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By Dr. Gene Wilkes President, B. H. Carroll Theological Institute Plano, Texas

Studies in : No Ordinary Kind of Wisdom (1 & 2 Chronicles)

Lesson Six Pillars in the House of God

Focal Text 2 Chronicles 3:1-17

Background ; Galatians 2:7-9

Main Idea Pillars are the strength of the church.

Study Aim To understand that a pillar is someone who strengthens the entire body of Christ.

Quick Read As long as believers serve, trust, and obey the Lord, they will have His strength and endurance, like a pillar.

Introduction When you come to a passage of Scripture like the one in our Focal Text today, you may wonder out loud, “Why are these details even in the ?” What is important about how many cubits something was or that they used gold nails weighing “fifty shekels” or what do they have to do with your salvation or your daily walk with the Lord? What you are reading is the careful description of the very place on earth God chose to meet his Page 1 of 8 Premium Commentary. Solomon: No Ordinary Kind of Wisdom--Lesson Six. Copyright © 2021 BAPTISTWAY PRESS©. A MINISTRY OF THE Baptist General Convention of Texas. Go to www.baptistway press.org or call 1-866-249-1799 toll-free for additional Bible study materials for all ages. This lesson is not to be sold or distributed beyond the subscription agreement. The copyright notice and identifying information in this note must be included on any copies made. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations in Premium Commentary are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, ®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. 2 Chronicles 3:1-17, Pillars in the House of God

chosen people and receive their worship of Him. Worship leaders under the Old Covenant cherished each word as an insight into the nature and character of God. You and I don’t see the significance because we read the words from the perspective of the New Covenant in Christ Jesus, who fulfilled every aspect of what you read here. What you read is like listening to a computer engineer sharing the details of how bio chip technology works to another engineer. You get lost in the vocabulary and the physics of how a chip would function without electricity, but to the engineers, every detail has meaning and both are excited to share the incredible news with others. If you are not a computer engineer, you would be bored with their insider talk and simply be happy your current laptop started up when you lifted the screen. You may have some joy in knowing they were working on the next best thing for computing, but you would never read the design manual the engineers revered as they did their work.

Scribes and rabbis still read the words in our Focal Text today and, like our engineers, see mental pictures of the opulence and beauty of the place of worship in the first temple of Israel. They also long for the day when it will be rebuilt on the in in the exact same way; missing its fulfillment in the sacrifice and resurrection of Yeshua, the Messiah. So, as you read and study the text, remember you are reading God’s instructions for a place of worship to the “one and only true God” by His people under the Old Covenant. You can understand why such details were preserved in the Bible for all to see and to be witness to the majesty and intentional love of the God of Israel.

Actual construction of the Temple began in this Focal Text. King Solomon had all the plans, supplies, and workers necessary to complete the project. Planning must end and work begin to realize any project. The third chapter of 2 Chronicles outlines the building details of the structure (3:1-7) and its furnishings. (3:8-17) Solomon proved to be the one who carried out God’s promise to build a “house” for the worship of Yahweh, the God of Israel.

Two aspects of biblical history stand out from this passage. One is the connection of the Temple site to a place important to past leaders of Israel. The Chronicler connected the building of the temple to the site where Abraham was commanded to sacrifice his son, Isaac, on Mount Moriah (Genesis 22:2, 14) and “where the Lord appeared to his father .” (1 Chronicles 21:15, 18) The site was a place where God spoke to his chosen leaders before, and it would be on that location again where the Temple was built that God would speak. The site had a sacred history with the God of Israel.

The other interesting aspect of the story is the mystery of the two pillars that stood before the holy place. The two pillars, named Jakin and Boaz, that stood in front of the holy place inside the Temple (2 Chronicles 3:15-17) have symbolic meaning for both the first worshippers and for the church today. Even the names of the pillars can be an encouragement to both the contemporary and current readers. We will explore the Page 2 of 8 Premium Commentary. Solomon: No Ordinary Kind of Wisdom--Lesson Six. Copyright © 2021 BAPTISTWAY PRESS©. A MINISTRY OF THE Baptist General Convention of Texas. Go to www.baptistway press.org or call 1-866-249-1799 toll-free for additional Bible study materials for all ages. This lesson is not to be sold or distributed beyond the subscription agreement. The copyright notice and identifying information in this note must be included on any copies made.

2 Chronicles 3:1-17, Pillars in the House of God

details of both aspects in the commentary. Both reveal how details in a historical narrative have theological meaning when viewed from the revelation of God’s purposeful, redemptive love throughout history.

