SOLOMON BUILDS HIS PALACE THE TEMPLE S FURNISHINGS 1 KINGS 7:1-51

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1 1 SOLOMON BUILDS HIS PALACE THE TEMPLE S FURNISHINGS 1 KINGS 7:1-51 Landmark Publications, Inc., 1045 Maynor Street, Nashville, TN., 37216, U.S.A., John C. Sewell, Ph..D., Editor

2 2 Solomon Builds His Palace The Temple s Furnishing Text: 1 Kings 7:1-51, 1. It took Solomon thirteen years, however, to complete the construction of his palace. 2. He built the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon a hundred cubits long, fifty wide and thirty high, with four rows of cedar columns supporting trimmed cedar beams. 3. It was roofed with cedar above the beams that rested on the columns forty-five beams, fifteen to a row. 4. Its windows were placed high in sets of three, facing each other. 5. All the doorways had rectangular frames; they were in the front part in sets of three, facing each other. 6. He made a colonnade fifty cubits long and thirty wide. In front of it was a portico, and in front of that were pillars and an overhanging roof. 7. He built the throne hall, the Hall of Justice, where he was to judge, and he covered it with cedar from floor to ceiling. 8. And the palace in which he was to live, set farther back, was similar in design. Solomon also made a palace like this hall for Pharaoh s daughter, whom he had married. 9. All these structures, from the outside to the great courtyard and from foundation to eaves, were made of blocks of high-grade stone cut to size and smoothed on their inner and outer faces. 10. The foundations were laid with large stones of good quality, some measuring ten cubits and some eight. 11. Above were high-grade stones, cut to size, and cedar beams.

3 3 12. The great courtyard was surrounded by a wall of three courses of dressed stone and one course of trimmed cedar beams, as was the inner courtyard of the temple of the LORD with its portico. 13. King Solomon sent to Tyre and brought Huram, 14. whose mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali and whose father was from Tyre and a skilled craftsman in bronze. Huram was filled with wisdom, with understanding and with knowledge to do all kinds of bronze work. He came to King Solomon and did all the work assigned to him. 15. He cast two bronze pillars, each eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference. 16. He also made two capitals of cast bronze to set on the tops of the pillars; each capital was five cubits high. 17. A network of interwoven chains adorned the capitals on top of the pillars, seven for each capital. 18. He made pomegranates in two rows encircling each network to decorate the capitals on top of the pillars. He did the same for each capital. 19. The capitals on top of the pillars in the portico were in the shape of lilies, four cubits high. 20. On the capitals of both pillars, above the bowl-shaped part next to the network, were the two hundred pomegranates in rows all around. 21. He erected the pillars at the portico of the temple. The pillar to the south he named Jakin and the one to the north Boaz. 22. The capitals on top were in the shape of lilies. And so the work on the pillars was completed. 23. He made the Sea of cast metal, circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim and five cubits high. It took a line of thirty cubits to measure around it. 24. Below the rim, gourds encircled it ten to a cubit. The gourds were cast in two rows in one piece with the Sea. 25. The Sea stood on twelve bulls, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south and three facing east. The Sea rested on top of them, and their hindquarters were toward the center.

4 4 26. It was a handbreadth in thickness, and its rim was like the rim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It held two thousand baths. 27. He also made ten movable stands of bronze; each was four cubits long, four wide and three high. 28. This is how the stands were made: They had side panels attached to uprights. 29. On the panels between the uprights were lions, bulls and cherubim and on the uprights as well. Above and below the lions and bulls were wreaths of hammered work. 30. Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles, and each had a basin resting on four supports, cast with wreaths on each side. 31. On the inside of the stand there was an opening that had a circular frame one cubit deep. This opening was round, and with its basework it measured a cubit and a half. Around its opening there was engraving. The panels of the stands were square, not round. 32. The four wheels were under the panels, and the axles of the wheels were attached to the stand. The diameter of each wheel was a cubit and a half. 33. The wheels were made like chariot wheels; the axles, rims, spokes and hubs were all of cast metal. 34. Each stand had four handles, one on each corner, projecting from the stand. 35. At the top of the stand there was a circular band half a cubit deep. The supports and panels were attached to the top of the stand. 36. He engraved cherubim, lions and palm trees on the surfaces of the supports and on the panels, in every available space, with wreaths all around. 37. This is the way he made the ten stands. They were all cast in the same molds and were identical in size and shape. 38. He then made ten bronze basins, each holding forty baths and measuring four cubits across, one basin to go on each of the ten stands. 39. He placed five of the stands on the south side of the temple and five on the north. He placed the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner of the temple.

