What Can a Building Teach You. (2 Chronicles 3:1-5:1)

This Podcast is a project to complete an in-depth, daily study of the entire Bible, chapter by chapter, verse by verse. 

Episode Notes:

It’s great to have you with me again as we continue our study through 2 Chronicles. Today we arrive at one of the most visually rich and symbolically loaded portions of the entire book. The actual construction of Solomon’s Temple.

 You know, one look at certain buildings tells you a great deal. If you see a fire station, you know exactly what’s inside: fire engines, equipment, and people trained to respond when something goes wrong. 

If you see a traditional church building, you immediately picture pews, a pulpit, and a congregation gathered to sing and hear the Word of God. 

So, here’s the question that guides our episode today:

 What can we learn simply by looking at the structure of Solomon’s Temple? What does the building itself teach us?

So today, we are going to let the building speak….

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:14

My friends, welcome back to the Bible Journey Daily Podcast. It's great to have you with me again as we continue our study through Two Chronicles, and today we arrive at one of the most visually rich and symbolically loaded portions of this entire book, the actual construction of the temple itself. Now you know that sometimes you only need to look at a building and it can tell you a great deal about. You'll know what it is, and you'll also know a great deal about what goes on in it. If you see a fire station, for example, you'll know exactly what happens inside there. Fire engines and equipment is stored, and people are trained and work there and they're trained to respond when something goes wrong. And if you look at a traditional church building, you may immediately picture pews, a pulpit perhaps, a congregation gathered to worship and to hear the word of God preached. You see, buildings really do communicate purpose, and in the Old Testament Solomon built a building unlike any other, the temple of the Lord. So here's the question that guides our episode today. What can we learn by simply looking at the structure of Solomon's temple and how it's described here? What does the building itself teach us, if anything? Now this is not a modern question, it is in fact an authentic biblical one because in Scripture the architecture described is never accidental. God describes, God uses spaces, shapes, materials, he plans designs and he plans them to teach his people something about his character, his holiness, and how we might enter his presence. So today we're going to walk through two chronicles, chapters three and four, and even the ver first verse of chapter five, and we're going to try and let these buildings speak, because these buildings are the place where God meets his people. Now to begin with the chronicler will take us right to the location. It tells us in verse 1 Solomon began to build the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah. That is where the Lord had appeared to his father David. It was also the th it was on the threshing floor of Aruna, the Jebusite, the place provided by David for the building of the temple. So you see, Mount Moriah was the place where Abraham was told to offer Isaac, but it was also the place where David purchased the threshing floor after the plague and the place God Himself designated for sacrifice and worship. So this is what the Old Testament calls holy ground. And Solomon begins building on the second day of the second month of the fourth year of his reign, and that was a date we also see in 1 Kings 6, verse 1, where it tells us the added little bit of information that this is 480 years after the Exodus. So these verses are some of the most important chronological anchors that we have in our Old Testament. It places the construction of this temple at 966 BC and it ties the temple directly into the overall story of redemption. Then the chronicler in these opening verses, and I'm not going to read every single verse today, but have your Bible open and I'll be certainly referring to and explaining every single verse. But in these opening few verses, the chronicler describes the building itself. 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, 45 feet high in modern measurements, so roughly twice the size of the original tabernacle that travelled with the people. He will describe the porch, the holy place, the most holy place. Each dimension given, friends, is intentional, and each material symbolic, each detail pointing to the glory of God. God overlays the whole interior. Palm trees, chainworks will be described, carvings, precious stones will decorate, huge cherubims, spymbols of God's presence are engraved and placed throughout. The most holy place itself, we are told, contains 23 tons of gold, no less. So this is not just a building being described here. This is a message in timber and gold, a sermon made of stone, and that is what we're going to explore today. So welcome, welcome friends, to the Bible Journey Daily Podcast. Okay, as we begin today, we move inside the most sacred space in all Israel, the most holy place, the holiest of the holies. And immediately picking up at verse 10, the writer draws our attention to one of its most striking features of that room. The cherubim, the veil, the pillars, and what all of the structure to come reveals. Verse 10. For the most holy