2Ch 3:3-17 | KingComments | STEP | give the description of the building. Solomon builds according to the plan his father David showed him ( ). In this way we must also be busy building the church according to the plan God has laid down in His Word. First the foundation is mentioned, the basis on which to build. The foundation for the church is the confession of Peter: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” ( ). Peter can say that, as the Lord Jesus then declares, because the Father has revealed it to him ( ). Then the Lord adds a new revelation to the Father’s revelation to Peter. That is the revelation that the confession of Peter is the rock upon which the church will be built ( ). The confession of Peter – that Christ is the Son of the living God – means that life is in the Lord Jesus. It is also connected with this that He has life-giving power. That He is the Son of the living God means that He has this life in Himself. What is built on it has that life and cannot be affected by death or anything connected to it. The life of God cannot be nullified. The church is founded on His Person. He is the rock, the unshakeable foundation. For the revelation of the foundation of the church, the Lord Jesus uses the meaning of the name of Peter. By saying to him ‘you are Peter’ (Peter means ‘stone’) the Lord indicates that Peter is one of the stones that will be built on the rock (in Greek ‘petra’), that is He Himself. That Peter has understood the allusion of the Lord to his name, we see in his first letter. In it he writes about the believers as living stones that together form a spiritual house ( ). The believers are living stones because they have come to Him Who is the living stone and therefore are connected to Him ( ). The apostles and prophets in their teaching have pointed to that foundation, to that rock, and built upon it in God’s way ( ). Paul is well aware of the responsibility not to build on any other foundation and to do so with the right material: “According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” ( ). In a spiritual sense, Solomon also works in this way by keeping to what his father told him. The sizes are given. No new sizes are used. The original specifications, “the old standard”, are maintained. Nothing is added to it and nothing is taken from it (cf. ). As calculated by David using the old measure, Solomon performs it. He doesn’t dare to use the sizes that have become common in his time. He does not work according to his own ideas.

‏ 2 Chronicles 3:3-17

The Foundation

2Chr 3:3-17 give the description of the building. Solomon builds according to the plan his father David showed him (1Chr 28:11). In this way we must also be busy building the church according to the plan God has laid down in His Word.

First the foundation is mentioned, the basis on which to build. The foundation for the church is the confession of Peter: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Mt 16:16). Peter can say that, as the Lord Jesus then declares, because the Father has revealed it to him (Mt 16:17). Then the Lord adds a new revelation to the Father’s revelation to Peter. That is the revelation that the confession of Peter is the rock upon which the church will be built (Mt 16:18a).

The confession of Peter – that Christ is the Son of the living God – means that life is in the Lord Jesus. It is also connected with this that He has life-giving power. That He is the Son of the living God means that He has this life in Himself. What is built on it has that life and cannot be affected by death or anything connected to it. The life of God cannot be nullified. The church is founded on His Person. He is the rock, the unshakeable foundation.

For the revelation of the foundation of the church, the Lord Jesus uses the meaning of the name of Peter. By saying to him ‘you are Peter’ (Peter means ‘stone’) the Lord indicates that Peter is one of the stones that will be built on the rock (in Greek ‘petra’), that is He Himself. That Peter has understood the allusion of the Lord to his name, we see in his first letter. In it he writes about the believers as living stones that together form a spiritual house (1Pet 2:5a). The believers are living stones because they have come to Him Who is the living stone and therefore are connected to Him (1Pet 2:4).

The apostles and prophets in their teaching have pointed to that foundation, to that rock, and built upon it in God’s way (Eph 2:20). Paul is well aware of the responsibility not to build on any other foundation and to do so with the right material: “According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1Cor 3:10-11). In a spiritual sense, Solomon also works in this way by keeping to what his father told him.

The sizes are given. No new sizes are used. The original specifications, “the old standard”, are maintained. Nothing is added to it and nothing is taken from it (cf. Ecc 3:14). As calculated by David using the old measure, Solomon performs it. He doesn’t dare to use the sizes that have become common in his time. He does not work according to his own ideas.

