2 Chronicles 3

2 Chronicles 3:1

SOLOMON BEGINS CONSTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLEAs we have seen, this threshing floor of Ornan is the site where centuries before Abraham had been told to offer Isaac. Then on that same ridge, right outside the city of Jerusalem, is located Golgotha, the place of the skull, where Jesus was crucified. David had bought this parcel of ground from Ornan. It is still the temple area today. To those of us who are not in the construction business, the details of the blueprints and the building supplies are not particularly interesting. We will only cull out certain great truths which we do not find mentioned elsewhere.

2 Chronicles 3:3

It is twice as large as the tabernacle was: 60 x 20 cubits. This translated into feet would be approximately 90 x 30 feet. These dimensions are for the temple proper; around it there are to be many other buildings. It was quite imposing when all the buildings were in place, but the temple proper was only twice as large as the tabernacle. Now let me call your attention to certain things, some of which we have seen, and some we have not seen.

2 Chronicles 3:13

These are the cherubims that looked down on the mercy seat. You will recall that back in the tabernacle which Moses was instructed to build, God gave no measurement for the cherubim. They speak of Deity, and Deity cannot be measured. But here in the temple the measurement is given, and they are undoubtedly much larger than in the tabernacle. There is a note of deterioration here, as they are attempting to measure Deity, and that cannot be done. Let me remind you that we are seeing the temple from God’s viewpoint. What is it that God calls attention to which was not given from the human viewpoint in Kings? Well, it is the beauty of the veil.

2 Chronicles 3:14

The veil speaks of the humanity of Christ. God calls attention to that. When Christ was crucified, the veil of the temple was torn in two, since the veil represented the humanity of Christ. The rending of that veil signified that a “new and living way” was opened for all believers into the very presence of God with no other sacrifice than Christ’s. Here in Chronicles God calls attention to the beauty of the veil. It is as if He said, “…This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Mat_3:17). Something else we should notice is the pillars.

2 Chronicles 3:15

This meant that these pillars went up very high (see model of the temple, pp. 120 and 153). Compared to the size of the building, they seem almost out of proportion. These pillars speak of strength and beauty. Strength and beauty are two things which modern man thinks he has attained. We boast of our strength; yet we are powerless to maintain law and order. And as far as beauty is concerned, have you looked at modern art? My daughter majored in art, and she took me through a classroom to show me what they were doing. She would say, “Dad, isn’t that beautiful?” Well, I didn’t want to misrepresent how I feltI couldn’t say it was beautiful. I could say, “My, I haven’t seen anything like that!” And believe me, I hadn’t. God is interested in strength and beauty, and those pillars of the temple were very impressive. In the next chapter He again mentions this matter of strength and beauty:

2 Chronicles 3:16

He mentions these chains. What do they represent? They speak of the unity of the nation. The chains picture the unity of the individuals that constitute the tribes, and the tribes in turn constitute the nation. God is interested in absolute unity. This is something which God’s people are losing sight of in our day. We are split and fragmented into thousands of different groups today. There are always new organizations coming into existence. I am not sure that all this is honoring to the Lord. You see, in the New Testament God has given a picture of unity that is even better than the chain. It is the body. He says His church is a body. In a body there can be many members, and some of the members are of honor and some of dishonor, but they are all in one body. That is the picture of the church. Notice also the use of pomegranatesone hundred of them. Also we read: