Commentary - 2 Chronicles 4:1-6

Bird's-eye view

In this chapter, we move from the architectural structure of the Temple to its essential furniture. And this is not just any furniture; these are the instruments of worship, the tools of liturgy. The Chronicler is showing us that a glorious house for God is not enough; it must be properly equipped for the central activities of sacrifice and purification. The two dominant pieces described here are the massive bronze altar and the even more impressive molten sea. Together, they form a powerful theological statement in metal and water. They declare that to approach a holy God, two things are absolutely necessary: a great and bloody atonement for sin, and a vast and thorough cleansing from defilement. The sheer scale of these items, far exceeding their counterparts in the Tabernacle, speaks to the glory of Solomon's kingdom and, more importantly, points forward to the immensity of the sacrifice and cleansing that would be accomplished by the Son of David, Jesus Christ.

This is not a mere inventory list. It is a detailed portrait of the gospel rendered in bronze. The altar shouts that sin is a serious, bloody business that requires a substitutionary death. The sea proclaims that the filth of that sin requires a cleansing of oceanic proportions. The arrangement and function of these items instructed Israel on the proper grammar of worship: atonement first, then cleansing, then service. This is the pattern of our salvation and the perpetual pattern of our worship.

Outline

Context In 2 Chronicles

Chapter 4 follows directly upon the description of the building of the Temple proper in chapter 3. Having constructed the house, Solomon now furnishes it. This is a logical and theological progression. The dwelling place of God must first be established, and then the means by which sinful man can approach Him within that dwelling must be installed. This section focuses on the bronze works of the outer court, the public space where Israel would meet with God through their priestly representatives. These are the items associated with the problem of sin. Before we are taken into the Holy Place with its golden furniture, we must first deal with the bronze altar and the sea in the courtyard. This order is crucial. The problem of sin and defilement must be dealt with at the entrance before one can proceed into fellowship with God.

Key Issues

The Grammar of Worship

Every culture has a grammar for its interactions, and worship is no different. God, in giving the instructions for the Tabernacle and Temple, was teaching His people the very grammar of approaching Him. It is a language of symbols, types, and shadows, but it is a coherent language nonetheless. The first lesson, taught right at the entrance to the courtyard, is that the foundation of all fellowship with God is blood atonement. The second lesson, following immediately, is that this atonement must be accompanied by a thorough cleansing. You cannot skip the altar and go straight to the laver. You cannot bypass the bloody sacrifice and just try to wash yourself up. The grammar is fixed: sacrifice, then cleansing. This is the logic of the gospel. Christ's atoning death on the cross is the great altar. Our regeneration and justification, symbolized in baptism, is the great sea. We must come to God in the way He has prescribed, following the grammar He has revealed.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1 Then he made a bronze altar, twenty cubits in length and twenty cubits in width and ten cubits in height.

The first piece of furniture is the altar. This is where everything begins. The altar in the Tabernacle was five by five by three cubits. Solomon's altar is a staggering twenty by twenty by ten cubits, a sixteen-fold increase in surface area. This is not a quaint garden ornament; it is a massive, three-story high platform of sacrifice. Its size was a statement about the gravity of sin and the magnitude of the grace required to cover it. In a kingdom as great as Solomon's, the sin is great, and so the altar must be great. This bronze altar was a constant, looming reminder in the courtyard that the only way into God's house was through death. It points us directly to the cross, the ultimate altar, where the one sacrifice sufficient for all the sins of God's people was offered up. The sheer scale of this altar preaches the insufficiency of any lesser sacrifice.

2-3 And he made the sea of cast metal ten cubits from brim to brim, circular in form, and its height was five cubits, and thirty cubits in its circumference. Now figures like oxen were under it and encircling it, ten cubits, entirely encircling the sea. The oxen were in two rows, cast in one piece.

