2 Chronicles 4 Commentary

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SECOND CHRONICLES The Kingdom of Israel From Splendor to Disaster
Splendor			Disaster
King Solomon of Judah 2 Chronicles 1-9			Successive Kings of Judah 2Chr 10-36
Kingdom United			Kingdom Divided 2Chr 10:1-19	Rulers of the Southern Kingdom of Judah After the Split	The Exile of Judah 2Chr 36:17-23
Inaugural 2Chr 1:1-17	Solomon's Temple 2Chr 2:1-7:22	Solomon's Glory 2Chr 8:1-9:31
Building of the Temple			Decline & Destruction of the Temple		Temple Destroyed
~40 Years			~393 Years

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Chart from Jensen's Survey of the OT - used by permission
Click Chart from Charles Swindoll

TIMELINE OF THE BOOKS OF SAMUEL, KINGS & CHRONICLES
1107	1011				971	931	853	722		586
1Samuel	2 Samuel				1Kings	1Kings	2 Kings
31	1-4	5-10	11-20	21-24	1-11	12-22	1-17		18-25
1 Chronicles 10		1Chr 11-19		1Chr 20-29	2 Chronicles 1-9	2 Chronicles 10-20	2 Chronicles 21-36
Legend: B.C. dates at top of timeline are approximate. Note that 931BC marks the division of the Kingdom into Southern Tribes (Judah and Benjamin) and Ten Northern Tribes. To avoid confusion be aware that after the division of the Kingdom in 931BC, the Southern Kingdom is most often designated in Scripture as "Judah" and the Northern Kingdom as "Israel." Finally, note that 1 Chronicles 1-9 is not identified on the timeline because these chapters are records of genealogy.

NOTE: THESE COMMENTS ARE OFFERED IN AN "AS IS" FORMAT - IF I HAVE TIME IN THE FUTURE, THEY WILL BE UPDATED.

CLICK 2 CHRONICLES COMMENTARIES FOR MULTIPLE SERMONS AND COMMENTARIES

2 Chronicles 4:1 Then he made a bronze altar, twenty cubits in length and twenty cubits in width and ten cubits in height.

• an altar (KJV): 2Ch 1:5 Ex 27:1-8 1Ki 8:22,64 9:25 2Ki 16:14,15 Eze 43:13-17 
• See BELOW FOR BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR 1-2 CHRONICLES - adapted from Paul Apple's Bible Outlines

Altar of Burnt Offering - Brazen Altar

Then he made a bronze altar, twenty cubits in length and twenty cubits in width and ten cubits in height. Exodus 27:1  “And you shall make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits wide; the altar shall be square, and its height shall be three cubits.

Pulpit Commentary: It must be observed that the altar is the first item mentioned in the list of furniture that leads to the ark, which symbolized the presence of God. In New Testament terms, we could say that the way to the throne of God begins at the cross. Without the sacrifice of Christ there would be no possibility of fellowship with the Father.

NET NOTES - “twenty cubits.” Assuming a cubit of 18 inches (45 cm), the length would have been 30 feet (9 m). “ten cubits.” Assuming a cubit of 18 inches (45 cm), the height would have been 15 feet (4.5 m).

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RON DANIEL - (4:1-22) The Furniture And Utensils - Chapter four describes the construction of the furniture and the utensils of the temple: The bronze altar of sacrifice, the laver and extra washbasins, the bowls, etc. Interestingly, one of the changes made from the original tabernacle design is that instead of one lampstand and one table of showbread, there are now ten of each.

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Matthew Henry Notes: Chapter: 4

We have here a further account of the furniture of God's house.

I. Those things that were of brass. The altar for burnt-offerings (2Chr 4:1), the sea and lavers to hold water (2Chr 4:2-6), the plates with which the doors of the court were overlaid (2Chr 4:9), the vessels of the altar, and other things (2Chr 4:10-18).

II. Those that were of gold. The candlesticks and tables (2Chr 4:7, 8), the altar of incense (2Chr 4:19), and the appurtenances of each of these (2Chr 4:20-22). All these, except the brazen altar (2Chr 4:1), were accounted for more largely, 1 Ki. 7:23, etc.

David often speaks with much affection both of the house of the Lord and of the courts of our God. Both without doors and within there was that which typified the grace of the gospel and shadowed out good things to come, of which the substance is Christ.

I. There were those things in the open court, in the view of all the people, which were very significant.

1. There was the brazen altar, 2Chr 4:1.

The making of this was not mentioned in the Kings. On this all the sacrifices were offered, and it sanctified the gift. This altar was much larger than that which Moses made in the tabernacle; that was five cubits square, this was twenty cubits square. Now that Israel had become both numerous and more rich, and it was to be hoped more devout (for every age should aim to be wiser and better than that which went before it), it was expected that there would be a greater abundance of offerings brought to God's altar than had been. It was therefore made such a capacious scaffold that it might hold them all, and none might excuse themselves from bringing those temptations of their devotion by alleging that there was not room to receive them. God had greatly enlarged their borders; it was therefore fit that they should enlarge his altars. Our returns should bear some proportion to our receivings. It was ten cubits high, so that the people who worshipped in the courts might see the sacrifice burnt, and their eye might affect their heart with sorrow for sin: "It is of the Lord's mercies that I am not thus consumed, and that this is accepted as an expiation of my guilt.'' They might thus be led to consider the great sacrifice which should be offered in the fulness of time to take away sin and abolish death, which the blood of bulls and goats could not possibly do. And with the smoke of the sacrifices their hearts might ascend to heaven in holy desires towards God and his favour. In all our devotions we must keep the eye of faith fixed upon Christ, the great propitiation. How they went up to this altar, and carried the sacrifices up to it, we are not told; some think by a plain ascent like a hill: if by steps, doubtless they were so contrived as that the end of the law (mentioned Ex. 20:26) might be answered.

2 Chronicles 4:2 Also he made the cast metal sea, ten cubits from brim to brim, circular in form, and its height was five cubits and its circumference thirty cubits.

• a molten sea (KJV): Ex 30:18-21 1Ki 7:23 Zec 13:1 Tit 3:5 Rev 7:14 
• brim to brim (KJV): Heb. his brim to his brim

An artist's rendition of the Molten Sea

Also he made the cast metal sea, ten cubits from brim to brim, circular in form, and its height was five cubits and its circumference thirty cubits. 

John Olley: The calm water in the large “sea” thus reminded worshipers of the Lord’s rule over all creation and history; the supporting “twelve oxen,” three facing each of the compass directions, provide an image of strength covering all the earth. They may also represent the twelve tribes of Israel, which in the wilderness encamped around the tabernacle (Num. 2:1–31).

The Sea of cast bronze in the court of Solomon's temple was for the priests to wash in (2 Chr 4:6) and corresponds with the bronze (properly copper) laver of the tabernacle where the priests had to wash their hands and feet before entering the tabernacle or offering a burnt offering upon the altar of burnt offering. In Ezekiel's temple and the New Jerusalem there would be no container of water for purification. Instead there would be a river of life (Ezek. 47:1-12; Rev. 22:1, 2). Since the ratio of the circumference of a perfect circle to its diameter is equal to 3.14159 (pi), the measurements given here are probably round figures.

