Second Chronicles 2:11

The Bible says in Second Chronicles 2:11-18, “Then Huram the king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon, Because the LORD hath loved his people, he hath made thee king over them.[12] Huram said moreover, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, that made heaven and earth, who hath given to David the king a wise son, endued with prudence and understanding, that might build an house for the LORD, and an house for his kingdom.[13] And now I have sent a cunning man, endued with understanding, of Huram my father's,[14] The son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre, skilful to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson; also to grave any manner of graving, and to find out every device which shall be put to him, with thy cunning men, and with the cunning men of my lord David thy father.[15] Now therefore the wheat, and the barley, the oil, and the wine, which my lord hath spoken of, let him send unto his servants:[16] And we will cut wood out of Lebanon, as much as thou shalt need: and we will bring it to thee in floats by sea to Joppa; and thou shall carry it up to Jerusalem.[17] And Solomon numbered all the strangers that were in the land of Israel, after the numbering wherewith David his father had numbered them; and they were found an hundred and fifty thousand and three thousand and six hundred.[18] And he set threescore and ten thousand of them to be bearers of burdens, and fourscore thousand to be hewers in the mountain, and three thousand and six hundred overseers to set the people a work.” Notice what the king of Tyre says to Solomon in verse eleven, “Because the LORD hath loved his people, he hath made thee king over them.” And so we know that the king of Tyre was a believer in the one true God. Perhaps he became a believer through the testimony of David or of someone else from Israel. The king of Tyre knew what we all know: God had raised up Solomon and made him king over Israel and God had given Solomon wisdom and great blessings. When God loves a nation, God will give that nation a good ruler. Sometimes when God wants to punish a nation, God will give a bad ruler to that nation. God is in charge, and everything fits into His plan for the world.

The king of Tyre also said in verse twelve, “Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, that made heaven and earth, who hath given to David the king a wise son, endued with prudence and understanding, that might build an house for the LORD, and an house for his kingdom.” He recognized God as the Creator. He recognized that Solomon had wisdom from God. And he recognized that it was a wise decision to build the temple. Of course, Solomon did not build the temple by himself. He needed a lot of help from a lot of people. If God gives others to help you, it will be because God puts on their heart to do so. Everything is of God. The king of Tyre realizes that Solomon was going to need some very skillful craftsmen, and so he finds the most skilled person that he knows and sends him to work with Solomon. That is what verse fourteen is all about when the king of Tyre says, “The son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre, skilful to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson; also to grave any manner of graving, and to find out every device which shall be put to him, with thy cunning men, and with the cunning men of my lord David thy father.”

It is interesting to notice how huge of an undertaking this was just to gather the materials to be able to build the temple. Verse eighteen says that 73,000 men were used to carry burdens from one place to another. 80,000 men were organized to cut down trees in the mountains. And 3,600 men were selected to be the supervisors in the building of the temple. This had to have taken a tremendous amount of organization and preparation. Solomon was able to do all of this because of the wisdom that God gave to him and because it was God’s will.

The Bible says in Second Chronicles 3:1, “Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the LORD appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.” It was not God’s will for David to build the temple, but God allowed David to make some preparations for it. For example, David purchased the exact location where the temple would be built. Even today the wailing-wall is there at that exact spot that David purchased. As you try to build something for God, always think of the future. What can you do for the Lord Jesus that can endure for His glory past your own life? Leading people to Christ would be a good start. If God gives you the means, be a part of starting a new church, and maybe you can be among those who provide the funds for a building.

The Bible says in Second Chronicles 3:2-17, “And he began to build in the second day of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign.[3] Now these are the things wherein Solomon was instructed for the building of the house of God. The length by cubits after the first measure was threescore cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits.[4] And the porch that was in the front of the house, the length of it was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the height was an 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 was 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 was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits: and he overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents.[9] And the weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. And he overlaid the upper chambers with gold.[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 were twenty cubits long: one wing of the one cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house: and the other wing was likewise five cubits, reaching to the wing of the other cherub.[12] And one wing of the other cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house: and the other wing was five cubits also, 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 were inward.[14] And he made the vail of 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 was on the top of each of them was five cubits.[16] And he made chains, as in the oracle, and put them on the heads of the pillars; and made an hundred pomegranates, and put them 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.” Notice that the building itself was 1225 square feet. Of course, there was the courtyard and the wall surrounding all of that. But the building itself was not that big even compared to a modest house. That is one reason that it would not take long at all to construct a new temple. We know there will be another temple one day, because we are told a temple is in place in the middle of the tribulation when the antichrist enters into it for an event that the Bible calls the Abomination of Desolation.