place, he made a pair of sculptured cherubim and overlaid them with gold. The total wingspan of the cherubim was twenty cubits. One wing of the first cherub was five cubits long and touched the temple wall, while the other wing, also five cubits long, touched the wing of the other cherub. Similarly, one wing of the second cherub, which was also five cubits long, touched the other temple wall, and its other wing, also five cubits long, touched the wing of the first cherub. The wings of these cherub extended twenty cubits, twenty cubits, and they stood in their feet facing the main hall. So, that's verse 13, where we've paused. These cherubim represent, of course, angelic beings, symbol of God's awesome and holy presence. And the chronicler gives us their dimension in their dimensions in some detail. Each cherubim, we're told, has two wings, each one measuring in modern parlance seven and a half feet long. One wing touched the wall, the other wing touched the second cherub, and together their wings span a total of 20 cubits, which is roughly 30 feet, nearly 10 meters. They stood upright, facing inwards towards the ark. So these are free-standing cherubim, more than twice the height of an average human being. And remember the ark itself had already two smaller cherubim mounted on the top as well. So inside the Holy of Holies we now see four cherubim, two carved towering figures beside the ark and two smaller figures on top of it overshadowing the mercy seat. The message here is meant to be unmissable, unmistakable. That being the presence of God is something that is guarded, surrounded, and indeed magnified by the heavenly hosts. So this is not just decoration, this is meant to make a theological statement. Secondly, the veil is described, verse 14. He had made the curtain of blue, purple, and crimson yarn and fine linen with cherubim worked into it. Now the veil is that thing that separates the holy place from the holiest of holies, just as it did in the tabernacle. It is the barrier between God's presence and God's people, a reminder that sin separates humanity from God. And woven into that veil? Well, more cherubim again, again symbolizing that access to God's presence is guarded. Now we know now that the veil would one day be torn from top to bottom at the point when Christ died, thereby symbolically opening the way into God's presence that he achieved at that point for all who believe and trust in him. But here, in Solomon's temple, in Solomon's time, it stands as that symbol of separation. Third, we are introduced to two massive pillars standing at the entrance to the temple. Verses 15 to 17 say, From the front of the temple he made two pillars, which together were thirty-five cubits long, each with a cap five cubits high. He also made interwoven chains and put them on top of the pillars. He also made a hundred pomegranates and attached them to the chains. He erected the pillars to the front, in the front of the temple, one to the south and one to the north. The one to the south he named Jacan, and to the one to the north Boaz. Now the detail here in the middle is wreaths of interwoven chains, and above the chain works promegranates were added, symbol of the fruitfulness, abundance, and blessing of God. And then did you notice at the end of this little paragraph, verse 17 tells us the pillars were given names Jacan, that means he establishes, and Boaz in him is found strength. So together, even these pillars are proclaiming that the Lord, it is the Lord Himself who has established his house here, and it is the Lord Himself who will sustain it by his strength. The pillars again, and by their naming are again messages in stone. Then we bridge across into the beginning of chapter four, and in verse one it describes the brazen altar for it. It opens with the first of three of the major pieces of furniture here. He made a bronze altar twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide and ten cubits high. So think about this. This is an altar thirty feet long, thirty feet wide and fifteen feet high. It's a massive altar, far larger than the one used in the tabernacle, and this was because the temple would now be used as an altar for an established nation, not just a nomadic tribal people. And the altar was the place before which the sacrifice took place, the place where sin was dealt with, where blood was shed, and where forgiveness was granted. Next is described the bronze sea. Now that sea word means an enormous basin, that which will be used for ceremonial washing. Verse 2 says he made the sea of cast brawn, ten cubits from brim to brim. That's fifteen feet in diameter, by the way. And it's then added detail seven and a half feet high and forty five feet all the way round in circumference. And then verse three says under it were figures of oxen, ten per cubit. Two rows of engraved bulls encircle the basin, symbols of strength and serve it, and then it says in verse four, it stood on twelve oxen, three facing each direction. So the basin, this huge basin, rests on the back of twelve huge bronze oxen. Likely, experts say representing the twelve tribes of Israel, but supporting the ministry of cleansing. And then verse five tells us the added detail that it contained three thousand baths. Now in 1 Kings 7.26, we hear about it being filled with 2,000 baths, this unit they made for measuring water. And I just want to add there's no contradiction growing here. The simple