5 5 40. He also made the pots and shovels and sprinkling bowls. So Huram finished all the work he had undertaken for King Solomon in the temple of the LORD: 41. the two pillars; the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars; the two sets of network decorating the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars; 42. the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of network (two rows of pomegranates for each network decorating the bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars); 43. the ten stands with their ten basins; 44. the Sea and the twelve bulls under it; 45. the pots, shovels and sprinkling bowls. All these objects that Huram made for King Solomon for the temple of the LORD were of burnished bronze. 46. The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Sukkoth and Zarethan. 47. Solomon left all these things unweighed, because there were so many; the weight of the bronze was not determined. 48. Solomon also made all the furnishings that were in the LORD s temple: the golden altar; the golden table on which was the bread of the Presence; 49. the lampstands of pure gold (five on the right and five on the left, in front of the inner sanctuary); the gold floral work and lamps and tongs; 50. the pure gold basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, dishes and censers; and the gold sockets for the doors of the innermost room, the Most Holy Place, and also for the doors of the main hall of the temple. 51. When all the work King Solomon had done for the temple of the LORD was finished, he brought in the things his father David had dedicated the silver and gold and the furnishings and he placed them in the treasuries of the LORD s temple. (NIV)

6 6 Introduction: I. Both the temple and Solomon s palace were marvels of grandeur, but, because of the sinfulness of the kings and people, both were ignominiously destroyed. A. Jeremiah 22:1-30, This is what the LORD says: Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and proclaim this message there: Hear the word of the LORD to you, king of Judah, you who sit on David s throne you, your officials and your people who come through these gates. This is what the LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place. For if you are careful to carry out these commands, then kings who sit on David s throne will come through the gates of this palace, riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by their officials and their people. But if you do not obey these commands, declares the LORD, I swear by myself that this palace will become a ruin. For this is what the LORD says about the palace of the king of Judah: Though you are like Gilead to me, like the summit of Lebanon, I will surely make you like a wasteland, like towns not inhabited. I will send destroyers against you, each man with his weapons, and they will cut up your fine cedar beams and throw them into the fire. People from many nations will pass by this city and will ask one another, Why has the LORD done such a thing to this great city? And the answer will be: Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God and have worshiped and served other gods. Do not weep for the dead king or mourn his loss; rather, weep bitterly for him who is exiled, because he will never return nor see his native land again. For this is what the LORD says about Shallum son of Josiah, who succeeded his father as king of Judah but has gone from this place: He will

7 7 never return. He will die in the place where they have led him captive; he will not see this land again. Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper rooms by injustice, making his own people work for nothing, not paying them for their labor. He says, I will build myself a great palace with spacious upper rooms. So he makes large windows in it, panels it with cedar and decorates it in red. Does it make you a king to have more and more cedar? Did not your father have food and drink? He did what was right and just, so all went well with him. He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me? declares the LORD. But your eyes and your heart are set only on dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood and on oppression and extortion. Therefore this is what the LORD says about Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: They will not mourn for him: Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister! They will not mourn for him: Alas, my master! Alas, his splendor! He will have the burial of a donkey dragged away and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem. Go up to Lebanon and cry out, let your voice be heard in Bashan, cry out from Abarim, for all your allies are crushed. I warned you when you felt secure, but you said, I will not listen! This has been your way from your youth; you have not obeyed me. The wind will drive all your shepherds away, and your allies will go into exile. Then you will be ashamed and disgraced because of all your wickedness. You who live in Lebanon, who are nestled in cedar buildings, how you will groan when pangs come upon you, pain like that of a woman in labor! As surely as I live, declares the LORD, even if you, Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on my right hand, I would still pull you off. I will deliver you into the hands of those who want to kill you, those you fear Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the Babylonians. I will hurl you and the mother who gave you birth into another country, where neither of you was born, and there you both will die. You will

8 8 never come back to the land you long to return to. Is this man Jehoiachin a despised, broken pot, an object no one wants? Why will he and his children be hurled out, cast into a land they do not know? O land, land, land, hear the word of the LORD! This is what the LORD says: Record this man as if childless, a man who will not prosper in his lifetime, for none of his offspring will prosper, none will sit on the throne of David or rule anymore in Judah. (NIV) B. 2 Kings 24:1-17, During Jehoiakim s reign, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded the land, and Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years. But then he turned against Nebuchadnezzar and rebelled. The LORD sent Babylonian, Aramean, Moabite and Ammonite raiders against him to destroy Judah, in accordance with the word of the LORD proclaimed by his servants the prophets. Surely these things happened to Judah according to the LORD s command, in order to remove them from his presence because of the sins of Manasseh and all he had done, including the shedding of innocent blood. For he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the LORD was not willing to forgive. As for the other events of Jehoiakim s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? Jehoiakim rested with his ancestors. And Jehoiachin his son succeeded him as king. The king of Egypt did not march out from his own country again, because the king of Babylon had taken all his territory, from the Wadi of Egypt to the Euphrates River. Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother s name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan; she was from Jerusalem. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father had done. At that time the officers of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon advanced on Jerusalem and laid siege to it, and Nebuchadnezzar himself came up to the city while his officers were besieging it. Jehoiachin king of