Defender's Study Bible - Critics have claimed there is a mathematical error in this verse. To support this verse see note on 1 Kings 7:23 = Critics who try to find scientific "mistakes" in Scripture nearly always settle on this verse as one of their prime examples. Solomon's sea, ten cubits in diameter, had a circumference of thirty cubits, supposedly showing that the writer thought the value of p, or "pi," (the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter) was exactly 3.0, instead of 3.1416. The critics do not understand the principle--always applied in careful scientific calculations--of "significant figures." The dimensions as given were not intended as precisely 10 or 30, but were obviously round numbers. To say the diameter was 10 means only that it was somewhere between 9.5 and 10.5. Similarly, the circumference was somewhere between 29.5 and 30.5. Thus the implied value of p was somewhere between 29.5/10.5 and 30.5/9.5--that is, between 2.81 and 3.21. The precise value of p is clearly within this range, and it would have been incorrect to try to specify a more precise value.

NET NOTES -  The large bronze basin known as “The Sea” was mounted on twelve bronze bulls and contained water for the priests to bathe themselves (see v. 6; cf. Exod 30:17–21). ten cubits.” Assuming a cubit of 18 inches (45 cm), the diameter would have been 15 feet (4.5 m) “five cubits.” Assuming a cubit of 18 inches (45 cm), the height would have been 7.5 feet (2.25 m).

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MATTHEW HENRY - There was the molten sea, a very large brass pan, in which they put water for the priests to wash in, 2Chr 4:2, 6.

It was put just at the entrance into the court of the priests, like the font at the church door. If it were filled to the brim, it would hold 3000 baths (as here, 2Chr 4:5), but ordinarily there were only 2000 baths in it, 1 Ki. 7:26. The Holy Ghost by this signified,

(1.) Our great gospel privilege, that the blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin, 1 Jn. 1:7. To us there is a fountain opened for all believers (who are spiritual priests, Rev. 1:5, 6), nay, for all the inhabitants of Jerusalem to wash in, from sin, which is uncleanness. There is a fulness of merit in Jesus Christ for all those that by faith apply to him for the purifying of their consciences, that they might serve the living God, Heb. 9:14.

(2.) Our great gospel duty, which is to cleanse ourselves by true repentance from all the pollutions of the flesh and the corruption that is in the world. Our hearts must be sanctified, or we cannot sanctify the name of God. Those that draw nigh to God must cleanse their hands, and purify their hearts, Jas 4:8. If I was thee not, thou hast no part with me; and he that is washed still needs to wash his feet, to renew his repentance, whenever he goes in to minister, Jn. 13:10.

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QUESTION - What was the significance of the bronze laver?

ANSWER - The bronze laver, also called the “bronze basin” (NIV) and the “laver of brass” (KJV), was one of the furnishings required by God in the outer courts of the tabernacle and temple. It stood between the temple and the altar, and it held water for washing (Exodus 30:18).

The first bronze laver was made for the tabernacle, the movable tent erected in the desert after the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. The bronze laver was for Aaron and his sons (the priests) to wash their hands and feet before they entered the tabernacle, “so that they will not die” (Exodus 30:20). The priests also had to wash their hands and their feet before they approached the altar with a food offering (verse 21). God declared that this was to be a statute forever to them. The washing of the priests was to be observed by Aaron and his descendants in all ages, as long as their priesthood lasted. God wanted His people to understand the importance of purity.

Exodus 38:8 tells us that the bronze laver and its base of bronze were made from the mirrors brought by “the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.” The women of that day did not have glass mirrors as we do today. They used highly polished brass and other metals. Job 37:18 refers to a “mirror of cast bronze.” The serving women donated their mirrors to the tabernacle to be used in creating the bronze laver.

After the Jews ended their wandering in the desert, the tabernacle was replaced by the temple in Jerusalem, built by King Solomon. The bronze laver in the temple was made by a bronze worker named Hiram of Tyre who also crafted the bronze pillars that stood at the entrance to the temple vestibule (1 Kings 7:13–14). The “Sea of cast metal” (1 Kings 7:23), so called because of its great size, took the place of the tabernacle’s laver, but its function was the same—the washing of the priests.

This second laver was much larger than the one in the tabernacle: 15 feet in diameter at the top and about 47 feet in circumference, with a depth of 7.5 feet (1 Kings 7:23). The depth of the water in the bronze laver seems to indicate that the priests completely immersed themselves in it, rather than just washing their hands and feet. The brim of the laver was carved with flowers, and oxen were carved or cut on the outside all around. The laver stood on a pedestal of twelve bronze oxen, three facing each direction of the compass. The temple court also held ten bronze basins for washing the sacrifices (2 Chronicles 4:6), but the Sea, or the bronze laver, was only for the priests to wash in.

When the Babylonians sacked Jerusalem in 605 BC, they “broke up the bronze pillars, the movable stands and the bronze Sea that were at the temple of the LORD and they carried all the bronze to Babylon” (Jeremiah 52:17). The bronze laver had to be rebuilt for Zerubbabel’s temple.

There are no biblical descriptions of the bronze laver as part of Herod’s temple, but historians believe the bronze laver rested on twelve bronze bulls and sat between the altar and the temple, as Moses had instructed. When the Romans sacked Jerusalem in AD 70, the temple was completely destroyed, and the furnishings, including the laver, were either stolen or destroyed.

It is significant that the bronze laver was the last object to be encountered before entering the tabernacle (Exodus 40:6–7). Before entering God’s presence, one must be cleansed. The Levitical priests had to continually wash to ready themselves for the presence of Holy God, but Jesus Christ fulfilled all the Law (Matthew 5:17). When Christ died, His people were cleansed once for all time by His blood shed on the cross. We no longer need a ritualistic washing with water to come before God, because Christ has “provided purification for sins” (Hebrews 1:3). Now we can “approach the throne of grace with confidence” (Hebrews 4:16), being sure that we are acceptable to Him because we are spiritually clean.GotQuestions.org

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Wikipedia on Cast Sea - The Molten Sea or Brazen Sea (ים מוצק yām mūṣāq "cast metal sea") was a large basin in the Temple in Jerusalem made by Solomon for ablution of the priests. It is described in 1 Kings 7:23–26 and 2 Chronicles 4:2–5. It stood in the south-eastern corner of the inner court. According to the Bible it was five cubits high, ten cubits in diameter from brim to brim, and thirty cubits in circumference. The brim was like the rim of a cup or like a lily blossom,^[1] and its thickness was a hand breadth", three or four inches. It was placed on the backs of twelve oxen, standing with their faces outward. It was capable of containing two or three thousand baths of water (2 Chronicles 4:5). The fact that it was a wash basin which was too large to enter from above lends to the idea that water would likely have flowed from it down into a subcontainer beneath. The water was originally supplied by the Gibeonites, but was afterwards brought by a conduit from Solomon's Pools. The molten sea was made of brass or bronze, which Solomon had taken from the captured cities of Hadarezer, the king of Zobah (1 Chronicles 18:8). Ahaz later removed this laver from the oxen, and placed it on a stone pavement (2 Kings 16:17). It was destroyed by the Chaldeans (2 Kings 25:13).

