Commentary - 1 Kings 7:13-47

Bird's-eye view

This passage is a detailed inventory of the bronze furnishings for the Temple of Yahweh, crafted by a gifted artisan named Hiram of Tyre. After the description of the Temple's main structure, the narrative zooms in on the glorious and symbolic furniture that would stand in the courtyard and porch. We are given the specifications for two monumental pillars named Jachin and Boaz, a colossal bronze basin called the Sea, and ten mobile bronze stands with their lavers. The sheer scale, intricate beauty, and immense weight of these items are meant to overwhelm the reader. This is not just an architectural record; it is a theological statement. The house of God is to be a place of staggering beauty and profound symbolism, a foretaste of the glories of heaven. Every detail, from the names of the pillars to the carvings on the stands, preaches the gospel. The construction of the Temple is a central act in the establishment of God's kingdom on earth, and these furnishings declare the nature of that King and the means of approaching Him: through strength and establishment, through cleansing and sacrifice.

The account concludes by emphasizing the immeasurable quantity of bronze used, highlighting the lavish generosity of Solomon's provision for God's house. This entire chapter serves to show that the God of Israel is not to be worshiped in a minimalist or abstract fashion. He is a God of substance, beauty, order, and glory, and His worship should reflect His character. These bronze works are a tangible sermon on the solidity and splendor of the covenant God makes with His people.

Outline

Context In 1 Kings

This detailed description of the temple furnishings in chapter 7 is strategically placed. It follows the account of the construction of the temple's main structure (chapter 6) and is nestled within the larger narrative of Solomon's magnificent building projects, which also includes his own palace (7:1-12). The contrast is important. Solomon builds his own house, which takes thirteen years, but he dedicates the best materials and craftsmanship to God's house, which is the spiritual center of the kingdom. This section demonstrates Solomon's fulfillment of the charge given to his father David. The kingdom is now established, at peace, and wealthy, and the first order of business for the king is to establish the formal, central worship of Yahweh in a manner befitting His glory. These furnishings are not mere decorations; they are the instruments of worship and symbols of the covenant, making the temple a functional place for sacrifice, prayer, and priestly service. This act solidifies Jerusalem as the spiritual and political capital of the world, the place where God has chosen to put His Name.

Key Issues

Glory in Bronze

It is easy for the modern reader to get lost in the cubits and handbreadths and to let his eyes glaze over at the detailed descriptions of network and chainwork. But we must resist that temptation. This is not an appendix; it is a central part of the story. God is teaching us something profound about His own nature and the nature of true worship. He is a God who cares about details. He is a God of order, beauty, and substance. The Reformation rightly stripped the church of idolatry, but some of our spiritual descendants have wrongly concluded that this means God prefers His worship to be plain, bare, and ugly. This passage screams otherwise.

The sheer weight and glory of all this bronze is meant to communicate the stability and permanence of God's kingdom. This is not a flimsy, ethereal religion. This is a faith with heft. The intricate craftsmanship, gifted by God to Hiram, shows that skill, artistry, and human creativity are to be brought into the service of the sanctuary. The symbols carved and cast into these objects are not random decorations; they are a catechism in metal, teaching the people about God's strength, His provision of cleansing, and the Edenic glory of His presence.

Verse by Verse Commentary

13-14 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.

The master craftsman for the most important articles in God's house is a man of mixed heritage. His mother is an Israelite, from Naphtali, but his father is a Gentile, a man of Tyre. This is a beautiful, quiet foreshadowing of the gospel. The glory of God's house is built with the help of the nations. Hiram is a new Bezalel (Exodus 31), a man explicitly filled with wisdom and discernment and knowledge for his craft. This is not just raw talent; it is a divine endowment, a gift of the Holy Spirit for artistic and technical work. God gifts men for all sorts of vocations, and building things for the glory of God is a high calling. Hiram's willing service to Solomon is a picture of the nations bringing their treasures to adorn the city of God.

15-22 And he fashioned the two pillars of bronze... Thus he set up the pillars at the porch of the nave; and he set up the right pillar and named it Jachin, and he set up the left pillar and named it Boaz. And on the top of the pillars was lily design. So the work of the pillars was finished.