9 9 Judah, his mother, his attendants, his nobles and his officials all surrendered to him. In the eighth year of the reign of the king of Babylon, he took Jehoiachin prisoner. As the LORD had declared, Nebuchadnezzar removed the treasures from the temple of the LORD and from the royal palace, and cut up the gold articles that Solomon king of Israel had made for the temple of the LORD. He carried all Jerusalem into exile: all the officers and fighting men, and all the skilled workers and artisans a total of ten thousand. Only the poorest people of the land were left. Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin captive to Babylon. He also took from Jerusalem to Babylon the king s mother, his wives, his officials and the prominent people of the land. The king of Babylon also deported to Babylon the entire force of seven thousand fighting men, strong and fit for war, and a thousand skilled workers and artisans. He made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin s uncle, king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah. (NIV) C. Solomon started the people on the downward, sinful road. (See Long.) II. Long wrote, David constructed an altar on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, the site of the temple, and in so doing consecrated the place for the temple that his son Solomon would build. A. 2 Samuel 24:18-25, On that day Gad went to David and said to him, Go up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. So David went up, as the LORD had commanded through Gad. When Araunah looked and saw the king and his officials coming toward him, he went out and bowed down before the king with his face to the ground. Araunah said, Why has my lord the king come to his servant? To buy your threshing floor, David answered, so I can build an altar to the LORD, that the plague on the people may be stopped. Araunah said to David, Let my lord

10 10 the king take whatever he wishes and offer it up. Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and here are threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood. Your Majesty, Araunah gives all this to the king. Araunah also said to him, May the LORD your God accept you. But the king replied to Araunah, No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing. So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them. David built an altar to the LORD there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the LORD answered his prayer in behalf of the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped. (NIV) B. 1 Chronicles 21:18-30, Then the angel of the LORD ordered Gad to tell David to go up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. So David went up in obedience to the word that Gad had spoken in the name of the LORD. While Araunah was threshing wheat, he turned and saw the angel; his four sons who were with him hid themselves. Then David approached, and when Araunah looked and saw him, he left the threshing floor and bowed down before David with his face to the ground. David said to him, Let me have the site of your threshing floor so I can build an altar to the LORD, that the plague on the people may be stopped. Sell it to me at the full price. Araunah said to David, Take it! Let my lord the king do whatever pleases him. Look, I will give the oxen for the burnt offerings, the threshing sledges for the wood, and the wheat for the grain offering. I will give all this. But King David replied to Araunah, No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not take for the LORD what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing. So David paid Araunah six hundred shekels of gold for the site. David built an altar to the LORD there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. He called on the LORD, and the LORD answered him with fire from

11 11 heaven on the altar of burnt offering. Then the LORD spoke to the angel, and he put his sword back into its sheath. At that time, when David saw that the LORD had answered him on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, he offered sacrifices there. The tabernacle of the LORD, which Moses had made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt offering were at that time on the high place at Gibeon. But David could not go before it to inquire of God, because he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the LORD. (NIV) C. 1 Chronicles 22:1, Then David said, The house of the LORD God is to be here, and also the altar of burnt offering for Israel. (NIV) III. Coffman wrote,...these elaborate descriptions of Solomon s buildings, especially of the Temple, are loaded with evidences of Solomon s disregard of God s commandments and of his bringing into his Temple elements of paganism which he mingled with some of the features of the Tabernacle which he supposedly copied,... A. Coffman also speaks to the use of slave labor in Solomon s building projects and the misery and wretchedness this involved. B. Those twenty and one-half (20 ½) construction years were the best of times and the worst of times. IV. While many details are given regarding both the temple and palace buildings, these elaborate particulars furnished here are architecturally insufficient to enable us to reconstruct the buildings, Farrar through Coffman stated.

12 12 Commentary: Solomon Builds His Palace 1 Kings 7:1, It took Solomon thirteen years, however, to complete the construction of his palace. (NIV) I. It took Solomon thirteen (13) years, however, to complete the construction of his palace (house). A. While it took Solomon seven and one-half (7 ½) years to build the temple, it took him thirteen (13) years to build his palace. 1. This is quite a contrast and may very well show how misplaced Solomon s values were! (See Coffman.) 2. Smith wrote that Solomon s spending more time building his palace than building the temple does not prove Solomon had misplaced values for the temple was built first in fine order. Also, David had gathered much building material in advance. (The Pulpit Commentary concurs.) B. Smith wrote, The palace complex dominated the outer court which surrounded the temple mount. C. These palace buildings served Solomon as the nation s top military commander, supreme judge and as his private residence; that is, as the capital city governmental buildings Samuel 8:20, Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.

