Bird's-eye view
In this chapter, the Chronicler brings us to one of the pivotal moments in Israel's history: the construction of the permanent house for God's name. After centuries of dwelling in a tent, the glory of Yahweh is about to take up residence in a fixed and glorious structure. This is far more than an architectural record; it is a profound theological statement. Solomon, the son of David, the man of peace, begins the work that his father, the man of war, had longed to do. The location is specified with gospel precision, tying it to foundational acts of judgment, mercy, and substitutionary atonement. The timing is exact, showing God's sovereign orchestration of history. And the materials are lavish, a stunning display of wealth dedicated to the one true God, pointing forward to the day when the wealth of the nations would flow to Zion. Every detail, from the cubits to the carvings, is saturated with meaning, revealing the character of the God who would dwell there and foreshadowing the greater Temple to come, the Lord Jesus Christ, and His body, the Church.
This passage is a lesson in how God builds His house. He builds on a foundation of grace, at a place where wrath was averted by sacrifice. He builds with glorious and precious materials, signifying the value He places on His dwelling. And He builds according to a divine pattern, orderly and beautiful. This is not just Solomon's project; it is Yahweh's project, and it serves as a type and shadow of the greater spiritual house God is building throughout all of history, a house made of living stones, with Christ Himself as the chief cornerstone.
Outline
- 1. The Gospel Foundation of God's House (2 Chron 3:1-7)
- a. The Place of Atonement (2 Chron 3:1)
- b. The Appointed Time (2 Chron 3:2)
- c. The Divine Dimensions (2 Chron 3:3-4)
- d. The Glorious Materials (2 Chron 3:5-7)
- i. Wood and Gold (2 Chron 3:5)
- ii. Precious Stones and Priceless Gold (2 Chron 3:6)
- iii. Cherubim on the Walls (2 Chron 3:7)
Context In 2 Chronicles
The book of Chronicles, written after the exile, is retelling Israel's history for a post-exilic community. The Chronicler's goal is to encourage the returned remnant by reminding them of God's enduring covenant promises, particularly those related to David, the temple, and true worship. There is a heavy emphasis on the temple as the center of Israel's life and relationship with God. Chapter 2 detailed Solomon's preparations, his treaty with Hiram of Tyre, and the marshaling of laborers. Now, in chapter 3, the work itself begins. This chapter is the heart of the first major section of Solomon's reign (chapters 1-9). The construction of the temple is the pinnacle of his peaceful and prosperous rule, the fulfillment of David's desire and God's promise. It stands in contrast to the later history of faithless kings who would defile this very temple, leading to judgment and exile. For the original audience, this account was a powerful reminder of what they had lost, but also a blueprint for what a restored community, centered on the worship of God, should look like.
Key Issues
- The Theological Significance of Mount Moriah
- Typology of the Temple
- Symbolism of Building Materials (Gold, Cypress, etc.)
- The Meaning of Cherubim Imagery
- The Relationship Between God's Sovereignty and Human Work
- The Centrality of Worship in the Life of God's People
The Gospel in Gold and Stone
Before we get into the details of cubits and cypress, we have to see the big picture. The construction of the temple is a gospel event. God does not just pick a random scenic spot for His house. He commands it to be built on a piece of real estate soaked in redemptive history. This is the place of substitution (Abraham and Isaac) and the place where mercy triumphed over judgment (David and the plague). God's house can only be built on ground that has been purchased by a price, where wrath has been stayed and a substitute provided. This is Golgotha in seed form.
Furthermore, the sheer, almost scandalous, opulence of the temple is a picture of the gospel's lavish grace. This is not a minimalist, utilitarian structure. It is glorious. The staggering amounts of gold, the precious stones, the intricate carvings, all of it is designed to communicate the immense worth and glory of the God who dwells there. This is a rebuke to all our pinched, man-centered, pragmatic approaches to worship. God is glorious, and the worship we offer Him ought to reflect that glory. The temple was a physical sermon declaring the majesty of Yahweh. It was a foretaste of the New Jerusalem, whose streets are paved with gold. And it all points to Christ, in whom all the fullness of deity dwells bodily, and who builds His church not with gold and stone, but with something infinitely more precious: His own blood.
Verse by Verse Commentary
1 Then Solomon began to build the house of Yahweh in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where Yahweh had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
The first verse is packed with theological geography. Solomon begins to build, but the location is everything. First, it is in Jerusalem, the city of the great king. Second, it is on Mount Moriah. This immediately throws our minds back to Genesis 22, where Abraham was sent to the "land of Moriah" to offer his only son, Isaac. It was there that God provided a ram as a substitute. The temple is built on the foundation of substitutionary atonement. Third, it is the place where Yahweh appeared to David. This refers to the incident in 1 Chronicles 21, where David sinned by numbering the people, and God sent a plague. The destroying angel was stopped at this very spot, the threshing floor of Ornan. David bought the land and built an altar, and God answered with fire from heaven. So, the temple is built where judgment was halted by sacrifice and mercy was shown. God's house is always built on gospel ground.