Rabbinical Literature - The basin contained water sufficient for two thousand baths.^[2] According to the Talmud the laver was not entirely round, as might be inferred from Scripture; the upper two-fifths were round, but the lower three were square (Talmud. Eruvin 14a, b)

The symbolism of the brazen sea is described in detail in the Midrash Tadshe. The sea represented the world; the ten ells of diameter corresponded to the ten Sefirot; and it was round at the top (according to the Talmud passage above cited) as the heavens are round. The depth of the sea was five ells, corresponding to the distance of five hundred years' journey between heaven and earth (compare Chagigah 13a). The band of thirty ells around it corresponded to the Ten Commandments, to the ten words of God at the creation of the world, and to the ten Sefirot: for the world can exist only when the Ten Commandments are observed, and the ten Sefirot as well as the ten words of God were the instruments of the Creation. The two rows of colocynths (knops) below the rim were symbolic of the sun and the moon, while the twelve oxen on which the sea rested represented the zodiac ("mazzalot"). It contained 2,000 baths (cubic measures), for the world will sustain him who keeps the Torah, which was created 2,000 years before the world.^[3]

LAVER OF THE TABERNACLE - In the Priestly Code of Exodus, instead of the Molten Sea is described a bronze laver (basin), which was to rest on a bronze foot (presumably meaning a stand).^[4] The text explains that this laver was to be used for the Israelite priests to wash their hands and feet when they entered the sanctuary.^[5] This is confirmed in a later part of the Priestly Code, in the passage describing the actual installation of the Tabernacle furniture.^[6]

The size and shape of this laver are not mentioned anywhere in the Bible, and nor are those of its stand, unlike the case for the Molten Sea. By contrast, the special golden candlestick is described by the Priestly Code, but not in the description of Solomon's temple. It might therefore be the case that the laver and the candlestick are somehow the same object.^[7]

Solomon is described by the Book of Chronicles as having constructed a special platform in his Temple, for him to use during the opening ceremony.^[8] Although it is often assumed that the text describes Solomon as standing on this platform, the text could equally be read stood next to.^[9]

This platform is literally described by the masoretic text as a laver (Hebrew: kiyyor), and as with the Priestly Code's laver, there is only one platform, and it is placed in the centre of the outer court. The Septuagint calls it a base,^[10] and the size of the brazen platform is the same as that of each base for the ten brazen lavers.^[9]

It is therefore quite possible that the account of this platform in the Book of Chronicles is actually an account of a laver corresponding to the laver of the Priestly Code.^[9]

2 Chronicles 4:3 Now figures like oxen were under it and all around it, ten cubits, entirely encircling the sea. The oxen were in two rows, cast in one piece.

• And under (KJV): 1Ki 7:24-26 Eze 1:10 10:14 1Co 9:9,10 Rev 4:7 
• oxen (KJV): In the parallel passage of Kings, instead of {bekarim,} "oxen," we have {pekaim,} "knops," in the form of colocynths. (See on 1 Ki 6:18, and 2 Ki 4:39;) which last is supposed by able critics to be the reading which ought to received be here; {bekarim,} "oxen," being a mistake for {pekaim,} "knops."  Houbigant, however, contends that the words in both places are right; but that {bakar} does not signify an ox here, but a large kind of grape, according to its meaning in Arabic.  But Dr. A. Clarke states that {bakar,} or {bakarat,} has no such meaning in Arabic, though the phrase {aino 'lbikri,} or "ox-eye," signifies a species of black grape, very large, and of incredible sweetness; that consequently the criticism of this great man is not solid; and that the likeliest method of reconciling the two places is to suppose a change in the letters as above.

The Brazen Sea is destroyed by the Chaldeans
(watercolor, circa 1896–1902 by James Tissot, or followers)

See also the depiction in verse 2. 

Now figures like oxen were under it and all around it, ten cubits, entirely encircling the sea. The oxen were in two rows, cast in one piece.

2 Chronicles 4:4 It stood on twelve oxen, three facing the north, three facing west, three facing south and three facing east; and the sea was set on top of them and all their hindquarters turned inwards.

• It stood (KJV): Mt 16:18 Eph 2:20 Rev 21:14 
• three (KJV): Mt 28:19,20 Mk 16:15 Lu 24:46,47 Ac 9:15 

Molten Sea, illustration in the Holman Bible, 1890

It stood on twelve oxen, three facing the north, three facing west, three facing south and three facing east; and the sea was set on top of them and all their hindquarters turned inwards.

NET NOTES -   “all their hindquarters were toward the inside.”

2 Chronicles 4:5 It was a handbreadth thick, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom; it could hold 3,000 baths.

• with flowers of lilies (KJV): or, like a lily flower
• three thousand baths (KJV): In the parallel passage, it is said to hold only two thousand baths;  which some think may be reconciled by supposing that the quantity of water which was commonly in it was 2,000 baths, but that, if filled up to the top, it would hold 3,000. But, as we have already seen that the Babylonish cubit was less than that of the ancient Hebrews, it might be the same with measures of capacity; so that 2,000 of the ancient Jewish baths might have been equal to 3,000 of those used after the captivity.  The Targum cuts the knot:  "It received 3,000 baths of dry measure, and held 2,000 of liquid measure."  See 1 Ki 7:26. 1Ki 7:26 

It was a handbreadth thick, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom; it could hold 3,000 baths.

Defender's Study Bible - According to 1 Kings 7:26, the molten sea "contained two thousand baths." Although this could represent a copyist error, both statements could be true as they stand. That is, if the sea could receive "three thousand baths" (a bath was about eight gallons), it could certainly contain two thousand.

Believer's Study Bible - This appears to be another scribal inadvertency. According to 1 Kin. 7:26, the "Sea of cast bronze" is said to contain "two thousand baths" instead of "three thousand." The dimensions given in 1 Kin. 7:23 confirm the smaller size. Perhaps the scribal error arose during the transmission of the Chronicles text as a result of the repetition of the numeral "three," which occurs four times in v. 4.

NET NOTES - Heb “3,000 baths” (note that the capacity is given in 1 Kings 7:26 as “2,000 baths”). A bath was a liquid measure roughly equivalent to six gallons (about 22 liters), so 3,000 baths was a quantity of about 18,000 gallons (66,000 liters).

2 Chronicles 4:6 He also made ten basins in which to wash, and he set five on the right side and five on the left to rinse things for the burnt offering; but the sea was for the priests to wash in.  

• ten lavers (KJV): Ex 30:18-21 1Ki 7:38,40 Ps 51:2 1Co 6:11 1Jn 1:7 
• such things as they offered for the burnt offering (KJV): Heb. the work of burnt offering, Lev 1:9,13 Eze 40:38 
• but the sea (KJV): 2Ch 4:2 Ex 29:4 Heb 9:14,23 Rev 1:5,6 7:14 

He also made ten basins in which to wash, and he set five on the right side and five on the left to rinse things for the burnt offering; but the sea was for the priests to wash in.  

J.A. Thompson: Reference is made here to the ten basins, five placed on the south side of the Sea and five on the north side. A distinction is made in the use to which these basins were put in contrast to that of the Sea. The basins were used for washing the utensils used for the burnt offerings, while the Sea was reserved for the priests. The parallel passage in Kings is longer and includes a section that deals with the portable stands for the basins (1 Kgs 7:27–37).

