2 Chronicles 4:1-22

2 Chronicles: God desires loyal people

Solomon rules *Israel

2 Chronicles Chapter s 1 to 9

Ian Mackervoy

Chapter 4

Solomon makes various objects for use in the *temple – 2 Chronicles 4:1-22

v1 Solomon made a *bronze *altar 20 *cubits long, 20 *cubits wide and 10 *cubits high. v2 Then he melted metal in order to make a large round basin called ‘the sea’. It was 10 *cubits from edge to edge and 5 *cubits high. The measurement round its edge was 30 *cubits. v3 There were images of *bulls under the edge round the large basin. There were 10 *bulls to each *cubit. The *bulls were in two rows and they were part of the same piece of metal as the large basin.

v4 The large basin stood on the models of 12 *bulls. Three *bulls looked to the north. Three *bulls looked to the west. Three *bulls looked to the south. And three *bulls looked to the east. The large basin rested on their backs and their tails were in the centre. v5 The large basin was as thick as the width of a hand. Its edge was like the edge of a cup or like the flower of a *lily. The large basin held 3000 *baths.

v6 Also, he made 10 smaller basins to wash in. He put 5 basins on the right side and 5 basins on the left side. These basins were the places to wash the things that were for the *sacrifices by fire. But the large basin was for the priests to wash in.

v7 He made 10 gold *lampstands as in the plans. He put them in the *temple, 5 on the right side and 5 on the left.

v8 He made 10 tables and he put them in the *temple. He put 5 tables on the right side and 5 on the left. And he made 100 bowls out of gold. v9 He made the area for the priests, and the great open area. He made doors for the open area. He covered the doors with *bronze. v10 He placed the large basin on the south side at the south and east corner of the *temple.

v11 Also, he made the pots, spades and bowls. So, Huram finished the work that he did for King Solomon in God’s *temple. v12 He made the two columns and the top pieces on the columns. The tops were in the shape of bowls. He made the nets of chains that were on the tops of the columns. v13 And he made models of 400 *pomegranates for the two nets. There were two rows of *pomegranates for each net on the top pieces of the columns. v14 He made the carts and the smaller basins that stood on the carts. v15 He made the large basin and the 12 *bulls under it. v16 He made the pots, spades, meat forks and all the other tools for use with them. Huram-Abi made all these things for King Solomon and for the *LORD’s *temple. He made them all out of *bronze which his men polished well. v17 The king arranged for him to make them in the plain of the river Jordan between Succoth and Zeredah. His men made the shapes of these things out of *clay. Then they poured the hot metal into the shapes. v18 Solomon made vast quantities of all these things. Nobody could know the total weight of the *bronze that he used.

v19 So, Solomon made all the things that were in God’s *temple. He made the gold *altar and the tables that the priests put the special bread on. v20 He made the *lampstands and their lamps out of pure gold. As the rules say, these lamps must burn in front of the most holy place. v21 The flowers, the lamps and the tools were pure gold. v22 The tools for the lamps, the bowls, the spoons and the dishes for *incense were pure gold. He made the doors of the *temple out of gold. These were the doors of the most holy place and the doors of the main room.

Verses 1-3 The *bronze *altar was 20 *cubits (about 30 feet or 9 metres) in length and width. It was 10 *cubits (about 15 feet or 4.5 metres) high. The diameter of the large basin was 10 *cubits (about 15 feet or 4.5 metres). It was 5 *cubits (about 7.5 feet or 2.3 metres) high.

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 (see 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.

Verses 4-5 The 12 *bulls stood under the large basin and they supported it. They were in groups of three. Their tails were toward the centre. And with their heads, they looked out. It may be that the 12 *bulls represented (were for) the 12 *tribes of *Israel. In the desert, the 12 *tribes camped on the 4 sides of the holy tent. There were three *tribes on each side.

The walls of the large basin were as thick as a man’s hand. This means that it was the width of 4 fingers. This is a little over three inches (7.5 centimetres).