explanation is that the base is designed and described as being designed to have a capacity of 3,000 baths, but when filled it was normally filled with 2,000, which of course is reasonable, otherwise it would be overflowing all the time. So we're looking at the structure of the temple here, remember, and we've talked about its pillars, its cherubim, its veil, its altar, and now this massive bronze sea, the basin. But now the chronicler will move through the rest of the furnishing, giving us a very quick detailed tour of the temple's interior and exterior equipment used. And it's a long list, but every item has its meaning. I'll quickly survey through it. The lavers are described in verse 6. And it says he made ten labours, ten basins for washing, and placed five in the south side and five in the north. In then things to be used for the burnt offerings were rinsed, but the sea was used by the priests for the washing. The sea is the main basin. The ten smaller lavers are used to wash the sacrificial animals themselves in preparation, and the utensils used and for all aspects of this temple worship. The bronze sea, the massive basin that I just discussed earlier, was in fact for the priests' own ceremonial cleansing, and that basin stood east of the temple, south of the bronze altar, and it was the priest's washing place, a symbol of the purity required before anyone could enter God's presence. Verse seven then describes the lampstand. The lampstands, and it tells us that he made ten gold lampstands according to the specifications for them, and he placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north side. Now the tabernacle, of course, had one lampstand, the temple now has ten. Made to the same dimensions and description. Why ten? Because again the temple had a much larger purpose. It had to be larger, bigger, brighter, more glorious even, and the brightness that is often used and the shining gold that is often described, of course, symbolizes God's presence, his guidance, and the light that his holiness brings. Then in verse eight, it tells us he made ten tables and placed them in the temple, five in the south and five in the north. And he also made a hundred gold sprinking bowls. Again, the tabernacle had one table for showbread, the temple now has ten, and the number again reflects the increase in scale and the increase in the glory of what's going on here. Then the courtyards are described. Verse nine, he made the courtyard of the priests and the lawn large court, and the doors for the court, and overlaid them with bronze. Verse ten, he placed the sea on the south side at the southeast corner. So there are two courts again here, the inner court, that area immediately around the temple, and the great court, the surrounding area of the entire temple complex. Both were overlaid with bronze, emphasizing strength and durability. And they locate the bronze sea precisely within the temple grounds. And then in verses eleven sixteen, well there's a list of the utensils that are created and crafted by this character Heram, and it will talk about pots, shovels, bowls, forks, carts, lavours, networks, caps and pomegranates. These things are all used for activities like removing the ashes, sprinkling blood, handling the sacrifices themselves, maintaining and keeping the altar clean and purified, and Huram makes them all of bronze, and he it says it concludes in verse 17 saying he finished everything Solomon requested. The king had them clasped in clay, moulds in the plain of the Jordan between Sukuf and Zaratheth. Now modern archaeologists believes that this location is somewhere about thirty five miles north of the Dead Sea, on the east side of the river Jordan, and it is a region known and recognized today for producing clay that is suitable for casting bronze therein. And verse 18 concludes and says, All these things that Solomon made amounted to so much that the weight of the bronze could not be calculated. In other words, there's so much bronze being used here, either they didn't or they couldn't bother be weighing it. And then verse 19 to 22, well it quickly summarizes the final items. It talks about the altar of gold, the table of showbread, those lampstands, the flowers, the design of them, the lamps, even the wick trimmers, the bowls, and the doors themselves of the sanctuary, and the doors of the most holy of holies within the sanctuary, and all are made or overlaid with pure gold. The chronicler really wants us to feel the weight of the glory and the overwhelming majesty and beauty of this temple. And then finally our final verse today, which is actually in chapter five, the opening verse of that chapter is actually a concluding statement for what? For everything that had just preceded it in the previous two chapters. It summarizes and says, When all the work Solomon had done for the temple of the Lord was finished, he brought in the things his father David had dedicated, both silver and gold and all the furnishings, and he placed them in the treasuries of God's temple. So everything David had prepared in advance, the silver, the gold, those furnishings, everything is brought into the temple. The temple was complete, and the glory of the Lord is about to descend. Now, before I go into my conclusion, I want to just revisit that question and ask what buildings can teach us and what can they teach us today? Now we've just walked through this passage with its long and