Raymond Dillard: The Chronicler assigns to the Sea and the basins a function in ritual cleansing of the priests and the sacrificial implements. This addition by the Chronicler gives these vessels the same function as that of the laver in the tabernacle (Exod 30:18– 21); the inclusion of this information is one more example of the Chronicler’s efforts to parallel the building of the temple and the tabernacle. Most interpreters have viewed the Sea as symbolic of the primeval sea or chaos ocean over which Yahweh rules in triumph (Ps 29:10; 74:12–17; 89:9–10; 93:3–4; 98:7–9; 104:1–9; Isa 51:9–10; Hab 3:8–10); it is Yahweh who rules over the Sea, not the Babylonian Marduk or the Canaanite Baal whose victories are recorded in mythological literature. If the function of the Sea in the temple courtyard is primarily that of cosmological symbolism, then the Chronicler could be viewed as demythologizing the Sea of the pagan associations it may have evoked by giving it instead a utilitarian function (C-M, Rudolph, Albright, Michaeli, Coggins). There is, however, insufficient evidence to determine which was the original use intended for the Sea or to associate either view of it with a different time period or sociological group. Biblical imagery pertaining to water is multifaceted: it not only represents the threatening waters which must be subjected to God, but also water for cleansing and purification (Exod 30:18–21; Lev 15:5–11; Ezek 36:25; Zech 13:1; Ps 51:7, 10; Isa 1:16). In Ezekiel’s temple vision the brazen Sea has been replaced by a life-giving river (Ezek 47:1–12; cf. Rev 22:1–2). If the Sea was to be used by the priests for ablution, some stairs or other means of ascent must also have been provided, but are not mentioned. The twelve bulls forming the base were likely symbolic of the tribes of Israel; three tribes at each of the four compass points is reminiscent of the arrangement of camp in the wilderness (Num 2) and of Ezekiel’s vision of the city gates (Ezek 48:30–35)....

While the tabernacle had a single lampstand, a single table for the consecrated bread, and a single laver, Solomon’s temple had ten of each. The description of these mobile basins is much more elaborate in 1 Kgs 7:27–40. For a discussion of the Sea and the basins and archeological parallels, see Busink, Der Tempel 1:326–52. The decoration on the panels of these wheeled stands (lions, bulls, cherubim) and their being likened to chariots (1 Kgs 7:32–33) evokes imagery of the divine chariot (Ezek 1:4–28) with its wheels, creatures, and the sound of rushing water; cf. 1 Chr 28:18.

MATTHEW HENRY - There were ten lavers of brass, in which they washed such things as they offered for the burnt-offerings, 2Chr 4:6. As the priests must be washed, so must the sacrifices. We must not only purify ourselves in preparation for our religious performances, but carefully put away all those vain thoughts and corrupt aims which cleave to our performances themselves and pollute them.

2 Chronicles 4:7 Then he made the ten golden lampstands in the way prescribed for them and he set them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left.

• ten candlesticks (KJV): 1Ki 7:49 1Ch 28:15 Zec 4:2,3,11-14 Mt 5:14-16 Joh 8:12 Rev 1:20 
• according to (KJV): Ex 25:31-40 1Ch 28:12,19 Heb 8:5 

LAMPSTAND

Then he made the ten golden lampstands in the way prescribed for them and he set them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left.

Ryrie - The Temple contained 10 lampstands and 10 tables (for the bread of the Presence) instead of one each as in the Tabernacle. 

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MATTHEW HENRY - There were those things in the house of the Lord (into which the priests alone went to minister) that were very significant.

All was gold there. The nearer we come to God the purer we must be, the purer we shall be.

1. There were ten golden candlesticks, according to the form of that one which was in the tabernacle, 2Chr 4:7. The written word is a lamp and a light, shining in a dark place. In Moses's time they had but one candlestick, the Pentateuch; but the additions which, in process of time, were to be made of other books of scripture might be signified by this increase of the number of the candlesticks. Light was growing. The candlesticks are the churches, Rev. 1:20. Moses set up but one, the church of the Jews; but, in the gospel temple, not only believers, but churches, are multiplied.

2. There were ten golden tables (2Chr 4:8), tables whereon the show-bread was set, 2Chr 4:19. Perhaps every one of the tables had twelve loaves of show-bread on it. As the house was enlarged, the house-keeping was. In my father's house there is bread enough for the whole family. To those tables belonged 100 golden basins, or dishes; for God's table is well furnished.

3. There was a golden altar (2Chr 4:19), on which they burnt incense. It is probable that this was enlarged in proportion to the brazen altar. Christ, who once for all made atonement for sin, ever lives, making intercession, in virtue of that atonement.

2 Chronicles 4:8 He also made ten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left. And he made one hundred golden bowls.

• ten tables (KJV): Ex 25:23-30 37:10-16 1Ki 7:48 Isa 25:6 Eze 44:16 Mal 1:12 1Co 10:21 
• basins (KJV): or, bowls, Jer 52:18,19 Zec 14:20 

He also made ten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left. And he made one hundred golden bowls.

2 Chronicles 4:9 Then he made the court of the priests and the great court and doors for the court, and overlaid their doors with bronze.

• the court (KJV): 1Ki 6:36 7:12 

Then he made the court of the priests and the great court and doors for the court, and overlaid their doors with bronze.

MATTHEW HENRY - 4. The doors of the court were overlaid with brass (2Chr 4:9), both for strength and beauty, and that they might not be rotted with the weather, to which they were exposed. Gates of brass we read of, Ps. 107:16.

2 Chronicles 4:10 He set the sea on the right side of the house toward the southeast.  

• 1Ki 7:39 

He set the sea on the right side of the house toward the southeast.

2 Chronicles 4:11 Huram also made the pails, the shovels and the bowls. So Huram finished doing the work which he performed for King Solomon in the house of God:

• the pots (KJV): 1Ki 7:40,45 
• basins (KJV): or, bowls
• finished (KJV): Heb. finished to make

Huram also made the pails, the shovels and the bowls. So Huram finished doing the work which he performed for King Solomon in the house of God

Andrew Hill: The summary of Huram-Abi’s achievements (2Ch 4:11–16) completes the record of the skilled smiths sent by King Hiram of Tyre to oversee the metal work and engraving for the temple (2Ch 2:13–14). The added detail concerning the location of bronze casting (east of the Jordan River, halfway between the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee, 2Ch 4:17) puts the process of metal casting a considerable distance from the source of copper used in the bronze casting if it was mined at Timnah. The “golden altar” is equivalent to the altar of incense in the Mosaic tabernacle (4:19a; cf. Ex. 30:1–10).

NET NOTES - “Huram,” but here this refers to Huram Abi (2 Chr 2:13). The complete name has been used in the translation to avoid possible confusion with King Huram of Tyre.

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Matthew Henry Notes: 2Chr 4:11-22 We have here such a summary both of the brass-work and the gold-work of the temple as we had before (1 Ki. 7:13, etc.), in which we have nothing more to observe than,

1. That Huram the workman was very punctual:

He finished all that he was to make (2Chr 4:11), and left no part of his work undone. Huram, his father, he is called, 2Chr 4:16. Probably it was a sort of nickname by which he was commonly known, Father Huram; for the king of Tyre called him Huram Abi, my father, in compliance with whom Solomon called him his, he being a great artist and father of the artificers in brass and iron. He acquitted himself well both for ingenuity and industry.