The Front Porch and the Holy Place

These verses describe the building of the porch which was in front and the holy place, that is “the main room” (2Chr 3:5). We can see the following spiritual meaning in the materials used. The “pure gold” and “fine gold” represent the glory of God in Christ. The “cypress wood” represents the true Manhood of the Lord Jesus. The “palm trees” speak of victory. Christ is the Victor. The “chains” are a symbol of the bonds of love through which the believers are connected. The “precious stones” represent the believers in whom Christ becomes visible (Col 3:12).

The Holy of Holies

The holy of holies has the form of a cube. This refers to “the breadth and length and height and depth” of Christ’s love, which in its true meaning transcends knowledge (Eph 3:18-19). The love of Christ is perfect on all sides. In Him we see Who God is in His perfection, without ever being able to fully understand Who God is.

The golden “nails” serve to keep the golden wallcovering in place. This speaks of what serves to uphold the testimony of the Godhead of Christ. We use such ‘nails’ when we quote words from God’s Word in which the Godhead of Christ is expressed. An example is: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (Jn 1:1). Here we find unambiguously that Christ is the eternal God (Jn 5:17-18; Rom 9:5; Heb 1:8; 1Jn 5:20).

In his book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon also speaks of nails: “The words of wise men are like goads, and masters of [these] collections are like well-driven nails; they are given by one Shepherd” (Ecc 12:11). They are nails that are given by the Lord Jesus, the one Shepherd, in His care for His own. The Christian must be a master in collecting these ‘nails’. They must first be well driven [literally: planted] deep into himself to then occasionally use them to plant them deep into others.

The Cherubim

The two cherubim are given extensive attention. They fill the entire room and have a view of the house. They watch, as it were, how people behave. They are symbolic expressions of God’s judgmental and reigning power (Gen 3:24). They close the way to blessing for fallen man. But in the tabernacle and the temple the way is opened by virtue of the sacrifice. Blood was sprinkled on and in front of the ark. Yet God’s holiness must also be maintained, even if it concerns a redeemed people.

There are four cherubim. On the ark are two small cherubim. They stand with their wings down and with their faces they look down, on the mercy seat. They form a whole with the mercy seat. There are also these two large cherubim, which cover everything and face the main room.

The cherubim watch and protect. They ensure that God’s glory is maintained and they protect God’s people. The fact that they fill the entire room with their wings indicates the all-encompassing character of the protection of the dwelling place of God Who dwells among the cherubim on the ark.

The cherubim that form a whole with the mercy seat on the ark, look down, on the law in the ark, the holy demands of God. But first they see the blood on the mercy seat. The large, covering cherubim face the main room, in the direction of the holy place, that is to the east (2Chr 3:13). They see, as it were, everything that happens in the house of God. They keep watch over the service. Their presence and impressive size make it clear: here lives in truth the holy God!

The Veil

The veil is another means of guarding the holiness of the holy of holies. The cherubim attached to the veil ensure that no unauthorized person enters the holy of holies. The colors speak of Christ. In the violet or blue purple we see Him as the heavenly Man. In [red] purple and crimson we see His royal dignity. In the fine linen we see His perfect life.

The veil represents the flesh of the Lord Jesus, that is, His Person as He walked on earth. The moment the Lord Jesus dies, the veil tears “in two from top to bottom” (Mt 27:50-51; Lk 23:45). Perhaps we could say that the veil in the Gospel according to Matthew tears so that man may enter, and that in the Gospel according to Luke it tears because God comes out to man, for He is kind toward him. For us the veil is no longer an obstacle, but an entrance by grace, by the blood of Christ (Heb 10:19-20).

The Two Pillars

The two pillars, each seventeen and a half meters high, are also not present in the tabernacle. The pillars are in front of the house, Jachin on the right, that is on the north side, and Boaz on the left, that is on the south side. The names indicate on which God’s building rests. Jachin means ‘God confirms’ and Boaz means ‘in Him is strength’. The two pillars illustrate that the building of God is a fixed building, well attached, unshakeable and supported by the power of God.

The church is “the pillar and support of the truth” (1Tim 3:15). In the house of God believers experience what these pillars mean. In this house believers are established in their connection with the Lord. They also receive power from the Lord there. Coming into the church means being confirmed and receiving strength. Believers can become pillars in God’s temple if they faithfully hold fast to God’s Word (Rev 3:12a; cf. Gal 2:9a).