2 Then he began to build on the second day in the second month of the fourth year of his reign.
The Chronicler is not just being a meticulous historian here. The specific date underscores the fact that this is a real event in space and time, but also that it is happening according to God's sovereign timetable. This was not a haphazard project. It began in the fourth year of Solomon's reign, after he had consolidated his kingdom and established peace. The work of building God's house proceeds from a position of established peace and order. The second month, Ziv, was a springtime month, a time of new life and beginnings. This was the appointed time for this great work to commence, all under the meticulous providence of God.
3 Now these are the foundations which Solomon laid for building the house of God. The length in cubits, according to the old standard was sixty cubits, and the width twenty cubits.
God is a God of order, not of chaos, and His house is built on a firm, measured foundation. The dimensions are specified, showing us that this is a deliberate, planned structure, not an amorphous blob of spirituality. The mention of the "old standard" for the cubit likely refers to the royal cubit, a slightly longer measure, connecting Solomon's work back to the established patterns and standards of the ancient world. The point is that God's work has standards. The foundation is sixty by twenty cubits, a three-to-one ratio. This is a long-room design, common for temples in the ancient Near East, but here it is consecrated for the dwelling of the one true God. It is a picture of the church, which is "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone" (Eph 2:20).
4 And the porch which was in front of the house was as long as the width of the house, 20 cubits, and the height 120; and inside he overlaid it with pure gold.
The porch, or vestibule, formed the grand entrance. Its length matched the width of the main house, creating a sense of symmetry and stability. The height given here, 120 cubits, is striking and has caused much debate, as it would make for a very tall tower. Whether this refers to the total height of a tower structure or has some symbolic meaning, the impression is one of soaring grandeur. This was the entrance to the very presence of God, and it was designed to inspire awe. And then we have the first mention of the defining feature of this house: gold. The inside of this towering entrance was overlaid with pure gold. From the moment you stepped into the sacred precinct, you were surrounded by the brilliant symbol of God's purity, royalty, and overwhelming glory.
5 Now he overlaid the main room with cypress wood and overlaid it with fine gold, and ornamented it with palm trees and chains.
The "main room" is the Holy Place, where the priests would minister daily. It was paneled with cypress wood, a durable and aromatic wood, speaking of the endurance and sweet savor of the life of worship. But this wood was not left bare; it was overlaid with fine gold. The underlying structure is important, but what is visible is the glory. It was then ornamented with carvings of palm trees and chains. Palm trees in Scripture are symbols of righteousness, victory, and fruitfulness (Ps 92:12). They recall the booths of the Feast of Tabernacles, a feast of joyful communion with God. Chains suggest interconnectedness, the binding ties of the covenant that link God's people together in His presence. This was a room designed to look like a little piece of Eden restored, a golden garden of joyful, victorious fellowship.
6 Further, he overlaid the house with precious stones for beauty; and the gold was gold from Parvaim.
As if the gold were not enough, the house was studded with precious stones "for beauty." God is not an aesthetic minimalist. He loves beauty, and He created us to appreciate it. The beauty of the temple was a reflection of the beauty of His own holiness. The text then specifies that the gold was from Parvaim. The exact location of Parvaim is unknown, but the name itself suggests a distant, perhaps exotic, place known for the quality of its gold. This detail shows that the very best from all over the world was brought to build God's house. It is a picture of the nations bringing their glory and honor into the city of God (Rev 21:24), a foreshadowing of the gospel's global reach.
7 He also covered the house with gold, the beams, the thresholds and its walls and its doors; and he carved cherubim on the walls.
The summary statement is emphatic: everything was covered in gold. The structural elements, beams, thresholds, and the surfaces, walls, doors, all gleamed with the glory of God. Nothing was left common or plain. And on these golden walls, he carved cherubim. We must get the picture of chubby, winged babies out of our heads. Biblical cherubim are awesome, fearsome creatures, the guardians of holy ground. They were placed at the entrance to Eden to guard the way to the tree of life (Gen 3:24). Their images on the walls and veil of the temple were a constant reminder that one does not simply waltz into the presence of a holy God. Access is guarded. The cherubim declare God's unapproachable holiness, which makes the fact that He condescends to dwell here, and provides a way of access through sacrifice, all the more glorious.
Application
So what does a golden house built three thousand years ago have to do with us? Everything. First, it reminds us where God builds. He builds on the ground of grace, where sacrifice has been made and wrath has been averted. Our lives must be built on that same foundation: the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. We cannot build a life pleasing to God on the foundation of our own good works or religious performance. It must be built on the threshing floor of grace.
Second, it reminds us of the nature of worship. Our God is a glorious God, and He is worthy of glorious worship. While our buildings are not the temple, the principle remains. We should offer God our best, not our leftovers. Our music, our prayers, our preaching, our giving, all of it should be done with an eye to the supreme worth and beauty of the God we serve. We must fight the tendency to be stingy and pragmatic with God. The gospel is a lavish gospel, and it should produce a lavish gratitude in our hearts and in our worship.
Finally, we must remember that we are the temple now. Peter says we are "living stones" being built up into a "spiritual house" (1 Pet 2:5). Paul says, "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?" (1 Cor 3:16). The glory that was symbolized by the gold of Solomon's temple is now meant to be manifested in our lives. We are to be ornamented with the fruit of the Spirit. We are to be a beautiful house for God, a place where His presence is manifest to a watching world. Solomon built with dead stones and inanimate gold. God is building His true and final temple with living souls, purchased by the blood of His Son, to be a glorious dwelling for Him forever.