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2
Chronicles Chapter Four
2 Chronicles 4
Chapter Contents
The furniture of the temple.
Here is a further account of the furniture of God's
house. Both without doors and within
there was that which typified the grace
of the gospel
and shadowed out good things to come
of which the substance is
Christ. There was the brazen altar. The making of this was not mentioned in the
book of Kings. On this all the sacrifices were offered
and it sanctified the
gift. The people who worshipped in the courts might see the sacrifices burned.
They might thus be led to consider the great Sacrifice
to be offered in the
fulness of time
to take away sin
and put an end to death
which the blood of
bulls and goats could not possibly do. And
with the smoke of the sacrifices
their hearts might ascend to heaven
in holy desires towards God and his
favour. In all our devotions we must keep the eye of faith fixed upon Christ.
The furniture of the temple
compared with that of the tabernacle
showed that
God's church would be enlarged
and his worshippers multiplied. Blessed be God
there is enough in Christ for all.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on 2 Chronicles》
2 Chronicles 4
Verse 7
[7] And
he made ten candlesticks of gold according to their form
and set them in the
temple
five on the right hand
and five on the left.
Their form —
The old form which God prescribed to Moses.
Verse 8
[8] He made also ten tables
and placed them in the temple
five on the right
side
and five on the left. And he made an hundred basons of gold.
Ten tables —
Whereon the shew-bread was set
verse 19. Perhaps each of these had twelve loaves on
it. As the house was enlarged
so was the provision.
Verse 16
[16] The
pots also
and the shovels
and the fleshhooks
and all their instruments
did
Huram his father make to king Solomon for the house of the LORD of bright brass.
His father — He
is so called because Solomon usually called him by that name out of that great
respect which he bare to him for his excellent art and service which he did for
him: it being usual to call great artists and inventors of things by this name.
Verse 20
[20]
Moreover the candlesticks with their lamps
that they should burn after the
manner before the oracle
of pure gold;
The manner —
According to the prescription of God to Moses.
Verse 22
[22] And the snuffers
and the basons
and the spoons
and the censers
of pure
gold: and the entry of the house
the inner doors thereof for the most holy
place
and the doors of the house of the temple
were of gold.
Of gold — In
part; they were made of wood
but covered with golden plates.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on 2 Chronicles》
04 Chapter 4
Verses 1-22
Verses 1-10
Moreover he made an altar of brase
The furniture of the holy court
1.
The
altar of brass. Larger than that in tabernacle. When God enlarges our borders
and business we should increase our gifts.
2. The sea of brass. God requires sanctity in all that approach Him (James 4:8).
3. The ten layers. Not only the priests
but the sacrifices
must be
washed. We must purify our persons and performances. Iniquity cleaves to our
holy things.
4. The ten golden candlesticks. One in tabernacle. Light increases.
5. The ten tables.
6. The golden altar. Christ makes atonement and intercedes for ever
in virtue of that atonement. (J. Wolfendale.)
Also he made a molten sea
of ten cubits.
The molten sea
I. Its use.
Suggests purification for God’s service.
II. Its size. Suggests
abundant provision for purification. A type of the “fountain opened.”
III. Its
construction.
1. The material precious and durable.
2. The oxen
sacrifices of priests
emblems of strength and
patience--looking all ways. The blessings procured by a holy priesthood would
be universally diffused. (Homiletical Commentary.)
And the entry of the house.
The entry of the house
This
central
conspicuous
and attractive
suggesting--
I. Access to God
in Christian worship.
II. Access to
symbolic beauty in Christian worship.
1. Perfection of gold
or material prosperity given to God.
2. Palms--growth and fruitfulness in Christian life.
3. Flowers--beauty and fragrance in Christian character.
4. Cherubims--alacrity in God’s service. (J. Wolfendale.)
The worth of grandeur
A fine house cannot make a fine tenant; a first-class
carriage cannot make a first-class traveller; a man might sit down on a
monarch’s throne
and not be a sovereign; he might even look like a king
and
be only a clown. Decoration is useless
if it does not express something beyond itself
something spiritual
ideal
transcendental. The picture is nothing if it does
not in reality speak
not indeed to the ear of the body
but to the attention
of the soul. It is an amusing irony to see some people clothed in purple and
fine linen
because there is really no connection between them and their
clothes; we expect them to speak musically
and lo! their tones fill our mouths
as with gravel-stones. We expect a man to be at least as elegant as his
clothes
and when he is not we do not blame the garments; it is more their
misfortune than their fault that they should be where they are. So when we read
the specification of temples and palaces we say
“What does it amount to? What
is this grandeur worth in helping and blessing the world? What is civilisation
to end in?” (J. Parker
D.D.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》