Commentary

A Place of Meaning (3:1-2)

Place and time are markers in any history of a people. The Chronicler gave specific reference to both as he began his narrative of the building of the Temple. Solomon chose to build it on a site that had historical and sacred meaning to Israel. The site is first identified as “in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah.” (v. 1) This rock outcropping was near the City of David and was the place God told Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, but God intervened to stop him and to provide a ram for sacrifice instead. (Genesis 22:2, 13) Tradition holds that this is the site of the current day Dome of the Rock mosque. Our historian added, “…where the Lord had appeared to David…on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.” (Or, Araunah the Jebusite; NIV. Ornan is a variant of Araunah.) We learn that David purchased this threshing floor from Ornan the Jebusite at the direction of an angel of Yahweh in order to offer sacrifice to the Lord in repentance for taking a census of the people. The Lord “answered” David with fire from heaven. (1 Chronicles 21:15-30) The Temple site was a place where God spoke to both Abraham and David, two of the most significant patriarchs of Israel. God would speak to Israel on that site in the centuries to follow.

Solomon began construction in the second month, Ziv (the eight month of the secular calendar, mid-April to mid-May), in the fourth year of his reign. (v. 2) The earlier account in 1 Kings stated that it was 480 years “after the people of Israel came out of the land of Egypt.” (:1) This would be about 957 BC [International Dic. Of Bib. Arch., “Temple”] The time and place for the building establish a reliable record for the building of Israel’s first permanent place of worship.

The Foundation and Portico (3:3-4)

The writer described the Temple construction in two parts. The first section is about the building itself (3:1-7); and the second part describes the Most Holy Place and the Temple furnishings. (3:8-17)

Every DIY or professional carpenter or craftsman must know the base unit of measurement for a project. Solomon followed “the old standard” of cubit length as he laid the foundation for the temple. (v. 3) The meaning of the “old standard” is not clear, but a cubit was usually about 18 inches in length, measuring from a person’s elbow to the tip of the middle finger. [Thompson, 215; HIBD, “cubit”] The “measurements for

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2 Chronicles 3:1-17, Pillars in the House of God

building,” or, “the foundation Solomon laid” (NIV) was 60 cubits by 20 cubits, or, approximately 90 feet by 30 feet. The vestibule, or, “portico,” (NIV) was about 20 cubits long and 20 cubits high. (v. 4; NIV) The ESV translates the Hebrew text, which is “120 cubits” while most other translations follow later versions and the Greek translation of the text to match the height of the portico with that of the Temple building. The writer of 1 Kings noted its length matched the width of the building and added it was “ten feet deep in front of the house.” (1 Kings 6:3) The inside was overlaid with pure gold. The entrance to the Temple would be both beautiful and awe inspiring.

Gold Interiors (3:5-7)

Moving from the porch into the main hall, we are given detailed descriptions of its decorations. Solomon paneled the walls with cypress, or, “juniper” (NIV) wood; literally, “from evergreen trees.” (NET note) The floor was made of cypress and the walls and ceiling were made of cedar. (1 Kings 6:15) The aroma of cedar wood would have filled the chamber at all times. spoke of different kinds of wood similar to these in his ridicule of those who used it to make idols from it. (Isaiah 44:14-17) The paneled walls were covered over with gold and carved with images of palm trees and chains. (v. 5) The ceiling beams, doorframes, doors and walls were also overlaid with gold. (v. 7) Along with the other carved images, the craftsmen carved cherubim on the walls.

The king adorned the Holy Place with precious stones. (v. 6) The particular stones used are not listed here, but we read what was planned to be placed in the Temple in David’s plans. (:2) Onyx, turquoise, and “stones of various colors” were set in the gold-overlaid wall panels. One cannot overstate the lavishness of this room. Its purpose was to reflect the glory of Israel’s God, Yahweh, not to display the king’s wealth. It was the dwelling place of God that all Israel and the world would recognize. (Habakkuk 2:20; Psalm 11:4) No cost was too great for the worship of God.

The Most Holy Place (3:8-9)

The Chronicler moved from the Holy Place into the Most Holy Place to describe its decoration and its most important item, the and the cherubim that stood over it. (v. 8) The Most Holy Place, or, the Holy of Holies, was the most sacred place in the worship of Israel. Only the High Priest entered it once a year on the Day of Atonement to sprinkle the blood of a sacrifice on the ark that was kept there. (Leviticus 16) This pattern followed the construction of the built in the wilderness (Exodus 36—40) and which David brought to Jerusalem. It too was built and adorned with the finest of materials.

The Holy of Holies corresponded in size with that of the Temple, twenty cubits by twenty cubits. The walls were overlaid with “600 talents of fine gold,” the amount King David paid Araunah for the site of the Temple, or the yearly income of King Solomon. (2 Page 4 of 8 Premium Commentary. Solomon: No Ordinary Kind of Wisdom--Lesson Six. Copyright © 2021 BAPTISTWAY PRESS©. A MINISTRY OF THE Baptist General Convention of Texas. Go to www.baptistway press.org or call 1-866-249-1799 toll-free for additional Bible study materials for all ages. This lesson is not to be sold or distributed beyond the subscription agreement. The copyright notice and identifying information in this note must be included on any copies made.