After the place of blood, we come to the place of water. The Tabernacle had a small laver for the priests to wash their hands and feet. The Temple has a sea. The name itself signifies a superabundance of cleansing. This was a massive bronze basin, roughly fifteen feet in diameter and seven and a half feet tall, holding thousands of gallons of water. It was a picture of the overwhelming, all-encompassing cleansing that God provides for His people. The decorative oxen underneath are not incidental. They were symbols of strength and service, and as we will see, they represent the foundation of Israel. The fact that they were cast in one piece with the sea shows the integral connection between the people of God and the means of their purification.

4 It stood on twelve oxen, three facing the north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east; and the sea was set on top of them, and all their rear parts turned inward.

The foundation of this sea of cleansing is explicitly tied to the twelve tribes of Israel. The twelve oxen, symbols of strength and patient labor, bear the weight of this great basin. They are oriented to the four cardinal directions, looking out to the entire world. This is a picture of Israel's priestly task, to be the vehicle through which God's cleansing would be offered to the nations. Their rear parts were turned inward, toward the center, signifying their unity in this common task. The people of God are the foundation that upholds and displays the cleansing that God provides. In the new covenant, the church, the Israel of God, stands on the foundation of the twelve apostles, proclaiming the cleansing of Christ to all four corners of the earth.

5 And it was a handbreadth thick, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, as a lily blossom; it could hold 3,000 baths.

The details here are telling. It was a handbreadth thick, signifying its permanence and durability. God's provision for our cleansing is not flimsy. The brim was fashioned like a lily blossom, a detail of grace and beauty. This tells us that God's commands are not grim, utilitarian burdens. The way of purification is also a way of beauty. It is a cup offered to us, and its brim is life and peace. The capacity is immense, somewhere around 17,500 gallons. No matter how great the defilement, the provision for cleansing is greater still. This is a type of the infinite merit of Christ's blood, which cleanses from all sin. The fountain is never in danger of running dry.

6 He also made ten lavers and set five on the right side and five on the left, in which to wash things, that is, in which they would rinse things for the burnt offering; but the sea was for the priests to wash in.

A crucial distinction is made here. The ten smaller lavers were for washing the sacrificial animals and instruments. The things used in worship had to be clean. But the great sea was reserved for the priests themselves. The lesson is clear: it is not enough for our religious activities to be clean; we, the worshippers, must be clean. The priests, who mediated between God and the people, had to immerse themselves in this sea of grace. This points to the necessity of personal regeneration and sanctification. We cannot serve God if we ourselves are defiled. Under the new covenant, all believers are priests, and we all have access to the one great sea of cleansing, the blood of Jesus Christ, which cleanses our consciences from dead works to serve the living God.

Application

We live in an age that despises the grammar of the gospel. Our culture wants to talk about spirituality without sacrifice, and self-improvement without any need for external cleansing. We want to feel clean without admitting we are filthy. But the furniture of the Temple court will not allow it. The altar and the sea stand as permanent witnesses against all forms of bloodless, waterless religion.

First, we must reckon with the bronze altar. It reminds us that our sin is so grievous that it required the bloody, substitutionary death of the Son of God. We cannot approach God on the basis of our good intentions or our spiritual disciplines. We must come to the cross, the one altar that avails. We must put all our trust in the sacrifice made there for us. There is no other way into the house.

Second, having come to the altar, we must avail ourselves of the sea. We must be washed. The gospel is not just a "get out of jail free" card; it is a "get clean" command. Through faith in Christ, we are cleansed from the guilt and power of sin. This is pictured in our baptism, where we are plunged into the reality of His death and resurrection. And it is lived out in daily repentance, where we continually wash our feet, so to speak, in the grace He provides. We must not be content to have the instruments of our religion clean while our hearts remain defiled. The sea is for the priests, for us, to wash in. Let us therefore draw near, not with our own paltry basins of self-effort, but with the confident assurance that God has provided a sea of grace, vast enough to cleanse the foulest sinner.