‏ 2 Chronicles 4:18-22

The Work of Solomon

Solomon, as a type of Christ, is the final maker of all the bronze objects Huram made (2Chr 4:18). He uses the hands of Huram. He makes everything “in great quantities”. These are all objects that benefit the service in the temple, that is, the service to the LORD. Bronze represents the righteousness of God. The bronze objects show that everything in the temple service is focused on His honor and fits His holiness. That the weight of the bronze could not be found out means that we will not be able to understand the value of the righteousness of God which we have received in Christ (1Cor 1:30-31).

That the work is attributed to Solomon, while Huram is the actual performer, can be compared to the service of worship in the church, for example on Sunday morning. We then come together as a church to praise and honor the Lord Jesus. What we bring to Him, however, is laid in our hearts by Himself. It is He also, Who sings the praises in the church, which He does through the hearts and mouths of His own (Heb 2:12). Our service of worship is His work in us through His Spirit.

The work of Huram is of bronze (2Chr 4:16), that of Solomon is of gold (2Chr 4:19-20). Gold is a picture of Divine glory. What Solomon makes is in a special way a symbolic representation of the glory of the work of the Lord Jesus for God in the sanctuary. The gold objects are precious to God. They all speak of Christ.

The “golden altar” (2Chr 4:19) is the altar of fragrant incense. This represents Christ through Whom the fragrant incense of the worship we bring is pleasing to God. “The tables with the bread of the Presence on them” represent Christ Who shows His people, represented in the bread of the Presence, to God in the glory that is peculiar to Him.

“The lampstands with their lamps of pure gold” (2Chr 4:20) are also a picture of Christ Who, through the Spirit, gives light in the sanctuary over heavenly things. The things of Christ can only be seen and admired in the light of the sanctuary. The world knows and sees nothing of this.

The light “burns in front of the inner sanctuary in the way prescribed”. This indicates that the service in the sanctuary is in direct connection with the holy of holies, where God dwells. For us, by the tearing of the veil of the holy of holies, the two rooms have become one room.

Also “the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs” are “of gold” (2Chr 4:21). The flowers speak of life, the lamps of light and the tongs of taking away what prevents the light shining brightly. Human light is excluded. People cannot contribute anything to a deeper understanding of Who Christ is. It is all “of purest gold”.

The objects mentioned in 2Chr 4:22a, “the snuffers, the bowls, the spoons and the firepans of pure gold”, are also connected to the lampstands and their lamps. These objects are also designed and made with a view to let the light shine brightly. The number of objects made in connection with the lampstands and the material they are made of, show how important God considers it to be that only His light falls in perfect brightness on heavenly things.

The doors for “the entrance of the house, its inner doors” (2Chr 4:22b), refer to two entrances. There are doors from the court to the house, which are the doors that give access to the holy, and there are doors that give access from the holy to the holy of holies. It is possible that before the last doors the veil is hanging, through which the doors are hidden from view.

The Lord Jesus says of Himself: “I am the door” (Jn 10:7; 9). In connection with the multiple doors in the temple we can say that He is the door toward ever-higher things.

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