The large basin could hold 3000 *baths (about 17 500 gallons or 66 *kilolitres) of water. The record in 1 Kings is different (1 Kings 7:26). It says that the large basin could hold 2000 *baths (about 11 500 gallons or 44 *kilolitres). We do not know why there is this difference. However, there are several possible explanations. For example, the two authors may have used different methods to measure the large basin.

Verse 6 There were 10 smaller basins. Like the large basin, these were also *bronze. Five small basins were on the right side and five were on the left side. Each basin could hold 40 *baths (about 230 gallons or 880 litres). 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.

Verse 7 There was only one gold *lampstand in the holy tent but here there were 10 gold *lampstands. Each *lampstand had 6 branches so it had 7 lamps on it. The pattern for the *lampstands was the same as for the one in the holy tent (see Exodus 25:31-40).

Verses 8-10 In the holy tent, there was only one table. Here there were 10 tables. But it seems that the priests used one table to display the holy bread (13:11). They had to put 12 loaves of fresh bread on the table each *Sabbath day (Leviticus 24:5-8).

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.

Verses 11-13 Huram finished all the work that Solomon had asked him to do. He made the two *bronze columns and their top pieces. He put 7 chains and two rows of *pomegranates on each top piece. The tops of the columns were in the shape of *lilies.

Verses 14-16 Here is a list of some other things that Huram made. All the objects in verses 12-16 were *bronze. They were for the outside area that surrounded the *temple building.

Verses 17-18 To make each *bronze object, Huram first made a model of it. From this model, the workers would press the shape in the *clay. After the clay was in the right shape, the workmen would take the model out of the clay. They dried the clay, perhaps by fire. They melted the metal and they poured it into the dry clay. When the metal cooled, it was in the shape of the model.

The *clay that they used was in the plain to the east of the Jordan River. The place was between the towns called Succoth and Zeredah. These towns were between Galilee and the Dead Sea.

Verses 19-22 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.

Solomon made 10 tables but the priests put the bread on one table. The flowers were like cups on the tops of the *lampstands. They held *olive oil which burned to provide light. Solomon made the gold doors out of *olive wood and he covered them with gold.

The *dedication of the *temple – 2 Chronicles 5:1-7:22

(UK) temple ~ a special building for the *worship of God or other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the *worship of the real God.
Jews ~ another name for the *Israelites.
cubit ~ The usual cubit was about 21 inches (53 centimetres). The old cubit was a little less than 18 inches (46 centimetres).
bull ~ the male animal that mates with a cow.'lily/lilies ~ a kind of flower.
bath ~ a quantity of liquid equal to 5.75 gallons (about 22 litres).
sacrifice ~ something that people give to God. If it was an animal, the priests would burn all or part of it on an *altar. That was to say thank you to God. People also offered sacrifices when they asked God to forgive their *sins. Jesus died as a sacrifice for our *sins. To sacrifice is to give a sacrifice.
lampstand ~ a special thing that holds lamps. There were 7 lamps on the lampstand in the temple. The lamps burnt oil.
temple ~ a special building for the *worship of God or other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the *worship of the real God.
Jews ~ another name for the *Israelites.
pomegranate ~ a fruit which had lots of seeds in it.
Lord ~ a title for God, to show that he is over all people and things.
lord ~ someone with authority, such as the king.
clay ~ earth, heavy and firm when dry, stiff and soft when wet.
incense ~ something that gives a sweet smell when it burns. The priests burned it when they praised God in the temple.
temple ~ a special building for the *worship of God or other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the *worship of the real God.
Jews ~ another name for the *Israelites.
Lord ~ a title for God, to show that he is over all people and things.
lord ~ someone with authority, such as the king.
tribe ~ The 12 families of the sons of Jacob became the 12 tribes of *Israel.
kilolitre ~ a quantity of liquid equal to 1000 litres. It is about 260 gallons.
Sabbath ~ The Sabbath was the 7th day of the week, that is, Saturday. God told the *Israelites to keep this day as a special day. He said that they must not work on that day. They should *worship God instead.
olive ~ a fruit from which we get olive oil. It grows on an olive tree.'lily/lilies ~ a kind of flower.
dedication ~ the ceremony when you dedicate something to God.
dedicate ~ to give to God in a special way.