These two pillars are perhaps the most striking features of the temple's exterior. They were not structural supports for the roof; they were freestanding monuments that flanked the entrance. They were a proclamation. Their names are sermons in themselves. Jachin means "He will establish." Boaz means "In Him is strength." As a worshiper approached the house of God, he would walk between these two declarations. How is the kingdom of God built? How can a sinner approach a holy God? God Himself will establish it, and He will do so in His own strength. It is not by our might or our power, but by His Spirit. The pillars were adorned with pomegranates, a symbol of fruitfulness and life, and lilies, a symbol of beauty and purity. The way into God's presence is a fruitful and beautiful way, established by God's own powerful grace.

23-26 And he made the sea of cast metal... its brim was made like the brim of a cup, as a lily blossom; it could hold two thousand baths.

This is the great laver of the temple courtyard, a massive bronze basin holding something like 10,000 gallons of water. It was called "the Sea." In the Old Testament, the sea often represents chaos, the abyss, the untamed Gentile nations, and death. Here, the chaotic sea is tamed, cast in bronze, and brought into the courtyard of God's house to be a source of cleansing for the priests. This is a picture of God's power to subdue chaos and turn it to His holy purposes. The Sea stood on the backs of twelve oxen, three facing each cardinal direction. The twelve oxen represent the twelve tribes of Israel, the whole people of God, who are the foundation that bears up this ministry of cleansing to the world. The water of purification is offered to the north, south, east, and west. This is a gospel object. It speaks of a cleansing so vast it is like a sea, offered to all nations, and built upon the foundation of God's covenant people.

27-37 Then he made the ten stands of bronze... He made the ten stands like this: all of them had one casting, one measure and one form.

These ten stands were ornate, mobile carts designed to hold the ten lavers, or basins, for washing the sacrifices. The details are significant. They were decorated with lions, oxen, and cherubim. These are the figures that surround the throne of God in Ezekiel's vision and in the book of Revelation. The lion represents royalty and wild nature, the ox represents sacrifice and domestic nature, and the cherubim are the heavenly guardians of God's holiness. The temple courtyard is being presented as a new Garden of Eden, a place where the fullness of creation, both earthly and heavenly, is brought together in ordered worship of the Creator. The fact that these stands were on wheels is also important. This ministry of cleansing is not static; it is dynamic, able to be moved where it is needed. It points toward the day when the cleansing of God would not be confined to one location in Jerusalem but would go out into all the world.

38-39 He also made ten lavers of bronze... and he set the sea of cast metal on the right side of the house eastward toward the south.

Each of the ten mobile stands received a bronze laver. If the great Sea was for the priests to wash themselves, these ten lavers were for washing the parts of the sacrificial animals (2 Chron 4:6). The entire process of approaching God was surrounded by water and blood, by cleansing and sacrifice. One could not simply waltz into God's presence. Sin had to be dealt with, and defilement had to be washed away. The placement is also symbolic, with five on the right (south) side and five on the left (north) side, creating a symmetrical and ordered path for the worshiper. The great Sea was on the right, the place of prominence.

40-47 And Hiram made the lavers and the shovels and the bowls. So Hiram completed doing all the work... Solomon left all the utensils unweighed, because they were too many; the weight of the bronze could not be found out.

The passage concludes with a summary of all the bronze work, from the great pillars to the small pots, shovels, and bowls used in the sacrificial system. The final note is one of overwhelming abundance. There was so much bronze that they did not even bother to weigh it. This speaks to the heart of Solomon at his best, and ultimately to the heart of God. Our God is not a stingy God. He does not provide for our salvation with carefully measured parsimony. His grace is extravagant. The provision for our cleansing in Christ is immeasurable. The glory of His coming kingdom is a weight of glory beyond all comparison. The unweighed bronze of the temple is a small picture of the unsearchable riches of Christ.

Application

We are the temple of the living God. The church, and every believer in Christ, is where God has chosen to dwell by His Spirit. Therefore, the principles of the first temple apply to us in a new and profound way. Our lives are to be built on the twin pillars of Jachin and Boaz. We are established by God's decree, and we stand in His strength alone. We cannot approach God on our own merits, but must constantly be cleansed in the "molten sea" of Christ's finished work, a fountain of grace that can never run dry.

Furthermore, God desires that His new temple, the church, be a place of staggering beauty. This does not mean we must all have ornate buildings, but it does mean our worship, our fellowship, and our lives should be adorned with the fruit of the Spirit. Our lives should be decorated with the beauty of holiness, the fruitfulness of good works (pomegranates), and the purity of a life set apart for Him (lilies). We are to bring our skills, our arts, our Hiram-like wisdom, and consecrate them to the building of Christ's church. And we do all this with a spirit of lavish generosity, knowing that the God we serve has supplied our every need with a treasure that cannot be weighed.