2 Chronicles 3:1-17, Pillars in the House of God

Chronicles 9:13) A talent was about 76 pounds. [Eerdman’s Dictionary, Talent] Therefore, multiplying the dimensions of the room, the amount of gold incorporated in the lining of the Most Holy Place was enormous.

Overlaid gold required nails to attach it to the walls. Those nails “weighed fifty shekels” each. A shekel was about 2/5 ounce, which when multiplied equaled about 1.25 pounds. [ESV note; Williamson, 209] In the tabernacle were hooks made of gold to hold the curtains which held up the veil that separated the Holy of Holies. (Exodus 26:31-33) The “upper chambers” are mentioned in 1Kings 6 as part of the overall structure of the Temple.

The Cherubim (3:10-14)

The most sacred item in Israel’s Temple worship was the Ark of the Covenant. It was also known as the Mercy Seat where God spoke to Moses (Exodus 22:22) and upon which the High Priest sprinkled the blood of the annual sacrifice of atonement. (Leviticus 16:18, 19) It sat in the Most Holy Place in the tabernacle and in the newly built Temple in Jerusalem. When God instructed Moses to build the Ark of the Covenant, he was to make two cherubim and place them on the cover of the ark facing one another. (Exodus 25:17-22) They were covered in gold, and their wings covered the ark.

David gave Solomon plans for the “chariot…the cherubim of gold that spread their wings and overshadow the ark of the covenant of the Lord.” (1 Chronicles 28:18; NIV) Solomon completed those plans in the new Temple. (v. 10) The Chronicler carefully described the dimensions and arrangement of the carved olivewood creatures overlaid with gold in the Holy of Holies. (v. 11-13; 1 Kings 6:23-28) These two creatures faced the opening to the Most Holy Place and covered the ark of the covenant that would be placed there. He also made a curtain that separated the Most Holy Place from the Holy Place with colored yarn and fine linen. (v. 14) He had sewn into the fabric images of cherubim. A similar curtain hung in Herod’s rebuild of the Temple and that was torn from top to bottom at Jesus’ crucifixion. (Matthew 27:51) The curtain was the symbolic separation between Holy God and sinful people, which was destroyed by Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross.

Cherubim are found throughout the Old Covenant witness to God’s relationship with people. God posted cherubim to guard the tree of life when Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden. (Genesis 3:24) The Psalmist saw God enthroned “upon the cherubim.” (Psalm 80:1) God chose images of these winged creatures to sit upon the ark that contained the tablets of Moses. (Exodus 25:18) These were not idols, representations of a god, but guardian winged beings that symbolized the presence of the one true God of Israel.

The Two Pillars (3:15-17) Page 5 of 8 Premium Commentary. Solomon: No Ordinary Kind of Wisdom--Lesson Six. Copyright © 2021 BAPTISTWAY PRESS©. A MINISTRY OF THE Baptist General Convention of Texas. Go to www.baptistway press.org or call 1-866-249-1799 toll-free for additional Bible study materials for all ages. This lesson is not to be sold or distributed beyond the subscription agreement. The copyright notice and identifying information in this note must be included on any copies made.

2 Chronicles 3:1-17, Pillars in the House of God

Solomon added two large pillars that stood outside the Temple. (v. 15; 1 Kings 7:15-22) They were “thirty-five cubits in length” with “capitals,” or, tops five cubits in height, according to the Chronicler. The writer’s description in 1 Kings recorded the pillars as “eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference.” (7:15) The addition of the height and circumference of the pillars, which equals thirty-five, by the later Chronicler may account for the discrepancy. Ornate chains with pomegranate attached to them ordained the pillars. (v. 16)

Solomon placed the two pillars outside, one on the south side and one on the north side. (v. 17) They were apparently symbolic as they were not part of the structure. Solomon named them, Jakin for the south pillar and Boaz for the north pillar. The meanings of the named pillars have caused much discussion among commentators. The suggested meanings of the names are Jakin, “He is the one who establishes,” and Boaz, “In him is strength,” [Thompson, 219] appear to best explain the symbolic nature of the pillars. Their presence and their names were statements of the character of God worshipped in the Temple.

The symbolic nature of pillars may have also pointed to the pillars of a cloud and fire that led the people out of Egypt and in the wilderness. (Exodus 13:21, 22) When Moses entered the tabernacle, or, tent of meeting, “the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord would speak with Moses.” (Exodus 33:9) Pillars of cloud and fire may have reminded the people of God’s presence as they worshipped in the Temple.

