Second Chronicles 4:18

The Bible says in Second Chronicles 4:18-22, “Thus Solomon made all these vessels in great abundance: for the weight of the brass could not be found out.[19] And Solomon made all the vessels that were for the house of God, the golden altar also, and the tables whereon the shewbread was set;[20] Moreover the candlesticks with their lamps, that they should burn after the manner before the oracle, of pure gold;[21] And the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs, made he of gold, and that perfect gold;[22] And the snuffers, and the basons, and the spoons, and the censers, of pure gold: and the entry of the house, the inner doors thereof for the most holy place, and the doors of the house of the temple, were of gold.” These verses remind us of how beautiful and richly adorned was the temple. So much gold and so many beautiful engravings. There were so many things made of brass that it says in verse eighteen that the amount of brass could not be calculated. The “golden altar” is mentioned in verse nineteen. An altar is where sacrifices were made. Jesus is our sacrifice. The “shewbread” that was cooked fresh every day symbolizes the fact that God has promised to supply our needs. Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.” Jesus told us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Jesus also used our daily bread requirement to symbolize our need of God’s Word daily. Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.” There were golden candlesticks in the temple. Of course, the candlesticks give light. We certainly need light in a dark world. Jesus is our Light. Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world.”

Notice that among the decorative things in the temple, “the flowers” are mentioned. Everyone knows the beauty of flowers. God designed every flower. The beauty comes from God. Jesus spoke of the beauty of flowers and Jesus said, “Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed as one of these.”

Even the doors of the temple were made of gold. No wonder when Hezekiah showed the temple to the Babylonians, they wanted to return and get all of the riches for themselves, and that is exactly what they did.

The Bible says in Second Chronicles 5:1-5, “Thus all the work that Solomon made for the house of the LORD was finished: and Solomon brought in all the things that David his father had dedicated; and the silver, and the gold, and all the instruments, put he among the treasures of the house of God.[2] Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion.[3] Wherefore all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto the king in the feast which was in the seventh month.[4] And all the elders of Israel came; and the Levites took up the ark.[5] And they brought up the ark, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, these did the priests and the Levites bring up.” We see in the first part of verse five that Solomon finished he work that he started. It says, “Thus all the work that Solomon made for the house of the LORD was finished.” Some people start a work for God and do not finish it, and some people start a work and finish it. Do not be a quitter. Finish the job. Do not get off track. The devil has a lot of dirty tricks to get you on the wrong path in life. Confess your sins and get back on the right path. The Lord will always forgive.

Solomon not only put his own treasures into the house of God, but he also put the things that King David had prepared. Any work of God is the work of multiple people working together under the divine leadership. That is what a church is supposed to be doing. Solomon was the leader of the nation. He had one more thing that needed to be done for the temple: bring the ark of God to it. The ark was important because of what was inside the ark and how the ark was designed and what it all symbolized. The Ten Commandments were in the ark. The Ten Commandments were written by the hand of God. The Ten Commandments represented the covenant under which the Israelites lived before God. The blood of Christ represents the covenant that we live under in this present age.

The Bible says in Second Chronicles 5:6-10, “Also king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel that were assembled unto him before the ark, sacrificed sheep and oxen, which could not be told nor numbered for multitude.[7] And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, to the oracle of the house, into the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims:[8] For the cherubims spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.[9] And they drew out the staves of the ark, that the ends of the staves were seen from the ark before the oracle; but they were not seen without. And there it is unto this day.[10] There was nothing in the ark save the two tables which Moses put therein at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt.” Whenever we read about all of the animals that were sacrificed in the Old Testament as in verse six, we want to remember that these sacrifices could not take away sin, and that is one reason why there were so many of them. Jesus died once for all. That is why the sacrifices of the Old Testament are no longer needed. Also, the sacrifices of the Old Testament pointed to Jesus. They were symbolic of what Jesus would do.

Finally, the ark was brought into the temple into the innermost sanctuary of the temple that symbolized the closest possible presence to God. Inside the ark were the two tablets of the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments were an important part of the law of the Old Testament. The Ten Commandments were written by the hand of God. The Ten Commandments represent the high moral standard that God gives to all of us. This high moral standard leads us to Christ because no one has ever kept it perfectly except for Jesus Himself. We come to Christ for forgiveness because we know that we have not kept the law, and we need His forgiveness.

The Bible says in Second Chronicles 5:11-14, “And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place: (for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and did not then wait by course:[12] Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:)[13] It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD;[14] So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God.” Musicians and their music were an important part of the dedication of the temple. Music has always played an important part of the spread of the gospel. Some people have a gift and an ability to learn and use music. Hopefully, they will use it for the glory of God and for the spread of the Gospel of Christ. Christian music is one of the most important parts of a church service when Christians gather together as the Lord taught us to do. Also, the old time Gospel songs are the best ones to sing because they were written by spiritually minded Christians and God has blessed those songs sometimes for hundreds of years. Believers can learn sound doctrine from good songs. Believers can pray to the Lord with good songs that direct their hearts and minds to think of Jesus. Believers can learn the Bible with good songs that use Bible phrases. Believers can be reminded of what Jesus did for them on the cross with good gospel songs.

The Bible says in Second Chronicles 6:1-9, “Then said Solomon, The LORD hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.[2] But I have built an house of habitation for thee, and a place for thy dwelling for ever.[3] And the king turned his face, and blessed the whole congregation of Israel: and all the congregation of Israel stood.[4] And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who hath with his hands fulfilled that which he spake with his mouth to my father David, saying,[5] Since the day that I brought forth my people out of the land of Egypt I chose no city among all the tribes of Israel to build an house in, that my name might be there; neither chose I any man to be a ruler over my people Israel:[6] But I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and have chosen David to be over my people Israel.[7] Now it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel.[8] But the LORD said to David my father, Forasmuch as it was in thine heart to build an house for my name, thou didst well in that it was in thine heart:[9] Notwithstanding thou shalt not build the house; but thy son which shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house for my name.” In verse one Solomon said that God would dwell “in the thick darkness.” God is everywhere. But Solomon wanted to build a temple to symbolize the presence of God. God accepted that plan because God Himself had already chosen Jerusalem as the one city on this earth that would represent God’s presence and God’s plan for the world. God chose Jerusalem, and God chose King David, the man after God’s own heart. God loved David so much that the Messiah will come in David’s lineage, and the Messiah will rule on the throne of David in Jerusalem.

A lot of people did a lot of work to build the temple in Jerusalem, But Solomon recognized that it was God who built it, and so Solomon said in verse four, “Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who hath with his hands fulfilled that which he spake with his mouth to my father David.” And another truth in this verse is the fact that God always keeps His promises. One of the great things about reading the Bible and hearing good Bible sermons, is the fact that you can learn the promises of God. There are so many wonderful promises such as the promises to answer prayer, the promises to always be with us, to protect us, to provide our needs, to use us for His glory, to take us to heaven, to forgive our sins, to help us grow in Christ: so many wonderful promises. Learn the promises, and then remember that God always keeps His promises, and you will live a life of faith in those promises.

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