2. Solomon was very generous.

He made all the vessels in great abundance (2Chr 4:18), many of a sort, that many hands might be employed, and so the work might go on with expedition, or that some might be laid up for use when others were worn out. Freely he has received, and he will freely give. When he had made vessels enough for the present he could not convert the remainder of the brass to his own use; it is devoted to God, and it shall be used for him.

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HIRAM [ISBE] - hi'-ram (chiram; Septuagint Chiram, but Cheiram, in 2 Sam 5:11; 1 Ch 14:1): There is some confusion regarding the form of this name. In the books of Samuel and Kings the prevailing form is "Hiram" (chiram); but in 1 Ki 5:10,18 margin (Hebrew 24,32); 7:40 margin "Hirom" (chirom) is found. In Chronicles the form of the word is uniformly "Huram" (churam).

(1) A king of Tyre who lived on most friendly terms with both David and Solomon. After David had taken the stronghold of Zion, Hiram sent messengers and workmen and materials to build a palace for him at Jerusalem (2 Sam 5:11; 1 Ch 14:1). Solomon, on his accession to the throne, made a league with Hiram, in consequence of which Hiram furnished the new king of Israel with skilled workmen and with cedar trees and fir trees and algum trees from Lebanon for the building of the Temple. In return Solomon gave annually to Hiram large quantities of wheat and oil (1 Ki 5:1 (Hebrew 15) ff; 2 Ch 2:3 (Hebrew 2) ff). "At the end of twenty years, wherein Solomon had built the two houses, the house of Yahweh and the king's house," Solomon made a present to Hiram of twenty cities in the land of Galilee. Hiram was not at all pleased with these cities and contemptuously called them "Cabul." His displeasure, however, with this gift does not seem to have disturbed the amicable relations that had hitherto existed between the two kings, for subsequently Hiram sent to the king of Israel 120 talents of gold (1 Ki 9:10-14). Hiram and Solomon maintained merchant vessels on the Mediterranean and shared mutually in a profitable trade with foreign ports (1 Ki 10:22). Hiram's servants, "shipmen that had knowledge of the sea," taught the sailors of Solomon the route from Ezion-geber and Eloth to Ophir, whence large stores of gold were brought to King Solomon (1 Ki 9:26; 2 Ch 8:17 f).

Josephus (Apion, I, 17, 18) informs us, on the authority of the historians Dius and Menander, that Hiram was the son of Abibal, that he had a prosperous reign of 34 years, and died at the age of 53. He tells us on the same authority that Hiram and Solomon sent problems to each other to solve; that Hiram could not solve those sent him by Solomon, whereupon he paid to Solomon a large sum of money, as had at first been agreed upon. Finally, Abdemon, a man of Tyre, did solve the problems, and proposed others which Solomon was unable to explain; consequently Solomon was obliged to pay back to Hiram a vast sum of money. Josephus further states (Ant., VIII, ii, 8) that the correspondence carried on between Solomon and Hiram in regard to the building of the Temple was preserved, not only in the records of the Jews, but also in the public records of Tyre. It is also related by Phoenician historians that Hiram gave his daughter to Solomon in marriage.

2 Chronicles 4:12 the two pillars, the bowls and the two capitals on top of the pillars, and the two networks to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on top of the pillars,

• To wit (KJV): 2Ch 3:15-17 
• the pommels (KJV): 1Ki 7:41 

Image of a 3rd-century (AD) glass bowl which depicts Solomon's Temple.
Boaz and Jachin are the detached black pillars shown on either side of the entrance steps.

the two pillars, the bowls and the two capitals on top of the pillars, and the two networks to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on top of the pillars - Two pillars - see Jachin and Boaz

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Wikipedia -  Jachin and Boaz According to the Bible, Boaz (Hebrew: בֹּעַז‎ Bōʿaz) and Jachin (יָכִין‎ Yāḵīn) were two copper, brass or bronze pillars which stood on the porch of Solomon's Temple, the first Temple in Jerusalem.^[1] They are used as symbols in Freemasonry and sometimes in religious architecture. They were probably not support structures but free-standing, based on similar pillars found in other nearby temples.^[2]In the Bible The pillars were nearly six feet (1.8 metres) thick and 27 feet (8.2 metres) tall. The eight-foot (2.4 metres) high brass chapiters, or capitals, on top of the pillars bore decorations, in brass, of lilies. The original measurement as taken from the Torah was in cubits, which records that the pillars were 18 cubits high and 12 cubits around, and hollow—four fingers thick. (Jeremiah 52:21–22). Nets of checkerwork covered the bowl of each chapter, decorated with rows of 200 pomegranates, wreathed with seven chains for each chapter, and topped with lilies (1 Kings 7:13–22, 41–42). The pillars did not survive the destruction of the First Temple; Jeremiah 52:17 reports: "The Chaldeans broke up the bronze columns of the House of the Lord". II Kings 25:13 has a similar account. The pillars were carried away in pieces for ease of transportation. When the Second Temple was built, the pillars were not returned, and there exists no record of new pillars being constructed to replace them.^[3] 

Jewish commentators  According to rabbi Raymond Apple, "Jewish commentators on I Kings 7:21 maintain that it was when one stood inside the building and looked out toward the entrance in the east" that Jachin was on the right (to the south) and Boaz was on the left (to the north).^[4]

Josephus According to the first-century Romano-Jewish scholar Josephus' book Antiquities of the Jews, Jachin (Hebrew יָכִין yakin "He/it will establish") stood on the right on the portico of Solomon's Temple, while Boaz (Hebrew בֹּעַז boʿaz "In him/it [is] strength") stood on the left, and the two were made by a Canaanite craftsman named Hiram.^[5] An explanatory note by William Whiston on paragraph 6 of the same chapter,^[6] explains this as agreeing with the opinion of the Jewish commentators.^[4]

2 Chronicles 4:13 and the four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, two rows of pomegranates for each network to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on the pillars.

• four hundred (KJV): Ex 28:33,34 1Ki 7:20,42 Song 4:13 Jer 52:23 
• pillars (KJV): Heb. face of the pillars

and the four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, two rows of pomegranates for each network to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on the pillars

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POMEGRANATE [ISBE] - pom'-gran-at, pom-gran'-at, pum'-gran-at (rimmon (tree and fruit); the Hebrew name is similar to the Arabic, Aramaic and Ethiopic; rhoa):

1. A Tree Characteristic of Palestine: One of the most attractive and most characteristic of the fruit trees of Syria, probably indigenous to Persia, Afghanistan and the neighborhood of the Caucasus, but introduced to Palestine in very ancient times. The spies brought specimens of figs and pomegranates, along with grapes, from the Vale of Eshcol (Nu 13:23). Vines, figs and pomegranates are mentioned (Nu 20:5) as fruits the Israelites missed in the wilderness; the promised land was to be one "of wheat and barley, and vines and fig-trees and pomegranates" (Dt 8:8), a promise renewed in Hag 2:19. In the lamentation in Joel 1:11,12 we have the pomegranate, the palm tree and the apple tree represented as withered, "for joy is withered away from the sons of men."