Conclusion

This historical accounting of Solomon’s first steps to build and furnish the Temple may seem irrelevant to your faith today. However, every detail dictated by God to King David and passed on to Solomon who made each one a reality demonstrates God’s love for his people. God desired to have a place of meeting with His people and a way for them to have a right relationship with Him through sacrifice and worship. The Temple was God’s good gift of presence among his chosen people. While distant in both time and understanding, the Temple said, “I am here with you.”

Sacred places of worship have always been part of people’s worship. In the Old Covenant, or, Testament, the tabernacle and Temple were the most sacred places of worship for Israel. Even the choice of land held historical and theological meaning for Israel. Jesus, the Christ, replaced the physical temple as the focal point of worship to God. (John 2:18-22) Scripture teaches that Christ fulfilled every aspect of Temple worship through his death, burial and resurrection. (See the biblical Letter to the Hebrews for details to how this is so.) The cross and empty tomb replaced the altar and Holy of Holies of Solomon’s temple. Scripture also teaches that the Christ-follower’s Page 6 of 8 Premium Commentary. Solomon: No Ordinary Kind of Wisdom--Lesson Six. Copyright © 2021 BAPTISTWAY PRESS©. A MINISTRY OF THE Baptist General Convention of Texas. Go to www.baptistway press.org or call 1-866-249-1799 toll-free for additional Bible study materials for all ages. This lesson is not to be sold or distributed beyond the subscription agreement. The copyright notice and identifying information in this note must be included on any copies made.

2 Chronicles 3:1-17, Pillars in the House of God

body is the “temple of the Holy Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 6:19) Places and buildings erected for people to gather for worship are part of the biblical history. However, as with the Old Covenant Temple, those places and buildings can redirect the focus of worship from God to our accomplishments.

The two pillars erected outside the Holy Place may also represent leaders in the Mission of God. We know that Paul, the Apostle, considered Peter and James “pillars” in the church. (Galatians 2:9) These pillars of the church led through one of the most critical issues in the growth of the early church when the question of inclusion of outsiders threatened to divide the church. (Acts 15) A promise of God is that “the one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God.” (Revelation 3:12) This temple is the new temple in the New Heaven and New Earth at the conclusion of history.

The names of the two pillars, Jakin and Boaz, also signaled the presence and promises of God to be with Israel. We can see the New Covenant pillars like Peter, James, and Paul, were those who “established” and who were the strength of God among the followers of Jesus, the church. We look to pillars in the church today to establish the work of God in our mission field and to be examples of strength when that mission is challenged or needs repair. These are the strength of the church who will be pillars in the temple of God upon Christ’s return.

Meet the Writer: Dr. Gene Wilkes Dr. Gene Wilkes is President & Professor of New Testament & Leadership of B.H. Carroll Theological Institute. He has authored 11 books, including "Jesus On Leadership: Timeless Wisdom on Servant Leadership" & "A New Way of Living: Practicing the Beatitudes Every Day." Dr. Wilkes received his Ph.D. in New Testament Studies & his M.Div. from SWBTS. He graduated from Baylor University with a B.A. in Religion & Greek. Dr. Wilkes lives in Plano, TX, with his wife, Kim. They have 2 daughters & 3 grandchildren.

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Solomon: No Ordinary Kind of Wisdom

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2 Chronicles 3:1-17, Pillars in the House of God

Bibliography

Albright, William F. The Biblical Period From Abraham to Ezra (New York: Harper & Row, 1963) Eerdman’s Dictionary of the Bible, David Noel Freedman, Editor-in-Chief (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2000) Accordance Bible Software version 3.7 Halley, Henry H. Halley’s Bible Handbook, 3rd edition (Zondervan, 1962) Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Chad Brand, Charles Draper, Archie England, General Editors (Holman Bible Publishers, 2003) Kohlenberger/Mounce, Concise Hebrew-Aramaic Dictionary of the John R. Kohlenberger III and William D. Mounce, Editors (William D. Mounce, 2012) Accordance Biblical Software edition. The New International Dictionary of Biblical Archeology, R. K. Harrison, General Editor (Zondervan, 1983) Thompson, J. A. 1, 2 Chronicles, Vol. 9 in The New American Commentary, E. Ray Clendenen, General Editor (Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994) Williamson, H. G. M. 1 and 2 Chronicles, in The New Century Bible Commentary, Ronald Clements and Matthew Black, General Editors (Eerdmans, 1982)

ESV = English Standard Version HCSB = Holman Christian Standard Bible KJV = MSG = The Message NASB = New American Standard Bible NET = New English Translation NIV = New International Version

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