13 Samuel 8:5-6, They said to him, You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have. But when they said, Give us a king to lead us, this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. (NIV) 3. 2 Samuel 15:4, And Absalom would add, If only I were appointed judge in the land! Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would see that they receive justice. (NIV) 4. 1 Kings 3:9, So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours? (NIV) 1 Kings 7:2, He built the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon a hundred cubits long, fifty wide and thirty high, with four rows of cedar columns supporting trimmed cedar beams. (NIV) I. He built the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon which was a hundred (100) cubits long, fifty (50) wide and thirty (30) high,... A. The timber for both the temple and Solomon s palace came from the Forest of Lebanon. 1. Smith wrote that the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon also was so named because it contained a veritable forest of cedar pillars. B. Solomon s palace was one hundred fifty (150) feet long, seventy-five (75) feet wide and forty-five (45) feet high.

14 Kings 9:10, At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built these two buildings the temple of the LORD and the royal palace (NIV) C. Some commentators, a minority including Wesley, hold that the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon was actually built in the Forest of Lebanon for a summer home, a retreat as it were. II. with four (4) rows of cedar columns supporting trimmed cedar beams. A. 1 Kings 10:17, He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold, with three minas of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. (NIV) B. Isaiah 22:8, The Lord stripped away the defenses of Judah, and you looked in that day to the weapons in the Palace of the Forest. (NIV) C. 1 Kings 14:28, Whenever the king went to the LORD s temple, the guards bore the shields, and afterward they returned them to the guardroom. (NIV) D. This section of the palace may have served as an armory and residence for the king s bodyguard. (See The Pulpit Commentary.) Note: The four (4) rows of cedar columns here and the three (3) rows in verse three refer to different rows of columns, to seven (7) rows in all. (See The Pulpit Commentary.) 1 Kings 7:3, It was roofed with cedar above the beams that rested on the columns forty-five beams, fifteen to a row. (NIV)

15 15 I. It was roofed (covered) with cedar above the beams that rested on the columns... II. forty-five (45) beams, fifteen (15) to a row. 1 Kings 7:4, Its windows were placed high in sets of three, facing each other. (NIV) I. Its windows were placed high in sets (ranks) of three (3), facing (opposite) each other. A. The windows were placed in groups of three (3) at a high level facing each other. B. Some hold that three (3) floors, stories were involved here which would affect our understanding of the window placement. C. Wesley understood ranks (sets) to indicate the windows were arranged one exactly under another. 1 Kings 7:5, All the doorways had rectangular frames; they were in the front part in sets of three, facing each other. (NIV) I. All the doorways had rectangular frames;... II. they were in the front part in sets of three (3), facing each other. A. Wesley wrote that these windows or lights were smaller than those previously mentioned and were located over the several doors. 1 Kings 7:6, He made a colonnade fifty cubits long and thirty wide. In front of it was a portico, and in front of that were pillars and an overhanging roof. (NIV)

16 16 I. He made a (porch of pillars) colonnade fifty (50) cubits long and thirty (30) wide. A. This was a covered colonnade with a roof but no sides. (The Pulpit Commentary) B. Wesley held the porch was supported by these pillars. II. In front of it was a portico (porch), and in front of that were pillars and an overhanging roof. A. A portico (porch) was a colonnade or covered ambulatory especially in classical architecture and often at the entrance of a building. (Webster) B. The palace complex consisted of five (5) buildings used for various governmental purposes including court proceedings, treasury, armory and the residence of the royal bodyguard. (See Smith.) C. Smith suggested this portico was a covered colonnade; that is, it had a roof but no sides. 1 Kings 7:7, He built the throne hall, the Hall of Justice, where he was to judge, and he covered it with cedar from floor to ceiling. (NIV) I. He built the throne hall, the Hall of Justice, where he was to judge, and... A. One porch appears to have been devoted to the purposes of administering judgment, with Solomon serving as chief justice, Clarke wrote. II. he covered it with cedar from floor to ceiling.

17 17 1 Kings 7:8, And the palace in which he was to live, set farther back, was similar in design. Solomon also made a palace like this hall for Pharaoh s daughter, whom he had married. (NIV) I. And the palace in which he was to live, set farther back, was similar in design. A. The hall of justice served as the principal entrance into the king s personal residence, Smith wrote. Note: There appear to have been three (3) sections to Solomon s palace including the judicial part (court house), Solomon s living quarters and quarters for the harem. (See Clarke.) II. Solomon also made a palace like this hall for Pharaoh s daughter, whom he had married. A. Solomon built for his Egyptian wife a palace as opulent as his own house. 1. Solomon, his royal successors and all Israel paid a terrible price for this continuing digression. a. 1 Kings 11:1-13, King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh s daughter Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. They were from nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods. Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his

18 18 heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been. He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the LORD; he did not follow the LORD completely, as David his father had done. On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods. The LORD became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the LORD s command. So the LORD said to Solomon, Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates. Nevertheless, for the sake of David your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son. Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him one tribe for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen. (NIV) B. Pharaoh s daughter s private residence seems to have been directly behind the palace, Smith stated Kings 20:4, Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the LORD came to him:

