2 Chronicles 4-5 Introduction
The Chronicler has been retelling the exiles' stories of their past so they can have hope for their future. That hope will rest on their faith. Therefore, the Chronicler's driving passion is the Temple and worship. The returned exiles must rebuild their relationship with God, and he hopes to kickstart this rebuilding with a vision of what the Temple was and can be in the future.
The Temple is crucial to their covenant relationship. It is not just a building. It is the intersection of heaven and earth where God chooses to dwell among His people. The Chronicler pines for God's presence to once again reside among them.
What is the difference between the Tabernacle and Solomon's Temple?
The differences between the Tabernacle and the Temple are size, materials, and quantity. Solomon kept the scale the same, but everything in the Temple is bigger, and there is a lot more gold. Just as Moses furnished the Tabernacle, Solomon furnishes the Temple.
Both the Tabernacle and the Temple contain:
- The Altar of Burnt Offering
- The Altar of Incense
- A laver or basin for washing
- The Table of Showbread
- A menorah
- Bronze artifacts in the courtyard and gold artifacts in the Temple.
The Temple is the grander, stationary replacement for the traveling Tabernacle. It is a symbol of permanency and promise. God has given them the land, and they can now dwell with Him forever in peace, just as Adam and Eve had in the garden. But not quite.
How do the Temple decorations reflect the Garden of Eden?
Everything in the Temple is decorated with a Garden of Eden motif of flowers, fruit, and trees to remind them of their goal to return to the relationship in the Garden. They have to do a lot of work to maintain their relationship with God through sacrifices and worship, something Adam and Eve did not have to do.
Scene 1: Solomon Provides the Temple Furnishings
The furnishings are not necessarily furniture. These are items for worship and sacrificial ceremonies. Nobody is hanging out in the Temple. In fact, you will not hear one mention of a chair or pew. The lay people are not allowed inside the building at all. Only the priests can enter the building, and they can only go into the first two-thirds of the building called the Holy Place.
Who is allowed to enter the Most Holy Place in the Temple?
The High Priest is the only one who can enter the last room called the Most Holy Place. This is where the Ark of the Covenant is kept. There is a courtyard around the Temple that is accessible to Israelite men for offering sacrifices, and the daily sacrifices all happen in this outside courtyard on a massive altar.
There are many images online of a courtyard for women and a few other courtyards, but these are not mentioned in the Bible or in Moses’ or David's descriptions. Other courts are documented by other sources written after Christ's death, but as this is the Bible Book Club, we will stick to what is in our Book.
Which Temple furnishings are made of bronze versus gold?
Solomon provided two sets of Temple furnishings. Furnishings for the outer courtyard, which are all made of bronze, and furnishings for the Temple, which are all made of gold.
2 Chronicles 4:1-22
1 He made a bronze altar twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide and ten cubits high. 2 He made the Sea of cast metal, circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim and five cubits high. It took a line of thirty cubits to measure around it. 3 Below the rim, figures of bulls encircled it—ten to a cubit. The bulls were cast in two rows in one piece with the Sea. 4 The Sea stood on twelve bulls, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south and three facing east. The Sea rested on top of them, and their hindquarters were toward the center. 5 It was a handbreadth in thickness, and its rim was like the rim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It held three thousand baths.
6 He then made ten basins for washing and placed five on the south side and five on the north. In them the things to be used for the burnt offerings were rinsed, but the Sea was to be used by the priests for washing.
7 He made ten gold lampstands according to the specifications for them and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north. 8 He made ten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north. He also made a hundred gold sprinkling bowls.
9 He made the courtyard of the priests, and the large court and the doors for the court, and overlaid the doors with bronze. 10 He placed the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner.
11 And Huram also made the pots and shovels and sprinkling bowls. So Huram finished the work he had undertaken for King Solomon in the temple of God: 12 the two pillars; the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars; the two sets of network decorating the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars; 13 the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of network (two rows of pomegranates for each network, decorating the bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars); 14 the stands with their basins; 15 the Sea and the twelve bulls under it; 16 the pots, shovels, meat forks and all related articles.
All the objects that Huram-Abi made for King Solomon for the temple of the Lord were of polished bronze. 17 The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Sukkoth and Zarethan. 18 All these things that Solomon made amounted to so much that the weight of the bronze could not be calculated.