detailed descriptions. The measurements were given, the materials described, the carving, the utilars, the pillars, those huge cherubim, the lavers and the basins, the lampstands, the courts themselves, and the furniture within them. And it is very easy to get lost in the details, but the meaning still needs to be understood because the meaning is simple but important. You see, the temple was a symbolic teaching tool, a sort of visual theology lesson about God, humanity, and how those two might relate. Everything in the structure on the description of this temple is meant to preach a message. The pillars underline the fact that Jacob is he established the temple and named Boaz, in him we have the strength to sustain it. They proclaimed that God Himself had established his house in this way and that he himself would sustain it forever. The furnishings of chapter four, those things we saw like the altar, the lever, the basins, the lampstand, the tables, even the utensils, none of it is extraneous. None of it is just decorative. They are functional symbols, they have utility, they are the things that enable the priests to carry out their rituals as described and prescribed in the Mosaic law. And those rituals themselves taught Israel about these things. It taught them about God's holiness. Just by going through them, it taught them about man's sinfulness and it helped establish a utilitarian way of which people could approach God despite that separation because of their sin. The temple represents God's presence, symbolized by his dwelling in the most holy place. But the structure itself and everything around it was meant to teach the people how they might approach him by understanding how they might approach him. And a building can really be a sermon. Think about it. The bronze altar pointed to blood sacrifice. The very first thing you meet when you entered that temple in those days, the courtyard itself, was the brazen altar. Before anyone could approach God, before even the sacrifice could be offered, they had to cleanse. This is the gospel in physical architecture. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin. And no one even today, under the New Covenant, the New Testament perspective, can still approach God without, first of all, the cleansing and the sacrifice, but as we say now, of Christ Himself. And the labor, that which represents cleansing, that comes next. That's the place where the priest washed. It's a ceremonial cleansing place. And Jesus again references this and illustrates this in John 13, where he talks about the need for ongoing cleansing as we walk through life, but assuring us at the same time that if we confess our sins, he is always faithful and just to forgive. We are now cleansed by Christ's blood at the altar, and we're cleansed daily by confession and prayerful compassion as we walk on through life. Then inside the holy place, we have three items placed and described for us the table of showbread, and of course Christ now is described as the bread of life, the lampstand, superseded by now by Christ, being the light of the world, and the altar of incense, symbolizing those prayers of God's people rising before God. Again, three pieces each teach us that once we are cleansed, we can feed on Christ, we can continue to walk in the light, and that we have access to God in prayer. We can speak to Him in prayer. And then we have the most holy place. That place finally by Behind the veil that stood where stood the ark and the cherubim, the symbolic throne of God, the presence of God Himself. And of course, in Solomon's day, only the high priest could enter, and only once a year. But now through Jesus Christ the veil is torn, access is open, and we may come boldly. So what does this building teach us? Well, this temple teaches us and teaches them everything about the need for sacrifice, the cleansing that we need. Our feeding on Christ today, our walking in the light and praying in his presence, having access to God in prayer. The temple really is a sermon in stone, and the sermon, the message it gives, is the gospel, the same gospel we preach today. Before I move into the outro, I want to just pause and draw a line that connects Solomon's temple to something much closer to home, the buildings that we worship in today. So how do churches today do they still teach us through their architecture something? Well, Christian architecture, especially of course in historic churches, still carries huge echoes of the temple's symbolic teaching. The structure of the building is still meant to say something. It's meant to speak to us, it's meant to preach something to us, and it's meant to remind us of truths about God, humanity, and the relationship that we can have between him and us. And let me just highlight a few features that you may not have thought about but still have significance even today. Firstly, the raised pulpit. Now walk into any traditional church and you'll probably see a raised pulpit or lectron. It's not put there to raise the preacher's ego, it's raised up because it represents the authority of Scripture. The pulpit usually stands higher than the congregation to symbolize the centrality of God's word and the authority of God's voice over the people, and the truth that preaching is not a human opinion, but it is divine revelation. Now in many older churches, the pulpit is indeed the tallest piece of furniture in the room, and deliberately