19 19 2. Why was Solomon s building a magnificent house for Pharaoh s daughter prominently mentioned here while nothing is said about residences for Solomon s other six hundred ninety-nine (699) wives? 3. Were Pharaoh s daughter s quarters only a section of the harem s quarters? (Coffman) Note: Keil via Coffman observed that several buildings composed the palace compound; via, (1) The House of the Forest of Lebanon, (2) The pillar hall and porch, (3) The throne room and judgment hall, (4) Solomon s own dwelling, and (5) The house for Pharaoh s daughter. 1 Kings 7:9, All these structures, from the outside to the great courtyard and from foundation to eaves, were made of blocks of high-grade stone cut to size and smoothed on their inner and outer faces. (NIV) I. All these structures, from the outside to the great courtyard and from foundation to eaves,... A. Eaves are the lower border of a roof that overhangs the wall, a projecting edge. (Webster) II. were made of blocks of high-grade stone cut to size and trimmed with a saw on their inner and outer faces. A. Meticulous attention was given to every detail! 1 Kings 7:10, The foundations were laid with large stones of good quality, some measuring ten cubits and some eight. (NIV) I. The foundations were laid with large stones of good quality, some measuring ten (10) cubits and some eight (8).

20 20 1 Kings 7:11, Above were high-grade stones, cut to size, and cedar beams. (NIV) I. Above were high-grade stones, cut to size, and cedar beams. 1 Kings 7:12, The great courtyard was surrounded by a wall of three courses of dressed stone and one course of trimmed cedar beams, as was the inner courtyard of the temple of the LORD with its portico. (NIV) I. The great courtyard (of Solomon s house) was surrounded by a wall of three (3) courses of dressed stone and... II. one course of trimmed cedar beams,... III. as was the inner courtyard of the temple of the Lord with its portico. Note: The construction of the palace buildings either formed a part of the whole complex including the temple or were located in a large area adjacent to it, Coffman wrote. The Temple s Furnishings 1 Kings 7:13, King Solomon sent to Tyre and brought Huram, (NIV) I. King Solomon sent to Tyre and brought Huram,... A. Tyre was an ancient Phoenician city located north of Israel and was the principal seaport on the Phoenician coast about twentyfive (25) miles south of Sidon and thirty-five (35) miles north of Carmel. (Youngblood)

21 21 B. Hurum (also known as Hiram), not to be confused with Hiram (Huram), king of Tyre, was a master craftsman employed by Solomon for specialized construction regarding certain temple furnishings. (Youngblood) 1 Kings 7:14, whose mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali and whose father was from Tyre and a skilled craftsman in bronze. Huram was filled with wisdom, with understanding and with knowledge to do all kinds of bronze work. He came to King Solomon and did all the work assigned to him. (NIV) I. whose mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali and whose father was a man of Tyre and a craftsman in bronze. A. Huram s mother was a Danite by birth who had married into the tribe of Naphtali (Smith) and had become a resident in the territory of Raphtali. (Coffman) 1. 2 Chronicles 2:14, whose mother was from Dan and whose father was from Tyre. He is trained to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, and with purple and blue and crimson yarn and fine linen. He is experienced in all kinds of engraving and can execute any design given to him. He will work with your skilled workers and with those of my lord, David your father. (NIV) 2. Clarke suggested the possibility that Huram s mother was the daughter of a Naphtalite father and a Danite mother. B. Huram, like his father before him, was a skilled craftsman in bronze, wood, cloth, and other metals. II. Huram was highly skilled and experienced in all kinds of bronze work.

22 22 A. Huram was filled with wisdom, understanding and cunning. B. His skills were not limited to work with bronze, but that ability is mentioned here because bronze construction was the thing being presently discussed Chronicles 2:14, whose mother was from Dan and whose father was from Tyre. He is trained to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, and with purple and blue and crimson yarn and fine linen. He is experienced in all kinds of engraving and can execute any design given to him. He will work with your skilled workers and with those of my lord, David your father. (NIV) III. He came to King Solomon and did all the work assigned him. A. Huram was not only highly skilled, but he faithfully completed all the work assigned him. B. He must certainly have brought with him a considerable number of skilled assistants. 1 Kings 7:15, He cast two bronze pillars, each eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference. (NIV) I. He cast two (2) bronze pillars, each eighteen (18) cubits high and twelve (12) cubits around, by line. A. These bronze pillars were each eighteen (18) feet in circumference.

23 23 B. Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin and sometimes other elements, any of various copper-based alloys with little or no tin. (Webster) C. Coffman firmly stated that these pillars were put there simply because such pillars were commonly found in front of other (pagan) temples in the East. (See Layman s Bible Commentary.) 1. Deuteronomy 12:3, Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and burn their Asherah poles in the fire; cut down the idols of their gods and wipe out their names from those places. (NIV) 2. Heathen altars were to be destroyed. Imitations of pagan shrines, temples and high places were certainly not to be built. D. The measurement difference noted between 1 Kings and 1 Chronicles pertaining to these pillars can be accounted for, Coffman concluded, on the basis that one includes the capitals while the other reading does not. (The Pulpit Commentary agrees.) 1. These columns were hollow. a. Jeremiah 52:21, Each pillar was eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference; each was four fingers thick, and hollow. (NIV) E. Coffman also observed that the bronze from which those pillars were made was that which David had taken from the cities of Hadadezer.