19 Solomon also made all the furnishings that were in God’s temple: the golden altar; the tables on which was the bread of the Presence; 20 the lampstands of pure gold with their lamps, to burn in front of the inner sanctuary as prescribed; 21 the gold floral work and lamps and tongs (they were solid gold); 22 the pure gold wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, dishes and censers; and the gold doors of the temple: the inner doors to the Most Holy Place and the doors of the main hall.
2 Chronicles 5:1
1 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—the silver and gold and all the furnishings—and he placed them in the treasuries of God’s temple.
What are the dimensions of the bronze altar in Solomon's Temple?
The Altar of Burnt Offering in the Courtyard is about 30 feet by 30 feet and is placed 15 feet high on a platform with steps up to it. This Temple altar is about five times the size of Moses's Tabernacle version of the altar in Exodus 27, but the purpose of the altar is the same. It is used for burnt offerings for sin atonement.
If you were with us for our Leviticus Bible study, you will recall that there are a lot of daily animal sacrifices on that altar. Solomon enlarges the water basins and the Altar of Burnt Offering, suggesting he is planning to expand the kingdom. The Bronze Sea in the courtyard replaces the smaller Laver of the Tabernacle in Exodus 30. It is an enormous, elevated water basin for washing and is considered a great feat of ancient metalwork because of its size.
How many gallons of water does the Bronze Sea hold?
The Bronze Sea holds up to 17,000 gallons of water. It is 15 feet in diameter and 7.5 feet high, supported by 12 bronze bulls, three on each side. The water is used for the priests' ritual washing, and there are many priests and many daily rituals.
Temple Upgrades
The 10 water basins on carts in the courtyard are unique to the Temple and not mentioned in the Tabernacle. They are used for washing the utensils for burnt offerings. Each of these 10 basins is six feet wide and holds about 220 gallons. The stands, or carts that hold the water basins, are elaborately decorated and have wheels, although they surely can’t be easy to move.
There are 10 lampstands and tables in the Temple. Like the water basins, the lamps get an upgrade. The Tabernacle had just one lampstand. The Temple gets 10, which makes sense as the Temple is so much larger. The purpose of the lampstand is to light the main area, or Holy Place. The lampstands look like a candelabra, but candles are not used at this time. The Israelites use oil with a wick. The ten tables are only mentioned here, perhaps because the Chronicler assumes that ten lampstands sat on 10 tables.
Who was Huram-Abi and what was his role in the Temple construction?
2 Chronicles 2:13-14 13 “I am sending you Huram-Abi, a man of great skill, 14 whose mother was from Dan and whose father was from Tyre. He is trained to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, and with purple and blue and crimson yarn and fine linen. He is experienced in all kinds of engraving and can execute any design given to him. He will work with your skilled workers and with those of my lord, David your father.
In 1 Kings 7:13-14 we read that Huram-Abi is from the tribe of Naphtali, where our Chronicler states he is from Dan. “From Dan” may not mean from the tribe of Dan. The city of Dan is located in the territory of the tribe of Naphtali. The point the Chronicler is most likely making with this information is that the gifted Huram-Abi is half Israelite and half Phoenician.
However, it is another example of Phoenician intermarriage, which began long before Solomon. During the time of the Book of Judges, the tribe of Asher failed to drive out the inhabitants of the cities on the Phoenician coast. The tribe of Naphtali lived right next door to the tribe of Asher, and the result was intermarriage with the Phoenicians for both tribes.
More Temple Furnishings
Solomon provides more furnishings for inside the Temple building.
The Golden Altar
First, the golden altar is mentioned. The author doesn’t give any details about the size of this altar. However, we know from Exodus 30 that the gold altar is the Altar of Incense. It is smaller and more beautiful than the bronze Altar of Burnt Offering in the courtyard. This altar is to be positioned in the Holy Place, or main room of the Temple, in front of the curtain that leads to the Most Holy Place. Its purpose is to burn incense symbolizing the prayers of God's people.
The Bread of Presence
Then the author mentions the bread of the presence. Again, the author gives no detail. He probably assumes we are good Hebrews and have read Exodus and Leviticus. The table will be put in the Holy Place, as will the lampstands and the golden incense altar. The table is for the purpose of holding the bread of the presence, which is 12 loaves of bread replaced every Sabbath, representing the 12 tribes who are under the constant provision and care of God. Then we get a repeated mention of the lampstands, with some tools and dishes.
