mh_parser/vol_split/14 - 2Chronicles/Chapter 3.xml

<div2 id="iiCh.iv" n="iv" next="iiCh.v" prev="iiCh.iii" progress="80.05%" title="Chapter III">
<h2 id="iiCh.iv-p0.1">S E C O N D   C H R O N I C L E
S</h2>
<h3 id="iiCh.iv-p0.2">CHAP. III.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="iiCh.iv-p1">It was a much larger and more particular account
of the building of the temple which we had in the book of Kings
than is here in this book of Chronicles. In this chapter we have,
I. The place and time of building the temple, <scripRef id="iiCh.iv-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.3.1-2Chr.3.2" parsed="|2Chr|3|1|3|2" passage="2Ch 3:1,2">ver. 1, 2</scripRef>. II. The dimensions and rich
ornaments of it, <scripRef id="iiCh.iv-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.3.3-2Chr.3.9" parsed="|2Chr|3|3|3|9" passage="2Ch 3:3-9">ver. 3-9</scripRef>.
III. The cherubim in the most holy place, <scripRef id="iiCh.iv-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.3.10-2Chr.3.13" parsed="|2Chr|3|10|3|13" passage="2Ch 3:10-13">ver. 10-13</scripRef>. IV. The veil, <scripRef id="iiCh.iv-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.3.14" parsed="|2Chr|3|14|0|0" passage="2Ch 3:14">ver. 14</scripRef>. V. The two pillars,
<scripRef id="iiCh.iv-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.3.15-2Chr.3.17" parsed="|2Chr|3|15|3|17" passage="2Ch 3:15-17">ver. 15-17</scripRef>. Of all this
we have already and an account, <scripRef id="iiCh.iv-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.6.1-1Kgs.7.51" parsed="|1Kgs|6|1|7|51" passage="1Ki 6:1-7:51">1
Kings vi., vii.</scripRef></p>
<scripCom id="iiCh.iv-p0.1_1" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.3" parsed="|2Chr|3|0|0|0" passage="2Ch 3" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="iiCh.iv-p0.2_1" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.3.1-2Chr.3.9" parsed="|2Chr|3|1|3|9" passage="2Ch 3:1-9" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:2Chr.3.1-2Chr.3.9">
<h4 id="iiCh.iv-p1.9">The Temple Built. (<span class="smallcaps" id="iiCh.iv-p1.10">b. c.</span> 1012.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="iiCh.iv-p2">1 Then Solomon began to build the house of the
<span class="smallcaps" id="iiCh.iv-p2.1">Lord</span> at Jerusalem in mount Moriah,
where <i>the <span class="smallcaps" id="iiCh.iv-p2.2">Lord</span></i> appeared unto
David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the
threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.   2 And he began to
build in the second <i>day</i> of the second month, in the fourth
year of his reign.   3 Now these <i>are the things wherein</i>
Solomon was instructed for the building of the house of God. The
length by cubits after the first measure <i>was</i> threescore
cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits.   4 And the porch that
<i>was</i> in the front <i>of the house,</i> the length <i>of it
was</i> according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and
the height <i>was</i> a hundred and twenty: and he overlaid it
within with pure gold.   5 And the greater house he cieled
with fir tree, which he overlaid with fine gold, and set thereon
palm trees and chains.   6 And he garnished the house with
precious stones for beauty: and the gold <i>was</i> gold of
Parvaim.   7 He overlaid also the house, the beams, the posts,
and the walls thereof, and the doors thereof, with gold; and graved
cherubims on the walls.   8 And he made the most holy house,
the length whereof <i>was</i> according to the breadth of the
house, twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits: and he
overlaid it with fine gold, <i>amounting</i> to six hundred
talents.   9 And the weight of the nails <i>was</i> fifty
shekels of gold. And he overlaid the upper chambers with gold.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iiCh.iv-p3">Here is, I. The place where the temple was
built. Solomon was neither at liberty to choose nor at a loss to