24 Chronicles 18:8, From Tebah and Kun, towns that belonged to Hadadezer, David took a great quantity of bronze, which Solomon used to make the bronze Sea, the pillars and various bronze articles. (NIV) 2. 1 Samuel 8:8, As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. (NIV) 1 Kings 7:16, He also made two capitals of cast bronze to set on the tops of the pillars; each capital was five cubits high. (NIV) I. He also made two (2) capitals of cast bronze to set on the tops of the pillars;... II. each capital was five (5) cubits high. A. The difference in this measurement as variously reported is attributed by The Pulpit Commentary to clerical errors Chronicles 3:15, For the front of the temple he made two pillars, which together were thirty-five cubits long, each with a capital five cubits high. (NIV) 2. Jeremiah 52:22, The bronze capital on top of one pillar was five cubits high and was decorated with a network and pomegranates of bronze all around. The other pillar, with its pomegranates, was similar. (NIV) 3. 2 Chronicles 4:12, the two pillars; the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars; the two sets of network decorating the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars; (NIV)

25 25 1 Kings 7:17, A network of interwoven chains adorned the capitals on top of the pillars, seven for each capital. (NIV) I. A network of interwoven chains (checker work) festooned the capitals on top of the pillars, seven (7) for each capital. A. Webster writes, festoon a decorative chain or strip hanging between two (2) points, a carved, molded or painted ornament representing a decorative chain. to hang or form festoons on, to shape into festoons, to decorate, adorn. B. Keil via The Pulpit Commentary wrote, This decoration consisted of seven (7) twists arranged as festoons, which were hung round the capitals of the pillars. 1 Kings 7:18, He made pomegranates in two rows encircling each network to decorate the capitals on top of the pillars. He did the same for each capital. (NIV) I. He made pomegranates in two (2) rows encircling each network to decorate the capitals on top of the pillars. A. Pomegranates are a thick-skinned several-celled reddish berry that is about the size of an orange and has many seeds with pulpy crimson arils of tart flavor. (Webster) B. Pomegranates were frequently used as decorative ornaments, even on the priestly ephod. 1. Exodus 28:33-34, Make pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn around the hem of the robe, with gold bells between them. The gold bells and the pomegranates are to alternate around the hem of the robe. (NIV)

26 26 2. Exodus 39:24, They made pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen around the hem of the robe. (NIV) II. He did the same for each capital. 1 Kings 7:19, The capitals on top of the pillars in the portico were in the shape of lilies, four cubits high. (NIV) I. The capitals on top of the pillars in the portico were in the shape of lilies, four (4) cubits high. A. Lilies, white in color, were emblems of purity. 1 Kings 7:20, On the capitals of both pillars, above the bowl-shaped part next to the network, were the two hundred pomegranates in rows all around. (NIV) I. On the capitals of both pillars, above the bowl-shaped part next to the network,... II. were the two hundred (200) pomegranates in rows all around. A. Long wrote, Pomegranates, an ancient Near Eastern fertility symbol, decorated the capitals Long further wrote, The so-adorned pillars therein imitate a floral pattern (in this case lilies) typical in ancient Near Eastern temple architecture. a. Jeremiah 52:23, There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides; the total number of pomegranates above the surrounding network was a hundred. (NIV)

27 27 b. 2 Chronicles 4:13, the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of network (two rows of pomegranates for each network, decorating the bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars); (NIV) 1 Kings 7:21, He erected the pillars at the portico of the temple. The pillar to the south he named Jakin and the one to the north Boaz. (NIV) I. He erected the pillars at the portico of the temple. II. The pillar to the south he named Jakin (Jachin) and the one to the north Boaz. A. The pillars symbolized the power of the God of Israel and were named Jakin (he will establish) and Boaz (in him is strength). (See Long.) 1. 2 Chronicles 3:17, He erected the pillars in the front of the temple, one to the south and one to the north. The one to the south he named Jakin and the one to the north Boaz. (NIV) 2. These pillars were destroyed in 586 B.C. and their metal carried to Babylon. a. 2 Kings 25:13, The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars, the movable stands and the bronze Sea that were at the temple of the LORD and they carried the bronze to Babylon. (NIV) B. It appears that Huram/Hiram named these pillars.