Doors to the Temple
And last of all, a note about the doors to the Temple. They are partly gold, and 1 Kings 7:50 translates this as “the hinges or eaves or side posts were of gold.” But 1 Kings 6:31 states that the doors are made of olive wood overlaid with gold.
1 Kings 6:31-35 31 For the entrance to the inner sanctuary he made doors out of olive wood that were one fifth of the width of the sanctuary. 32 And on the two olive-wood doors he carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid the cherubim and palm trees with hammered gold. 33 In the same way, for the entrance to the main hall he made doorframes out of olive wood that were one fourth of the width of the hall. 34 He also made two doors out of juniper wood, each having two leaves that turned in sockets. 35 He carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers on them and overlaid them with gold hammered evenly over the carvings.
The confusion is that a curtain or veil also separates the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. But it makes sense to have both, because when the door opens, the Ark will still need to be protected from view by the regular priests. So there may also be a curtain the high priest walks around after he opens the door. The conclusion is that we can assume every door on the Temple, whether to the Holy Place or Most Holy Place, is overlaid in gold and the posts or eaves around those doors are gold too.
Every aspect of the Temple is carefully and elaborately created. The design of the Tabernacle represents a microcosm of creation. The splendor of the design mimics the splendor of the world God created. It is a sacred space. The precise and perfect dimensions give a sense of order amid chaos. Just as God created the World out of chaos and dwelt with Adam and Eve in the Garden, Israel has created a sacred space, the Temple, a place of worship, a place of order, in the hope that God will dwell amongst them there.
The only furnishing Solomon does not have to make is the only original piece of furniture created under Moses's instruction over 400 years earlier: the Ark. And it is once again time to move the Ark.
Scene 2: The Ark Makes a Final Move to the Temple
2 Chronicles 5:2-10
2 Then Solomon summoned to Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Zion, the City of David. 3 And all the Israelites came together to the king at the time of the festival in the seventh month.
4 When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the Levites took up the ark, 5 and they brought up the ark and the tent of meeting and all the sacred furnishings in it. The Levitical priests carried them up; 6 and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted.
7 The priests then brought the ark of the Lord’s covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim. 8 The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and covered the ark and its carrying poles. 9 These poles were so long that their ends, extending from the ark, could be seen from in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are still there today. 10 There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt.
What festival is celebrated in conjunction with the Temple dedication?
The Feast of Tabernacles is the festival celebrated in conjunction with the Temple dedication. This is one of the nine feasts and festivals covered in Leviticus. See our chart of Feasts and Festivals here. The Feast of the Tabernacles, also known as the Feast of Booths, commemorates the 40 years the Israelites spent in the wilderness. The people of Israel gather and set up booths or temporary shelters for a week to remember how the Israelites lived for 40 years.
Why does Solomon choose the Feast of Tabernacles for the Temple dedication?
It makes sense that Solomon waits until the Feast of Tabernacles to dedicate the Temple, because the Temple is a visible sign that Israel has found rest and permanence in the Promised Land. And all the people will already be gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the feast.
The reign of Solomon is the golden age of Israelite’s history. And the installation of the Ark in the Temple is the high point of that golden age. The Ark, the Temple, the promise of the Davidic line, and the future Messiah are the essential building blocks in the theology of hope that the Chronicler is trying to instill in the returned exiles. I don’t know how the Chronicler is going to get around the fact that they don’t have an Ark anymore. It was lost, stolen, or destroyed during the exile.
The Ark is the single most sacred object from the Tabernacle, and its movement is carefully dictated. We read of the death from improper handling of the Ark under David's reign. After a failed attempt to move the Ark, David successfully transferred it from Obed-Edom's house to Jerusalem and housed it in a tent. Solomon and the Levites learned from David's error, and the Ark is successfully installed in the Most Holy Place of the Temple beneath those 15-foot Cherubim. It sounds as if the poles are longer than the veil and stick out somehow. No one is quite sure how.
What items are inside the Ark of the Covenant during the dedication?
The Ark's inventory includes the stone tablets, but no mention is made of Aaron's staff and the pot of manna, usually mentioned with the Ark, as in Hebrews 9:
Hebrews 9:3-4 3 Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, 4 which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant.
