What things for the Temple were crafted in bronze, silver and gold? Were they idols or mere decoration? Are we building quality Christian lives that give God glory? Let’s review 1 Kings 7.
Did Solomon also build for himself a house in Jerusalem and a forest house?
But Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished all his house. He built also the house of the forest of Lebanon; the length thereof was an hundred cubits, and the breadth thereof fifty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits, upon four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the pillars. And it was covered with cedar above upon the beams, that lay on forty five pillars, fifteen in a row. And there were windows in three rows, and light was against light in three ranks. And all the doors and posts were square, with the windows: and light was against light in three ranks. And he made a porch of pillars; the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth thereof thirty cubits: and the porch was before them: and the other pillars and the thick beam were before them. Then he made a porch for the throne where he might judge, even the porch of judgment: and it was covered with cedar from one side of the floor to the other. And his house where he dwelt had another court within the porch, which was of the like work. Solomon made also an house for Pharaoh's daughter, whom he had taken to wife, like unto this porch. All these were of costly stones, according to the measures of hewed stones, sawed with saws, within and without, even from the foundation unto the coping, and so on the outside toward the great court. And the foundation was of costly stones, even great stones, stones of ten cubits, and stones of eight cubits. And above were costly stones, after the measures of hewed stones, and cedars. And the great court round about was with three rows of hewed stones, and a row of cedar beams, both for the inner court of the house of the Lord, and for the porch of the house. (1 Kings 7:1-12 KJV)
Who was the craftsman in bronze that Solomon brought from Tyre?
Then King Solomon sent and brought Hiram from Tyre. He was a widow’s son from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in bronze; and he was filled with wisdom and discernment and knowledge to do any work in bronze. So he came to King Solomon and did all his work. (1 Kings 7:13-14 LSB)
What was of special importance in his work and what did he name them?
He fashioned the two pillars of bronze; eighteen cubits was the height of each pillar, and a line of twelve cubits measured the circumference of both. He also made two capitals of cast bronze to put on the tops of the pillars; the height of the one capital was five cubits and the height of the other capital was five cubits. There were lattices of latticework and wreaths of chainwork for the capitals which were on the top of the pillars; seven for the one capital and seven for the other capital. So he made the pillars, and two rows around on the one lattice to cover the capitals which were on the top of the pomegranates; and so he did for the other capital. The capitals which were on the tops of the pillars in the porch were of lily design, four cubits. So there were capitals on the two pillars, also above and close to the rounded projection which was beside the lattice; and the pomegranates totaled two hundred in rows around both capitals. And he set up the pillars at the porch of the main room: he set up the right pillar and named it Jachin [He will establish], and he set up the left pillar and named it Boaz [in strength]. On the top of the pillars was the lily design. So the work of the pillars was finished. (1 Kings 7:15-22 NASB)
How large was the bath of water? What was the large basin for?
He made the Sea [bath, basin or tank] 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. Below the rim, gourds encircled it—ten to a cubit. The gourds were cast in two rows in one piece with the Sea. 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. It was a handbreadth in thickness, and its rim was like the rim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It held two thousand baths. (1 Kings 7:23-26 NIV)
What were the dimensions of the bronze carts and how many were they?
He also made ten carts of bronze; four cubits was the length of each cart, four cubits its width, and three cubits its height. And this was the design of the carts: They had panels, and the panels were between frames; on the panels that were between the frames were lions, oxen, and cherubim. And on the frames was a pedestal on top. Below the lions and oxen were wreaths of plaited work. Every cart had four bronze wheels and axles of bronze, and its four feet had supports. Under the laver were supports of cast bronze beside each wreath. Its opening inside the crown at the top was one cubit in diameter; and the opening was round, shaped like a pedestal, one and a half cubits in outside diameter; and also on the opening were engravings, but the panels were square, not round. Under the panels were the four wheels, and the axles of the wheels were joined to the cart. The height of a wheel was one and a half cubits. The workmanship of the wheels was like the workmanship of a chariot wheel; their axle pins, their rims, their spokes, and their hubs were all of cast bronze. And there were four supports at the four corners of each cart; its supports were part of the cart itself. On the top of the cart, at the height of half a cubit, it was perfectly round. And on the top of the cart, its flanges and its panels were of the same casting. On the plates of its flanges and on its panels he engraved cherubim, lions, and palm trees, wherever there was a clear space on each, with wreaths all around. Thus he made the ten carts. All of them were of the same mold, one measure, and one shape. (1 Kings 7:27-37 NKJV)
How were the lavers constructed and how many were there?
Huram also made ten smaller bronze basins, one for each cart. Each basin was six feet across and could hold 220 gallons of water. He set five water carts on the south side of the Temple and five on the north side. The great bronze basin called the Sea was placed near the southeast corner of the Temple. He also made the necessary washbasins, shovels, and bowls. (1 Kings 7:38-40a NLT)
What kinds of things were crafted out of bronze for the Temple?
So Hiram finished doing all the work that he worked for King Solomon in Yahweh’s house: the two pillars; the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars; the two networks to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars; the four hundred pomegranates for the two networks; two rows of pomegranates for each network, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the pillars; the ten bases; the ten basins on the bases; the one sea; the twelve oxen under the sea; the pots; the shovels; and the basins. All of these vessels, which Hiram made for King Solomon in Yahweh’s house, were of burnished bronze. The king cast them in the plain of the Jordan, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan. Solomon left all the vessels unweighed, because there were so many of them. The weight of the bronze could not be determined. (1 Kings 7:40b-47 WEB)
What other varieties of craftsmanship was required for the Temple?
Solomon also made all the equipment for the Lord’s temple: the gold altar; the gold table for the bread of the presence; the lampstands of pure gold, five on the right and five on the left in front of the inner sanctuary; the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs of gold; the cups, wick trimmers, bowls, ladles, and censers of pure gold; and the gold sockets for the doors to the most holy place and for the doors to the main hall. When all King Solomon’s work on the Lord’s temple was finished, he brought the silver, gold, and all the objects his father David had dedicated and put them in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple. (1 Kings 7:48-51 CEB)
As we too are building something for God, how should we build?
God treated me with undeserved grace and let me become an expert builder. I laid a foundation on which others have built. But we must each be careful how we build, because Christ is the only foundation. Whatever we build on this foundation will be tested by fire on the day of judgment. Then everyone will find out if we have used gold, silver, and precious stones, or wood, hay, and straw. We will be rewarded if our building is left standing. But if it is destroyed by the fire, we will lose everything. Yet we ourselves will be saved, like someone escaping from flames. (1 Corinthians 3:10-15 CEV)
What things for the Temple were crafted in bronze, silver and gold? Were they idols or mere decoration? Are we building quality Christian lives that give God glory? You decide!