2. The Fruit: The pomegranate tree, Punica granatum (Natural Order, Granateae) occurs usually as a shrub or small tree 10-15 ft. high, and is distinguished by its fresh green, oval leaves, which fall in winter, and its brilliant scarlet blossoms (compare Song 7:12). The beauty of an orchard of pomegranates is referred to in Song 4:13. The fruit which is ripe about September is apple-shaped, yellow-brown with a blush of red, and is surmounted by a crown-like hard calyx; on breaking the hard rind, the white or pinkish, translucent fruits are seen tightly packed together inside. The juicy seeds are sometimes sweet and sometimes somewhat acid, and need sugar for eating. The juice expressed from the seeds is made into a kind of syrup for flavoring drinks, and in ancient days was made into wine: "I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine, of the juice (margin "sweet wine") of my pomegranate" (Song 8:2). The beauty of a cut section of pomegranate--or one burst open naturally, when fully ripe--may have given rise to the comparison in Song 4:3; 6:7: "Thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate." The rind of the pomegranate contains a very high percentage of tannic acid, and is employed both as a medicine and for tanning, particularly in making genuine morocco leather. Whether the pomegranate tree in Migron under which Saul is said (1 Sam 14:2) to have abode with his 600 men was really a tree or a place, Rimmon, is doubtful.

3. The Pomegranate in Art: A large number of references to the pomegranate are to the use of the form of the fruit in ornamentation, in which respect it appears among the Hebrews to have something of the position of the lotus bud as a decorative motive in Egypt. It was embroidered in many colors on the skirts of Aaron's garments, together with golden bells (Ex 28:33 f; 39:24-26; compare Ecclesiasticus 45:9). Hiram of Tyre introduced the pomegranate into his brass work ornamentation in the temple: "So he made the pillars; and there were two rows round about upon the one network, to cover the capitals that were upon the top of the pillars" (margin "So the Syriac The Hebrew has `pomegranates'") (1 Ki 7:18). "And the pomegranates were two hundred, in rows round about upon the other capital" (1 Ki 7:20; compare also 7:42; 2 Ki 25:17; 2 Ch 3:16; 4:13). E. W. G. Masterman

2 Chronicles 4:14 He also made the stands and he made the basins on the stands,

• bases (KJV): 1Ki 7:27-43 
• lavers (KJV): or, caldrons, 2Ch 4:6 

He also made the stands and he made the basins on the stands,

2 Chronicles 4:15 and the one sea with the twelve oxen under it.

• 2Ch 4:2-5 

and the one sea with the twelve oxen under it.

2 Chronicles 4:16 The pails, the shovels, the forks and all its utensils, Huram-abi made of polished bronze for King Solomon for the house of the LORD.

• pots also (KJV): 2Ch 4:11 Ex 27:3 38:3 Zec 14:20,21 
• fleshhooks (KJV): 1Sa 2:13,14 1Ch 28:17 
• Huram (KJV): 1Ki 7:13,14,45, Hiram
• his father (KJV): 2Ch 2:13 

The pails, the shovels, the forks and all its utensils, Huram-abi made of polished bronze for King Solomon for the house of the LORD.

2 Chronicles 4:17 On the plain of the Jordan the king cast them in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredah.

• clay ground (KJV): Heb. thicknesses of the ground
• Zeredathah (KJV): 1Ki 7:46, Zarthan

On the plain of the Jordan the king cast them in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredah

2 Chronicles 4:18 Thus Solomon made all these utensils in great quantities, for the weight of the bronze could not be found out.  

• the weight (KJV): 1Ki 7:47 1Ch 22:3,14 Jer 52:20

Thus Solomon made all these utensils in great quantities, for the weight of the bronze could not be found out.

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F B Meyer - 2 Chronicles 4:18   The Weight could not be found out.

This was as it should be. There was no at tempt to keep an accurate account of what was given to the service of God. Even Solomon’s left hand did not know what his right hand did. There is a tendency in all of us to keep a strict account of what we give to God. We note it down in our ledgers; we rigorously observe the compact into which we have entered with Him; but the loftiest form of devotion overleaps such calculation.

This liberality of the people reminds us of Mary’s. She never thought of the great cost of the precious spikenard which she broke over the Master’s person. It was her joy to give her all; and it was only when Judas came on the scene, that we learn how many hundred pence it was worth. Thus the churches of Macedonia abounded from their deep poverty unto the riches of their liberality, so that, beyond their power, they gave to the cause of God.

This lavish generosity is the reflection of God’s. There is no measure in His bounty. It is heaped up, pressed down, and running over. He never says, I will give up to a certain amount, and hold my band; but He continues to give like the overflowings of the river of Egypt, or the abundance of the spring flowers, which cover the earth as with a carpet. Ah, what a God is ours, who loves with a love that passeth knowledge; and when He gives, exceeds abundance, however much we may have asked or thought. How truly may we say with the psalmist. “Many, O Lord my God, are the wonderful works that Thou hast done, and Thy thoughts which are to us-ward. They cannot be reckoned up in order unto Thee; if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.”

2 Chronicles 4:19 Solomon also made all the things that were in the house of God: even the golden altar, the tables with the bread of the Presence on them,

• all the vessels (KJV): 2Ch 36:10,18 1Ki 7:48-50 2Ki 24:13 25:13-15 Ezr 1:7-11 Jer 28:3 Jer 52:18,19 Da 5:2,3,23 
• the golden (KJV): 2Ch 26:16-18 Ex 30:1-10 37:25-29 Rev 8:3 9:13 
• the tables (KJV): Ex 25:23-30 Lev 24:5-8 1Ch 28:16 

Table with Bread of Presence

Solomon also made all the things that were in the house of God: even the golden altar, the tables with the bread of the Presence on them,

Frederick Mabie: The gold noted in conjunction with the altar utensils (2Ch 4:21–22) reflects their supreme importance in the sacrificial system. No expense was spared in even the smallest details of the construction and furnishing of the temple complex. The gold doors of the temple (v.22), like the veil, were both works of art and functional means of protecting holy space.

Martin Selman: The symbolism of flora and fauna in the temple may either indicate God’s sovereignty over the created order or be another allusion to the harmony of all created things in God’s presence as in the Garden of Eden.

NET NOTES - This bread offered to God was viewed as a perpetual offering to God. See Lev 24:5–9.

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QUESTION -  What was the bread of the Presence?

ANSWER - The bread of the Presence (also called the showbread or shewbread in some translations) was special bread always present on a table in the tabernacle (and later in the temple). Leviticus 24:5–7 describes this bread:

“You shall take fine flour and bake twelve loaves from it; two tenths of an ephah shall be in each loaf. And you shall set them in two piles, six in a pile, on the table of pure gold before the Lord. And you shall put pure frankincense on each pile, that it may go with the bread as a memorial portion as a food offering to the Lord.”

This bread of the Presence was 1) made of fine flour, 2) baked in 12 loaves, 3) arranged in two piles of six loaves each on a table of pure gold, 4) covered with frankincense, and 5) served as a memorial food offering to the Lord. The bread could only be eaten by Aaron and his sons in a holy place and was set out every Sabbath day (Leviticus 24:8–9).

