June 15th, 2018

Pillars of Truth

“Also he made in front of the temple two pillars thirty five cubits high, and the capital that was on the top of each of them was five cubits.  He made wreaths of chainwork, as in the inner sanctuary, and put them on top of the pillars; and he made one hundred pomegranates, and put them on the wreath of the chainwork.  The he set up the pillars, before the temple, one of the right hand and the other on the left; he called the name of the one on the right hand Jachin, and the name of the one on the left Boaz.”  2 Chronicles 3:15-17

These two passages provide much “manna” concerning the pillars of the Temple of Solomon.  We can make some interesting observations.  First, God gave the revelation of the temple to His beloved son, King David.  Second, David, denied the opportunity to build the temple, passed this divine pattern to his son, Solomon.  Solomon received the supply of materials to build the temple from Hiram, the Gentile king of Tyre (1 Kings 5).  Huram the skilled craftsman was sent to Solomon to do the work of building the temple (1Kings 7:13-14).  Huram (Hiram) was part Gentile and part Hebrew, based on his parentage.  His name means ‘noble.” 

Heaven’s revelation was given to the Hebrew king, who worked with the Gentile king, to build according to a divine pattern.  The building materials and design included:

• Bronze (Judgment of sin);
• Two pillars (symbolizing witness);
• Eighteen cubits in height (a multiple of nine, symbolizing fruition);
• Twelve cubits in circumference (divine government);
• Capitals (or crowns) were five cubits high (grace);
• Seven wreaths of chainwork for each pillar (completion);
• Two hundred pomegranates on the chainwork for each pillar (signifying the fruit of the promised land; the seed of the pomegranate is encased in red);
• Tops of the pillars were shaped like lilies (symbolizing purity and fragrance of Christ);

The two pillars were named Jachin, which means, “He shall establish” and Boaz, meaning, “in Him is strength.”  It is always refreshing to see how the details in the Old Covenants point to the New Covenant and Christ.