so. It is visually declaring that the word of God stands above us. Just as the temple taught Israel that God's presence was exalted and holy, the raised pulpit teaches us today that the co teaches the congregation, the gathered, that God's word should be exalted, raised up, and considered authoritative. Then in many churches we'll see a communion table of some sort, and that's usually at the front, isn't it? And it's often central. Now it's not there as like an altar in the Old Testament sense, because Christ has offered the final sacrifice, but it is a memorial to that sacrifice, so it is a memorial of what the original altar symbolized. It reminds us that we approach God now through the sacrifice of Christ, and that our fellowship with God is based on the blood He shed for us, and that worship is grounded in that redemption. So the temple altar pointed forward to Christ's cross to come, but now the church's communion table points us back to that same event. In some churches we have baptismal fonts or baptistries. Now the baptismal font in most Roman Catholic and Anglican churches is often near the entrance of the church. It's placed there and its placing is intentional. It represents the labour reimagined because it symbolizes the entry point into the people of God and how it begins with cleansing. And just as the lever stood between sacrifice and service, baptism stands as that representation of that point between conversion and discipleship, or it should do anyway. It visibly proclaims you are to enter the household of God for washing your feet. The temple caught tensing through water, the church still teaches cleansing, but this time through Christ. Sometimes in churches that practice believers, or so some call it adult baptism, the larger baptistry is then placed at the front of the church because what goes on there is meant to be a witness, a representation of the beginning of that discipleship point for the born-again believer. Some older historic churches have what they call a knee. That's what the central area and aisle of the church is called, and it is deliberately laid out to represent a journey. It represents a journey towards God. Historically, in when many of these great European medieval churches were built, it represents the pilgrim path of the believer moving through life towards God. And in many churches, that architecture sees that path narrow and rise as you approach the front, symbolizing movement towards holiness and the ascent towards God's presence, as well as representing that narrowing of life's distractions as you draw nearer to Him in worship. The temple taught about approach through sacrifice, cleansing, bread, light and prayer. The church, in many ways, still lays out that same story, but in a new context. Now the area at the front, certainly in some traditions, is called the sanctuary. That's the area around the pulpit, the communion table, sometimes a baptistry. A sanctuary is a word borrowed again from the temple. It's not the holiest of holies, like in the Old Testament, but it is a symbolic reminder that worship is sacred, reverent, and God-centered, and is in fact the holy place reimagined and re-membered for us in the New Testament context. The sanctuary again is often elevated, it's often set apart, often framed by architectural features that draw the eye onward and upwards, arches beamed, and then behind it, in traditional churches, often stained glass, all meant to say, lift your eyes, lift your heart, lift your worship towards me. And that's where I'll leave it and say thank you for staying with me through what has been a fairly detailed journey into all of chapter 3 and chapter 4. Now I know it's been a long passage, and the detail, if you read it cold, can feel a bit overwhelming. But I believe, as I hope you've discovered, every measurement, every material, every carving, every piece of furniture is part of a message God wants his people to understand. And now that the building is complete, something extraordinary is about to happen. And in our next episode tomorrow, we'll complete 2 Chronicles chapter 5. Because once the temple is finished, and once the ark is brought in, and the priests will take their places, and the singers will lift their voices, and the glory of the Lord will fill the house, as it says. It is one of the most breathtaking scenes in all of Scripture, and one of the most important lessons that we can see, describe for us about worship, presence, and how God chooses and is enabled to dwell with his people. So join me tomorrow as we continue our journey through the whole Bible, chapter by chapter, verse by verse, where we'll take another step through two chronicles and discover what the completed temple teaches us about how and in what way we may approach God even today. But until then, may you walk in the light of Christ, feed on his word, and draw near to him in prayer. If you'd enjoyed this, subscribe and follow me wherever you get your podcasts from. If you'd like to have access to full transcripts of every episode free, along with early access ad-free to all episodes, including the other four monthly podcasts I do. The best place to do that, and the best way to do that, is simply click and subscribe or follow me on Patreon. You can do that for free, and you'll have access and early access to everything I'm producing over there. Thanks for being with me today. I'll see you in our next episode. Bye-bye for now.