But most likely always placed in front of the Ark, as in Numbers 17:
Numbers 17:10 10 The Lord said to Moses, “Put back Aaron’s staff in front of the ark of the covenant law, to be kept as a sign to the rebellious. This will put an end to their grumbling against me, so that they will not die.”
With the Ark and all of the items now installed in the Temple, worship will no longer be split between Jerusalem and Gibeon. Worship for all Israel will be centralized in Jerusalem.
Scene 3: The Cloud Makes a Rare Appearance
2 Chronicles 5:11-14
11 The priests then withdrew from the Holy Place. All the priests who were there had consecrated themselves, regardless of their divisions. 12 All the Levites who were musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun and their sons and relatives—stood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets. 13 The trumpeters and musicians joined in unison to give praise and thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, the singers raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang: “He is good; his love endures forever.”
Then the temple of the Lord was filled with the cloud, 14 and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God.
The Ark Is In
Simultaneously with the installation of the Ark, sacrifices are taking place in the courtyard. When the priests withdraw, I am sure, with a sigh of relief that all have survived the Ark transport, the Levite musicians begin to play and sing.
What happens when the priests withdraw from the Holy Place?
The Ark is in, the priests are out, and the Cloud fills the Temple. The Cloud is the glory of the Lord and embodies His presence, power, and protection. The cloud is a visible representation of the Lord's glory while at the same time covering God's glory. It reveals and conceals. No one can look upon the full glory of God in this world.
How long has it been since the cloud of God's glory last appeared?
We met the Cloud often in our journey through the Old Testament. The first mention was in Exodus 13, in which the cloud guided the Israelites through the wilderness:
Exodus 13:21-22 21 By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. 22 Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.
The Cloud is a bit of a mystery to us. We know:
- Exodus 13:21: the Lord is in the Cloud.
- Exodus 14: When the Egyptians tried to attack at the Red Sea, the Cloud protected them.
- Exodus 19 : The cloud appeared at Mount Sinai before God gave them the Ten Commandments.
- Exodus 40: The Cloud of the Lord filled Moses's Tabernacle just as it did Solomon's Temple.
For 40 years, the Israelites followed the Cloud, but then the Cloud disappeared. Or at least as far as we know it did. There is no more mention of the Cloud until the completion of the Temple. For almost 500 years, no Cloud.
Imagine This Scene
The cloud has returned. Did they have any idea this would happen? Were they hoping for it? For sure, they had thought about it, because when Moses completed the Tabernacle, the Cloud had filled it. Surely Solomon cried. He had to be thinking of his father. David would have loved to see this manifestation of God just as Moses would have loved to see the Promised Land.
Never before have two men worked so hard to fulfill God's desire: Moses to give the Israelites a home in the Promised Land, David to give God a home in the Promised Land. Moses saw the cloud of the Lord but never the Land. David saw the Land but missed the Cloud of the Lord. The irony makes my heart ache for them. To have missed the fulfillment of the promises God had used these two men to bring about seems terribly unfair.
Solomon must have felt God's pleasure with the Temple. God has chosen to dwell among them in the Temple. The Temple is as close as they can get to heaven on earth. God's presence, power, and protection mean peace in Israel because, as Solomon says, God has a place to dwell forever among them.
This is the climax of Israel's spiritual journey, but we know it won't last. On the other side of every peak is a valley, and the Cloud will once again disappear until over 900 years later, when the Cloud appears again at Jesus' transfiguration in Mark 9, Luke 9, and Matthew 17:
Matthew 17:1-6 After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified.
The Cloud appears again at Jesus' Ascension in Acts 1. This version is the King James, and I love it best:
Acts 1:9-11 9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
The Cloud received Him, and the Cloud will deliver Him again at the Second Coming of Christ. On that day, we will most likely weep with joy, just as I imagine Solomon did, as we witness the fulfillment of God's promise to us.
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Group Discussion Questions for 2 Chronicles 4-5
- The Temple doesn't have chairs or pews because worship is active daily work. What does practical, daily worship look like in your current season?
- When the musicians sang "He is good; His love endures forever," God's presence stopped the priests in their tracks. What song or hymn always lifts your spirits?
- The Cloud of God’s presence is a visible representation of the Lord’s glory that links straight to Jesus. While we may never see the Cloud the way Solomon did, what serves as a physical, visible reminder of God’s glory in your own faith life?