The bread of the Presence is first mentioned in Exodus 25:30. God instructed for it to be placed on the golden table in the tabernacle. The bread is also listed in the contributions for the tabernacle in Exodus 35:13 and noted as part of the completed tabernacle in Exodus 39:36. In Numbers 4 the Kohathites, who were sons of Levi, were given responsibility for the care of the table of showbread.

First Chronicles 9:32 says, “Also some of their kinsmen of the Kohathites had charge of the showbread, to prepare it every Sabbath.” This bread was likely prepared on each Friday and placed in the tabernacle on each Sabbath in two piles of six. It would be replenished each week, allowing the priests to eat fresh bread in the holy place.

At one point in David’s life, when he was on the run from Saul, he asked the priest Ahimelech for food. The priest gave David the bread of the Presence, since it was the only bread available (1 Samuel 21:1–6). David was not a priest, so it was technically unlawful for him to eat the showbread. Jesus later refers to this event, using it as proof that the Law was designed for man’s benefit, and that Christ is Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1–8; Mark 2:25–27; Luke 6:3–5).

The Old Testament showbread placed on the table in the tabernacle provides a wonderful picture of Jesus, the Bread of Life. Jesus is holy before God, He provides true sustenance, and He is always present. “Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry’” (John 6:35).

One other New Testament reference, Hebrews 9:1–2, mentions the table of showbread as one of the items in the first section of the tabernacle. Also included in that place was the lampstand. Verse 15 notes, “Therefore [Jesus] is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance.” The context explains that the important aspects of the Jewish law were no longer necessary since Christ has become high priest once and for all.GotQuestions.org

2 Chronicles 4:20 the lampstands with their lamps of pure gold, to burn in front of the inner sanctuary in the way prescribed;

• the candlesticks (KJV): 2Ch 4:7 Ex 25:31-37 
• burn after (KJV): Ex 27:20,21 
• the oracle (KJV): 1Ki 6:5,16,17 8:6 Ps 28:2 

the lampstands with their lamps of pure gold, to burn in front of the inner sanctuary in the way prescribed;

2 Chronicles 4:21 the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs of gold, of purest gold;

• the flowers (KJV): Probably each branch of the chandelier was made like a plant in flower; and the opening of the flower was either the lamp, or served to support it. 2Ch 4:5 Ex 25:31-40 37:20 1Ki 6:18,29,35 
• perfect gold (KJV): Heb. perfections of gold, That is, the purest and best gold

the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs of gold, of purest gold;

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TONGS [ISBE] - tongz (melqachayim): This word is, where it occurs in the King James Version and the English Revised Version, with two exceptions, changed in the American Standard Revised Version into "snuffers" (Ex 25:38; Nu 4:9; 2 Ch 4:21; see SNUFFERS), The exceptions are 1 Ki 7:49, "tongs of gold," and Isa 6:6, "taken with the tongs from off the altar."

In Isa 44:12, where another word (ma`atsadh) is used, "the smith with the tongs" of the King James Version is changed in the Revised Version (British and American) into "the smith maketh an axe" (compare Jer 10:3).

2 Chronicles 4:22 and the snuffers, the bowls, the spoons and the firepans of pure gold; and the entrance of the house, its inner doors for the holy of holies and the doors of the house, that is, of the nave, of gold.

• snuffers (KJV): Ex 37:23 1Ki 7:50 2Ki 12:13 25:14 Jer 52:18 
• basins (KJV): or, bowls
• the entry (KJV): Capellus and others suppose we should read, agreeably to 1 Ki 7:50, "The hinges also of the doors of the inner house," etc.; the word {pothoth,} "hinges," being mistaken for {paithach,} "an entry" or "door-way." 1Ki 6:31,32 

and the snuffers, the bowls, the spoons and the firepans of pure gold; and the entrance of the house, its inner doors for the holy of holies and the doors of the house, that is, of the nave, of gold.

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SNUFFERS; SNUFFDISHES [ISBE] - snuf'-erz, snuf'-dish-ez (melqachayim, machtoth): These two utensils are thrice mentioned in connection with the wilderness tabernacle (Ex 25:38; 37:23; Nu 4:9). the American Standard Revised Version prefers to read "snuffers and snuffdishes" in place of "tongs and snuffdishes" (compare 2 Ch 4:22), the connection between the two utensils being indicated by the fact that both are said to belong to the seven lamps, and were to be made out of the talent of gold which was specified as the weight of the whole (Ex 25:37-39).

The seven-branched candlestick which stood in the holy place of both tabernacle and temple was surmounted, in each of its arms, by a removable lamp in which olive oil was burnt. From the requirement of keeping these lights brilliantly burning throughout each night of the year, arose the need for snuffers and snuffdishes. By the former, the burnt portions of the wick were removed; in the latter they were deposited previous to removal. The lamps may have required to be trimmed as often as every half-hour. For this purpose a priest would enter the outer chamber "accomplishing the services" (Heb 9:6).

In the time of Solomon's Temple another word than melqachayim was used to describe this utensil. It is mezammeroth, from a verb meaning "to prune" or "trim," and is found in 1 Ki 7:50; 2 Ki 12:13; 25:14; 2 Ch 4:22; Jer 52:18. In 4 of these passages, the English text reads, "the snuffers and the basins"; the 5th is merely a summary of things taken to Babylon (2 Ki 25:14). In this constant later association of "basins" and "snuffers" it is seen that the basins referred to were used for the reception of the cast-off portions of the wicks of the seven lamps, and took the place of the snuffdishes of an earlier age. W. Shaw Caldecott

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G Campbell Morgan - 2 Chr 4.22.
These doors were additions to the Tabernacle plan. Therein, the entrances were veils, both to the Holy Place, and to the Most Holy. These veils were still present in the Temple, or at least "the Veil" between the Holy and the Holy of Holies remained, for it was rent in twain when our Lord was crucified. The doors which Solomon, put in the Temple were extra protections for the Temple building, and for the inner shrine which was the very Sanctuary. The statement that they were "of gold" must be interpreted by that in Kings, where we are told that the doors were of olive-wood and overlaid with gold (z Kings 6. 31, 32); and that the hinges were of gold (z Kings 7. 50). We can never rightly apprehend the suggestiveness of these stories, if we fail to bear in mind the uniformity of the methods of Biblical symbolism. Gold was ever the emblem of Divine glory and perfection. Thus it will be recognized that when Solomon added to the veils these doors all golden, he intended to symbolize the Divine glory. Those approaching the sacred enclosures were thus reminded of that glory. It was in perfect harmony with all the spiritual significance of this Temple that its doors should be of gold. Our
Lord said of Himself: "I am the Door" and we know that
Would we view God's brightest glory, We must look in Jesus' face.

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PAUL APPLE - DEVOTIONAL QUESTIONS:

1) How can the details of our worship better praise and glorify the Lord?

2) What is the Christological symbolism of the bronze altar, the showbread, the lampstands, the pillars, etc.?

3) How does our worship today reflect the holiness and majesty of God?

4) Do the design and architecture of the temple set

Andrew Hill: King Solomon’s construction and dedication of the Jerusalem temple highlight several important theological continuities between the Old and New Testaments: the appropriate understanding God’s holiness and the liturgical use of “sacred space,” the role of sacred space in mediating God’s immanence and transcendence, the centrality of prayer in worship, the significance of “pilgrimage” in the life of faith, the relationship between the sacred place and religious instruction, and the idea that sacred space (and worship) brings order out of chaos. Second Chronicles 2:1–5:1, reporting the construction phase of the Jerusalem temple, points toward the contemporary significance of the larger literary unit (chs. 1–9) by calling attention to the association between the event of theophany and worship at a “sacred place” and the idea of pilgrimage to a sacred place.