28 28 1 Kings 7:22, The capitals on top were in the shape of lilies. And so the work on the pillars was completed. (NIV) I. The capitals on top were in the shape of lilies. II. And so the work on the pillars was completed. A. The massive columns in Yahweh s house flanked an entrance worthy of the God of Israel and creator of the cosmos, Long wrote. 1 Kings 7:23, He made the Sea of cast metal, circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim and five cubits high. It took a line of thirty cubits to measure around it. (NIV) I. He made the Sea of cast metal, circular in shape, measuring ten (10) cubits from rim to rim and five (5) cubits high. A. This laver (Sea) was used for priests washing. (See Long and Wesley.) 1. 2 Chronicles 4:5, It was a handbreadth in thickness, and its rim was like the rim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It held three thousand baths. (NIV) B. The Sea, so called because of its size, was molten; that is, made by melting and casting, fused and liquefied by heat. (Webster) 1. Coffman emphatically stated that, Here again we find Solomon s utter disregard of God s commandment that, Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven images. a. Exodus 2:4-5, His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him. Then Pharaoh s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her

29 29 attendants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. (NIV) b. 1 Kings 12:28-29, After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt. One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. (NIV) c. Even Josephus agrees that in this matter Solomon sinned and fell into an error about the observation of the laws,... II. It took a line of thirty (30) cubits to measure around it. A. The circumference of the molten sea was forty-five (45) feet while the diameter was fifteen (15) feet. 1. Sacred writers often used round numbers as is the case here. B. Clarke wrote,...the brazen sea was for the priests to wash in. 1 Kings 7:24, Below the rim, gourds encircled it ten to a cubit. The gourds were cast in two rows in one piece with the Sea. (NIV) I. Below the rim, gourds (knops) encircled it ten (10) to a cubit. A. Ten (10) to a cubit means there was a total of three hundred (300) of these figures. II. The gourds were cast in two (2) rows in one (1) piece with the Sea.

30 30 1 Kings 7:25, The Sea stood on twelve bulls, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south and three facing east. The Sea rested on top of them, and their hindquarters were toward the center. (NIV) I. The Sea stood on twelve (12) bulls (oxen), three (3) facing north, three (3) facing west, three (3) facing south and three (3) facing east. A. The Pulpit Commentary stated the twelve (12) bulls remind the reader of the twelve (12) tribes of Israel, three (3) camped on each side of the tabernacle. II. The Sea rested on top of them, and their hindquarters were toward the center. A. These bulls/oxen, Wesley ventured, must have been solid brass in order for them to bear so great a weight. 1 Kings 7:26, It was a handbreadth in thickness, and its rim was like the rim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It held two thousand baths. (NIV) I. It was a handbreadth (three (3) inches) in thickness, and its rim was like the rim of a cup, like a lily blossom. II. It held two thousand (2,000) baths; that is, eleven thousand five hundred (11,500) gallons. (Smith) A. Smith estimates the filled Sea weighed about thirty (30) tons. B. While nobody knows for sure just what a bath was in terms of gallons, scholars guess the contents of the Sea at anywhere between ten thousand (10,000) and seventeen thousand (17,000) gallons, Coffman stated.

31 31 1. Wesley wrote that two thousand baths (2,000) baths equaled five hundred (500) barrels, each bath containing about eight (8) gallons. 1 Kings 7:27, He also made ten movable stands of bronze; each was four cubits long, four wide and three high. (NIV) I. He also made ten (10) moveable stands (pedestals, bases) of bronze;... A. The ten (10) lavers rested on these pedestals. B. These lavers were used for washing the parts of the sacrifices. (Wesley) 1. 1 Kings 7:38, He then made ten bronze basins, each holding forty baths and measuring four cubits across, one basin to go on each of the ten stands. (NIV) II. each was four (4) cubits long, four (4) wide and three (3) high. I Kings 7:28, This is how the stands were made: They had side panels attached to uprights. (NIV) I. This is how the stands were made: They had side panels attached to uprights. 1 Kings 7:29, On the panels between the uprights were lions, bulls and cherubim and on the uprights as well. Above and below the lions and bulls were wreaths of hammered work. (NIV) I. On the panels between the uprights were lions, bulls and cherubim and on the uprights as well.

32 32 II. Above and below the lions and bulls were wreaths of hammered work. 1 Kings 7:30, Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles, and each had a basin resting on four supports, cast with wreaths on each side. (NIV) I. Each stand had four (4) bronze wheels with bronze axles, and... A. Wesley understood these wheels were functional, not purely decorative, and were used to move the stands from place to place as needed. II. each had a basin resting on four (4) supports, cast with wreaths on each side. 1 Kings 7:31, On the inside of the stand there was an opening that had a circular frame one cubit deep. This opening was round, and with its basework it measured a cubit and a half. Around its opening there was engraving. The panels of the stands were square, not round. (NIV) I. On the inside of the stand there was an opening that had a circular frame one (1) cubit deep. II. This opening was round, and with its basework it measured a cubit and a half (1 ½). III. The panels of the stands were square, not round. 1 Kings 7:32, The four wheels were under the panels, and the axles of the wheels were attached to the stand. The diameter of each wheel was a cubit and a half. (NIV)