fix the place. It was before determined (<scripRef id="iiCh.iv-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:1Chr.22.1" parsed="|1Chr|22|1|0|0" passage="1Ch 22:1">1 Chron. xxii. 1</scripRef>), which was an ease to his
mind. 1. It must be at Jerusalem; for that was the place where God
had chosen to put his name there. The royal city must be the holy
city. <i>There</i> must be <i>the testimony of Israel;</i> <i>for
there are set the thrones of judgment,</i> <scripRef id="iiCh.iv-p3.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.122.4-Ps.122.5" parsed="|Ps|122|4|122|5" passage="Ps 122:4,5">Ps. cxxii. 4, 5</scripRef>. 2. It must be on Mount
Moriah, which, some think, was that very place in the land of
Moriah where Abraham offered Isaac, <scripRef id="iiCh.iv-p3.3" osisRef="Bible:Gen.22.2" parsed="|Gen|22|2|0|0" passage="Ge 22:2">Gen. xxii. 2</scripRef>. So the Targum says expressly,
adding, <i>But he was delivered by the word of the Lord, and a ram
provided in his place.</i> That was typical of Christ's sacrifice
of himself; therefore fitly was the temple, which was likewise a
type of him, built there. 3. It must be <i>where the Lord appeared
to David,</i> and <i>answered him by fire,</i> <scripRef id="iiCh.iv-p3.4" osisRef="Bible:1Chr.21.18 Bible:1Chr.21.26" parsed="|1Chr|21|18|0|0;|1Chr|21|26|0|0" passage="1Ch 21:18,26">1 Chron. xxi. 18, 26</scripRef>. There atonement was
made once; and therefore, in remembrance of that, there atonement
must still be made. Where God has met with me it is to be hoped
that he will still manifest himself. 4. It must be in the place
which David has prepared, not only which he had purchased with his
money, but which he had
pitched upon divine direction. It was Solomon's wisdom not to
enquire out a more convenient place, but to acquiesce in the
appointment of God, whatever might be objected against it. 5. It
must be in the threshold floor of Ornan, which, if (as a Jebusite)
it gives encouragement to the Gentiles, obliges us to look upon
temple-work as that which requires the labour of the mind, no less
than threshing-work does that of the body.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iiCh.iv-p4">II. The time when it was begun; not till
the fourth year of Solomon's reign, <scripRef id="iiCh.iv-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.3.2" parsed="|2Chr|3|2|0|0" passage="2Ch 3:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>. Not that the first three years
were trifled away, or spent in deliberating whether they should
build the temple or no; but they were employed in the necessary
preparations for it, wherein three years would be soon gone,
considering how many hands were to be got together and set to work.
Some conjecture that this was a sabbatical year, or year of release
and rest to the land, when the people, being discharged from their
husbandry, might more easily lend a hand to the beginning of this
work; and then the year in which it was finished would fall out to
be another sabbatical year, when they would likewise have leisure
to attend the solemnity of the dedication of it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iiCh.iv-p5">III. The dimensions of it, in which Solomon
was instructed (<scripRef id="iiCh.iv-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.3.3" parsed="|2Chr|3|3|0|0" passage="2Ch 3:3"><i>v.</i>
3</scripRef>), as he was in other things, by his father. <i>This
was the foundation</i> (so it may be read) <i>which Solomon laid
for the building of the house.</i> This was the rule he went by, so
many cubits the length and breadth, <i>after the first measure,</i>
that is, according to the measure first fixed, which there was no
reason to make any alteration of when the work came to be done; for
the dimensions were given by divine wisdom, and <i>what God does
shall be for ever; nothing can be put to it, or taken from it,</i>
<scripRef id="iiCh.iv-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.3.14" parsed="|Eccl|3|14|0|0" passage="Ec 3:14">Eccl. iii. 14</scripRef>. His first
