a girl... she'll recognize herself when she reads this.... who was afraid of Santa Clause. She just cringed every time we went near. She didn't want to talk to him face to face. I'm glad I'm old enough to know... if a kid is scared... ask them why! She was afraid of Santa Clause because she was afraid he wouldn't like her. A great big hug and a lot of reassurance got that little girl on Santa's lap.
Let me assure anyone who might be reading this..... Jesus knows you're a no good dirty rotten scoundrel. Are you worse than the men who drove the nails in his hands? Are you any worse than the guy who beat Jesus for no good reason? Are you worse than the guy who gambled for his clothes? Are you worse than the guy on the cross who made fun of Him? He forgave them... in front of everyone....
You don't have to get clean in a fancy bath or own a gold wick snip..... all you have to do is ask.... sincerely.... just ask and He'll not only for give you... He'll adopt you as a brother or sister and throw a big party to celebrate!