33 33 I. The four (4) wheels were under the panels and the axles of the wheels were attached to the stand. II. The diameter of each wheel was a cubit and a half (1 ½). 1 Kings 7:33, The wheels were made like chariot wheels; the axles, rims, spokes and hubs were all of cast metal. (NIV) I. The wheels were made like chariot wheels; the axles, rims, spokes and hubs were all of cast metal. 1 Kings 7:34, Each stand had four handles, one on each corner, projecting from the stand. (NIV) I. Each stand had four (4) handles, one (1) on each corner, projecting from the stand. 1 Kings 7:35, At the top of the stand there was a circular band half a cubit deep. The supports and panels were attached to the top of the stand. (NIV) I. At the top of the stand there was a circular band half a cubit deep. II. The supports and panels were attached to the top of the stand. 1 Kings 7:36, He engraved cherubim, lions and palm trees on the surfaces of the supports and on the panels, in every available space, with wreaths all around. (NIV) I. He engraved cherubim, lions and palm trees on the surfaces of the supports and on the panels, in every available space, with wreaths all around. 1 Kings 7:37,This is the way he made the ten stands. They were all cast in the same molds and were identical in size and shape. (NIV)

34 34 I. This is the way he made the ten (10) stands. II. They were all cast in the same molds and were identical in size and shape. 1 Kings 7:38, He then made ten bronze basins, each holding forty baths and measuring four cubits across, one basin to go on each of the ten stands. (NIV) I. He then made ten (10) bronze basins, each holding forty (40) baths and measuring four (4) cubits across,... A. The lavers in the temple were used as basins for washing burnt offerings. (Clarke) 1. 2 Chronicles 4:6, He then made ten basins for washing and placed five on the south side and five on the north. In them the things to be used for the burnt offerings were rinsed, but the Sea was to be used by the priests for washing. (NIV) B. Forty (40) baths would equal about three hundred forty (340) gallons. II. one (1) basin to go on each of the ten (10) stands. 1 Kings 7:39, He placed five of the stands on the south side of the temple and five on the north. He placed the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner of the temple. (NIV) I. He placed five (5) of the stands on the south side of the temple and five (5) on the north.

35 35 A. As a person faces east, the south side would be the right side of the temple, the north side being the left side, the front being the east and the back being the west side. (See Wesley.) II. He placed the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner of the temple. A. The right side was the south side, The Pulpit Commentary states. B. This was the area in which sacrifices were prepared making it the logical place for the Sea. 1 Kings 7:40, He also made the pots and shovels and sprinkling bowls. So Huram finished all the work he had undertaken for King Solomon in the temple of the LORD: (NIV) I. He also made the basins and shovels and sprinkling bowls. A. These items were used, of course, in the temple service. (See Long.) B. References: 1. Exodus 27:3, Make all its utensils of bronze its pots to remove the ashes, and its shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks and firepans. (NIV) 2. 2 Kings 25:14, They also took away the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, dishes and all the bronze articles used in the temple service. (NIV) 3. Jeremiah 52:18, They also took away the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, dishes and all the bronze articles used in the temple service. (NIV)

36 36 C. Uses: 1. Basins, pots, were used for boiling the flesh of peace offerings. 2. Shovels were used to take sacrificial ashes from the altar. 3. Sprinkling bowls were used to receive the blood of sacrificial animals and from which to sprinkle it as stipulated in the law. a. Exodus 38:3, They made all its utensils of bronze its pots, shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks and firepans. (NIV) b. Numbers 4:14, Then they are to place on it all the utensils used for ministering at the altar, including the firepans, meat forks, shovels and sprinkling bowls. Over it they are to spread a covering of the durable leather and put the poles in place. (NIV) II. So Huram finished all the work he had undertaken for King Solomon in the temple of the Lord: A. Huram was a dedicated craftsman, the best in his trade or he would not have been chosen by Solomon for this vitally important work, who saw the undertaking to completion. 1 Kings 7:41, the two pillars; the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars; the two sets of network decorating the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars; (NIV) I. the two (2) pillars;...

37 37 II. the two (2) bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars;... III. the two (2) sets of network decorating the two (2) bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars;... 1 Kings 7:42, the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of network (two rows of pomegranates for each network decorating the bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars); (NIV) I. the four hundred (400) pomegranates for the two (2) sets of network... II. (two (2) rows of pomegranates for each network, decorating the bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars);... 1 Kings 7:43, the ten stands with their ten basins; (NIV) I. the ten (10) stands with their ten (10) basins;... 1 Kings 7:44, the Sea and the twelve bulls under it; (NIV) I. the Sea and the twelve (12) bulls under it;... 1 Kings 7:45, the pots, shovels and sprinkling bowls. All these objects that Huram made for King Solomon for the temple of the LORD were of burnished bronze. (NIV) I. the pots, shovels and sprinkling bowls. A. Utensils for use in temple service were provided. 1. Nothing was overlooked! II. All these objects that Huram made for King Solomon for the temple of the Lord were of burnished bronze.