measure will be the last.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iiCh.iv-p6">IV. The ornaments of the temple. The
timber-work was very fine, and yet, within, it was <i>overlaid with
pure gold</i> (<scripRef id="iiCh.iv-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.3.4" parsed="|2Chr|3|4|0|0" passage="2Ch 3:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>),
with <i>fine gold</i> (<scripRef id="iiCh.iv-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.3.5" parsed="|2Chr|3|5|0|0" passage="2Ch 3:5"><i>v.</i>
5</scripRef>), and that embossed with <i>palm-trees and chains.</i>
It was gold of <i>Parvaim</i> (<scripRef id="iiCh.iv-p6.3" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.3.6" parsed="|2Chr|3|6|0|0" passage="2Ch 3:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>), the best gold. The <i>beams</i>
and <i>posts,</i> the <i>walls</i> and <i>doors,</i> were
<i>overlaid with gold,</i> <scripRef id="iiCh.iv-p6.4" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.3.7" parsed="|2Chr|3|7|0|0" passage="2Ch 3:7"><i>v.</i>
7</scripRef>. The most holy place, which was ten yards square, was
all <i>overlaid with fine gold</i> (<scripRef id="iiCh.iv-p6.5" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.3.8" parsed="|2Chr|3|8|0|0" passage="2Ch 3:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>), even the <i>upper chambers,</i>
or rather the <i>upper floor or roof</i>—top, bottom, and sides,
were all overlaid with gold. Every nail, or screw, or pin, with
which the golden plates were fastened to the walls that were
overlaid with them, weighed fifty shekels, or was worth so much,
workmanship and all. A great many precious stones were dedicated to
God (<scripRef id="iiCh.iv-p6.6" osisRef="Bible:1Chr.29.2 Bible:1Chr.29.8" parsed="|1Chr|29|2|0|0;|1Chr|29|8|0|0" passage="1Ch 29:2,8">1 Chron. xxix. 2,
8</scripRef>), and these were set here and there, where they would
show to the best advantage. The finest houses now pretend to no
better garnishing than good paint on the roof and walls; but the
ornaments of the temple were most substantially rich. It was set
with <i>precious stones,</i> because it was a type of the new
Jerusalem, which has no temple in it because it is all temple, and
the walls, gates, and foundations of which are said to be of
<i>precious stones and pearls,</i> <scripRef id="iiCh.iv-p6.7" osisRef="Bible:Rev.21.18-Rev.21.19 Bible:Rev.21.21" parsed="|Rev|21|18|21|19;|Rev|21|21|0|0" passage="Re 21:18,19,21">Rev. xxi. 18, 19, 21</scripRef>.</p>
<h4 id="iiCh.iv-p6.8">The Furniture of the Temple. (<span class="smallcaps" id="iiCh.iv-p6.9">b. c.</span> 1012.)</h4>
</div><scripCom id="iiCh.iv-p0.3" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.3.10-2Chr.3.17" parsed="|2Chr|3|10|3|17" passage="2Ch 3:10-17" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:2Chr.3.10-2Chr.3.17">
<p class="passage" id="iiCh.iv-p7">10 And in the most holy house he made two
cherubims of image work, and overlaid them with gold.   11 And
the wings of the cherubims <i>were</i> twenty cubits long: one wing
<i>of the one cherub was</i> five cubits, reaching to the wall of
the house: and the other wing <i>was likewise</i> five cubits,
reaching to the wing of the other cherub.   12 And <i>one</i>
wing of the other cherub <i>was</i> five cubits, reaching to the
wall of the house: and the other wing <i>was</i> five cubits
<i>also,</i> joining to the wing of the other cherub.   13 The
wings of these cherubims spread themselves forth twenty cubits: and
they stood on their feet, and their faces <i>were</i> inward.
  14 And he made the vail <i>of</i> blue, and purple, and
crimson, and fine linen, and wrought cherubims thereon.   15
Also he made before the house two pillars of thirty and five cubits
high, and the chapiter that <i>was</i> on the top of each of them
<i>was</i> five cubits.   16 And he made chains, <i>as</i> in
the oracle, and put <i>them</i> on the heads of the pillars; and
made a hundred pomegranates, and put <i>them</i> on the chains.