Even though the temple was evidently a modest-sized building, it would have been extremely beautiful with all of the gold and fine materials used to adorn it. It must have been extremely impressive to see the two cherubim. Their wings touched each other and stretched the entire thirty-five feet. The vail was a curtain that was the doorway to the inner sanctuary and represented the closest that anyone could get to God. Only the high priest was allowed to enter there, and only once a year. This is the vail that was rent in two when Jesus was crucified: symbolizing that we now always have an open access into the presence of God because of Jesus and His death for us.

The Bible says in Second Chronicles 4:1-10, “Moreover he made an altar of brass, twenty cubits the length thereof, and twenty cubits the breadth thereof, and ten cubits the height thereof.[2] Also he made a molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass, and five cubits the height thereof; and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.[3] And under it was the similitude of oxen, which did compass it round about: ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about. Two rows of oxen were cast, when it was cast.[4] It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward.[5] And the thickness of it was an handbreadth, and the brim of it like the work of the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies; and it received and held three thousand baths.[6] He made also ten lavers, and put five on the right hand, and five on the left, to wash in them: such things as they offered for the burnt offering they washed in them; but the sea was for the priests to wash in.[7] And he made ten candlesticks of gold according to their form, and set them in the temple, five on the right hand, and five on the left.[8] He made also ten tables, and placed them in the temple, five on the right side, and five on the left. And he made an hundred basons of gold.[9] Furthermore he made the court of the priests, and the great court, and doors for the court, and overlaid the doors of them with brass.[10] And he set the sea on the right side of the east end, over against the south.” We see the beauty and the riches that went into making all the objects that were inside and outside of the temple. Notice also the objects that were made for washing of the sacrifices and of the priests who did all of the work of sacrificing the animals and cutting them up. The phrase “cleanliness is next to godliness” certainly applies here. God wants us to be clean. In some ways dirt is symbolic of sin, and cleansing of the dirt is symbolic of forgiveness that cleanses from sin. All of the sacrifices had to do with the sin problem. All of the sacrifices were teaching the lesson that a holy Judge needs a sacrifice if he is not going to punish us. Jesus is our sacrifice. Jesus was sacrificed once for all, and so we no longer need a priesthood that does continual sacrifices. We no longer need a temple where the sacrifices are made.

The Bible says in Second Chronicles 4:11-17, “And Huram made the pots, and the shovels, and the basons. And Huram finished the work that he was to make for king Solomon for the house of God;[12] To wit, the two pillars, and the pommels, and the chapiters which were on the top of the two pillars, and the two wreaths to cover the two pommels of the chapiters which were on the top of the pillars;[13] And four hundred pomegranates on the two wreaths; two rows of pomegranates on each wreath, to cover the two pommels of the chapiters which were upon the pillars.[14] He made also bases, and lavers made he upon the bases;[15] One sea, and twelve oxen under it.[16] The pots also, and the shovels, and the fleshhooks, and all their instruments, did Huram his father make to king Solomon for the house of the LORD of bright brass.[17] In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredathah.” Notice the phrase in verse eleven, “And Huram finished the work that he was to make for king Solomon for the house of God.” Huram started something, and he finished it. That is a good example to follow. When you start something for God especially make sure that you finish the job and you finish the work. When you believe on Jesus, you start a life of faith. Make sure you complete that life of faith. There will be obstacles, sins, and difficulties. There are a lot of people who start something, but they never finish it. Something along the way gets them to stop. Paul rejoiced at the end of his life, and he said in Second Timothy 4:7, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” Be determined to follow Jesus all of your life with faith, hope, and love. Jesus will forgive your sins every day, so you will be able to do it, as long as you are determined to keep serving Him.

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