Raymond Dillard: If the Chronicler was the source for all the material in this section, it is striking that so much more attention is given to the temple accouterments than to the building itself (2 Chr 3). Interest in the furnishing and implements of temple service is of a piece with the author’s pervasive concern with the cult and presumably had immediate relevance to the needs of his readers. The temple vessels represent an important continuity theme into the restoration period. NT authors frequently draw imagery from the tabernacle or the temple; see the Explanation in the preceding chapter. The author of Hebrews views the old covenant shrines as a copy of the heavenly one (Heb 9), and he reflects on the paraphernalia and furnishings; the work of Christ is the reality which the service there anticipated (Heb 10). John saw the Christ standing among seven lampstands (Rev 4:12–20); in the holy city the Lamb of God is the lamp (Rev 21:23–24; 22:5). There is no cosmic Sea in the heavenly Jerusalem (Rev 21:1); the great basin in the temple court has been replaced by the life-giving river (Rev 22:1–2; cf. Ezek 47:1–12). Instead of the twelve loaves on the table (Lev 24:5–9) in the presence of God, the church partakes of one loaf (1 Cor 10:17). Iain Duguid: The rich lavishness of the “gold” of the Most Holy Place foreshadows the picture of the new Jerusalem. The Chronicler’s hearers may have been awed by the use of gold in the Persian Empire in comparison to their own economic situation, and thus the Chronicler reminds them of the gold of the temple; similarly, the people to whom Revelation was addressed could see the riches of the Roman Empire (the “woman sitting on a scarlet beast,” Rev. 17:3–4; “Babylon,” Rev. 18:10, 12, 16), but they were given a vision of the beautiful wealth of the new Jerusalem: the whole city, even the “measuring rod,” is “gold” (Rev. 21:15, 18, 21).

Mark Boda: The distinction between “bronze” and “gold” not only symbolizes the distinction between regions of sacred space and relative proximity to the manifest presence of the Lord but also the distinction between Solomon and Huram-abi. Solomon as the lead craftsman was associated with the gold items, while Huram-abi was his assistant and worked in bronze. Furthermore, Japhet has noted that the items of bronze were all David’s innovations, while those of gold were all original to the ancient Tabernacle sanctuary (1993:570).

Geoffrey Kirkland: Lessons about Worship:

• God’s Worship must be PRIORITY -- preeminent, important, weekly, regular!
• God’s Worship must be LOFTY -- give God our best, focused, prepared, elevated, truthful, w/ Scripture!
• God’s Worship must be in PURITY -- come in purity, with repentant hearts, cleanness.
• God’s Worship must be ANTICIPATORY -- hungry to meet with God, ready for heaven!!
• God’s Worship must have a CHRIST-CENTRALITY -- must be anchored to Christ in Word! Tethered to/fixed upon Jesus!

Reminder of the Temple Building and its Theology:

• The Temple is DETAILED
• God is a God of detail The Temple is ELABORATE
• God is the God of gods The Temple is COSTLY
• God is worthy of the best The Temple is BEAUTIFUL
• God is a beautiful God The Temple is A HOUSE
• God dwells in this place The Temple is HOLY
• God is an unapproachable God

BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR
1-2 CHRONICLES

NOTE: SOME CAN BE BORROWED FROM ARCHIVE.ORG

Archer, Gleason L. Jr. A survey of Old Testament introduction (BORROW). Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1964.

Baxter, J. Sidlow. Explore the Book Vol. 2 Judges to Esther . Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1960.

Boda, Mark J. Cornerstone Biblical Commentary – 1-2 Chronicles. (Digital version) Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2010.

Braun, Roddy. Word Biblical Commentary – Volume 14 –1 Chronicles (BORROW). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2018.

Cooper, Derek. Reformation Commentary on Scripture – Old Testament V – 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles. (Digital version) Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2016.

Constable, Thomas - 1&2 Chronicles (ONLINE)

Daniel, Ron - Teaching Notes -  1 Chronicles;  2 Chronicles (ONLINE)

Dillard, Raymond B. Word Biblical Commentary – Volume 15 – 2 Chronicles  (BORROW) Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2018.

Ellison, H. L. The New Bible commentary, revised – 1 & 2 Chronicles (BORROW). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1970.

Guzik, David. Enduring Word Bible Commentary  1 Chronicles; 2 Chronicles   (ONLINE)

Hill, Andrew E. The NIV Application Commentary – 1 & 2 Chronicles. (Digital version) Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2003.

Keil, C. F. and Delitzsch, F. Commentary on the Old Testament – 1 Chronicles & 2 Chronicles. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1975.

Konkel, August H. Believers Church Bible Commentary – 1 & 2 Chronicles. (Multipart video series also available) Harrisonburg, VA: Herald Press, 2016.

Mabie, Frederick J. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary Revised Edition – 1 & 2 Chronicles. (Digital Version) Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2010.

MacArthur, John. The MacArthur Study Bible (BORROW). Nelson Bibles, 2006.

Olley, John W. (ED: IAIN DUGUID) ESV Expository Commentary, Vol. III – 1 Samuel – 2 Chronicles. (Digital Version) Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2019.

Payne, J. Barton. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary – 1 & 2 Chronicles. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1988.

Schultz, John. - 1 Chronicles (177 pages), 2 Chronicles (239 pages) (ONLINE)

Selman, Martin J. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries – 1 Chronicles. (BORROW)Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1994.

Selman, Martin J. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries – 2 Chronicles. (BORROW) Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1994.

Sherwin, Simon & Mabie, Frederick J. Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary -- 1 & 2 Chronicles. (Digital Version) Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009.

Thompson, J.A. The New American Commentary – Volume 9 – 1, 2 Chronicles.  (Digital Version) Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 1994.

Utley, Bob. 1 Chronicles Table of Contents; 2 Chronicles Table of Contents

http://www.freebiblecommentary.org/old_testament_studies/VOL07BOT/VOL07BOT.html

Walton, John, et al - The IVP Bible Background Commentary Old Testament  IVP - InterVarsity Press 2000.

Wiersbe, Warren W. Be Restored – Trusting God to See Us Through – OT Commentary – 2 Samuel & 1 Chronicles. (BORROW) Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2010.

Wiersbe, Warren W. Be Distinct – Standing Firmly Against the World’s Tides – OT Commentary – 2 Kings & 2 Chronicles. (BORROW) Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2010.

Williamson, H.G.M. New Century Bible Commentary – 1 and 2 Chronicles. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers 1982.

Wood, Leon. A Survey of Israel’s History. (BORROW) Grand Rapids: MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1970.

 

Cyril Barber - 2 Chronicles: God’s Blessing of His Faithful People 

Leslie Allen -  1, 2 Chronicles (BORROW) 

Believer's Study Bible (Digital Version)

Ryrie Study Bible - BORROW

Defender's Study Bible - BORROW

NIV Study Bible - (BORROW)

ESV Study Bible - (BORROW)

Believer's Bible Commentary - (BORROW)