  17 And he reared up the pillars before the temple, one on
the right hand, and the other on the left; and called the name of
that on the right hand Jachin, and the name of that on the left
Boaz.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iiCh.iv-p8">Here is an account of 1. The two cherubim,
which were set up in the holy of holies. There were two already
over the ark, which covered the mercy-seat with their wings; these
were small ones. Now that the most holy place was enlarged, though
these were continued (being appurtenances to the ark, which was not
to be made new, as all the other utensils of the tabernacle were),
yet those two large ones were added, doubtless by divine
appointment, to fill up the holy place, which otherwise would have
looked bare, like a room unfurnished. These cherubim are said to be
of <i>image-work</i> (<scripRef id="iiCh.iv-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.3.10" parsed="|2Chr|3|10|0|0" passage="2Ch 3:10"><i>v.</i>
10</scripRef>), designed, it is likely, to represent the angels who
attend the divine Majesty. Each wing extended five cubits, so that
the whole was twenty cubits (<scripRef id="iiCh.iv-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.3.12-2Chr.3.13" parsed="|2Chr|3|12|3|13" passage="2Ch 3:12,13"><i>v.</i> 12, 13</scripRef>), which was just the
breadth of the most holy place, <scripRef id="iiCh.iv-p8.3" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.3.8" parsed="|2Chr|3|8|0|0" passage="2Ch 3:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>. They stood on their feet, as
servants, their faces inward toward the ark (<scripRef id="iiCh.iv-p8.4" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.3.13" parsed="|2Chr|3|13|0|0" passage="2Ch 3:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>), that it might appear they were
not set there to be adored (for then they would have been made
sitting, as on a throne, and their faces towards their
worshippers), but rather as themselves attendants on the invisible
God. We must not worship angels, but we must worship <i>with</i>
angels; for we have come into communion with them (<scripRef id="iiCh.iv-p8.5" osisRef="Bible:Heb.12.22" parsed="|Heb|12|22|0|0" passage="Heb 12:22">Heb. xii. 22</scripRef>), and must do the will
of God as the angels do it. The thought that we are worshipping him
before whom the angels cover their faces will help to inspire us
with reverence in all our approaches to God. Compare <scripRef id="iiCh.iv-p8.6" osisRef="Bible:1Cor.11.10 Bible:Isa.6.2" parsed="|1Cor|11|10|0|0;|Isa|6|2|0|0" passage="1Co 11:10,Isa 6:2">1 Cor. xi. 10 with Isa. vi.
2</scripRef>. 2. The veil that parted between the temple and the
most holy place, <scripRef id="iiCh.iv-p8.7" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.3.14" parsed="|2Chr|3|14|0|0" passage="2Ch 3:14"><i>v.</i>
14</scripRef>. This denoted the darkness of that dispensation, and
the distance which the worshippers were kept at; but, at the death
of Christ, this veil was rent; for through him we are made nigh,
and have boldness not only to look, but to enter, into the holiest.
On this he was wrought cherubim. Heb. <i>he caused them to
ascend,</i> that is, they were made in raised work, embossed. Or he
made them on the wing in an ascending posture, as the other two
that stood on their feet in an attending posture, to remind the
worshippers to lift up their hearts, and to soar upwards in their
devotions. 3. The two pillars which were set up before the temple.
Both together were somewhat above thirty-five cubits in length
(<scripRef id="iiCh.iv-p8.8" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.3.15" parsed="|2Chr|3|15|0|0" passage="2Ch 3:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>), about
eighteen cubits high a-piece. See <scripRef id="iiCh.iv-p8.9" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.7.15-1Kgs.7.22" parsed="|1Kgs|7|15|7|22" passage="1Ki 7:15-22">1
Kings vii. 15</scripRef>, &amp;c., where we took a view of those
pillars, <i>Jachin</i> and <i>Boaz, establishment</i> and
<i>strength</i> in temple-work and by it.</p>
</div></div2>