2 Chronicles 3:1-17

2 Chronicles: God desires loyal people

Solomon rules *Israel

2 Chronicles Chapter s 1 to 9

Ian Mackervoy

Chapter 3

Solomon began to build the *temple – 2 Chronicles 3:1-17

v1 Then Solomon began to build the *LORD’s *temple in Jerusalem on the mountain called Moriah. This was where the *LORD had appeared to his father David. David had provided that place. Previously, it was the yard where Araunah used to prepare his grain. (Araunah belonged to the people called Jebusites.) v2 Solomon began to build in his 4th year as king. It was the 2nd day of the 2nd month.

v3 Solomon laid the base for God’s *temple. It was 60 *cubits long and 20 *cubits wide. He used the old measurement. v4 There was an entrance hall at the front of the *temple. It was 20 *cubits long, across the width of the *temple, and it was 20 *cubits high. He covered the inside with pure gold. v5 He covered the walls of the main hall with *pine. And he covered the *pine with pure gold. Then he put designs of *palm trees and chains in the gold. v6 He used precious stones to make the *temple beautiful. And the gold was gold from Parvaim. v7 He covered the *temple with gold. He put gold on the beams, the entrances, the walls and the doors. And he cut designs of *cherubim on the walls.

v8 Then he made the most holy place. Its length was the width of the *temple. It was 20 *cubits long and 20 *cubits wide. He covered its inner walls with 600 *talents of pure gold. v9 The gold nails weighed 50 *shekels. Also, he covered the upper parts with gold.

v10 In the most holy place, he made two wooden models of *cherubim. He covered these *cherubim with gold. v11 Together, the wings of the *cherubim were 20 *cubits across. One wing of the first *cherub was 5 *cubits long and it touched the *temple wall. The *cherub’s other wing was also 5 *cubits long. This wing touched the wing of the other *cherub. v12 One wing of the second *cherub touched the wall on the other side of the room. This wing was also 5 *cubits long. This *cherub’s other wing touched the wing of the first *cherub. This wing was also 5 *cubits long. v13 The wings of these *cherubim were 20 *cubits across. They stood on their feet and their faces were toward the main room.

v14 He made the curtain of blue, purple and red cloth, and good *linen. In the curtain, he put designs of the *cherubim.

v15 He made two columns to stand in front of the *temple. They were 35 *cubits high plus a top piece of 5 *cubits high. v16 He made a net of chains and he put them on the tops of the columns. He made models of a hundred *pomegranates and he put them on the chains. v17 Then he put the columns up in front of the *temple. One column stood on the right side and the other column stood on the left side. He named the right column Jachin and he named the left column Boaz.

Verses 1-2 Solomon began to build the *temple in the 4th year of his rule. This was in the spring of 966 *BC. He built the *temple on the mountain called Moriah. Moriah was a hill in the area called Zion. They used Zion as another name for Jerusalem.

Moriah was in the region where God had asked Abraham to *sacrifice Isaac (Genesis 22:2). Abraham was willing to do what God asked him to do. But God did not let him kill Isaac. It was a test to see how much Abraham trusted the *LORD. This was about 1000 years before the time when Solomon was alive.

The yard where Araunah used to prepare his grain was on Moriah. The *LORD met with David there (2 Samuel 24:16). Then David bought that place from Araunah and he built an *altar to God there. David said that the *temple of the *LORD would be there (1 Chronicles 21:18–22:1). David had prepared the area but the *LORD would not allow him to build the *temple.

Verse 3 The base for the *temple was 60 *cubits long and 20 *cubits wide. The old *cubit was about three inches (about 7.5 centimetres) shorter than the usual *cubit. The usual *cubit was about 21 inches (53 centimetres). The old *cubit was slightly less than 18 inches (46 centimetres). So, the base was about 90 feet (27 metres) long and 30 feet (9 metres) wide. The direction of the length was east to west. The width was north to south.

The writer had to say that the measurement was in old *cubits. His first readers had come back from Babylon. They were familiar with the measurement that people in Babylon used for the *cubit. This became the usual *cubit and it was about 3 inches (7.5 centimetres) longer than the old *cubit.

Verses 4-7 The entrance hall was the width of the *temple. This was 20 *cubits (about 30 feet or 9 metres). The height of this hall was the same as its width. The length of this hall was 10 *cubits (about 15 feet or 4.5 metres) (1 Kings 6:3). The measurement of the base of the *temple does not include the base of the entrance hall.

Solomon covered the inside walls with pure gold. It seems that this means both the entrance hall and the main hall.

The main hall refers to the room between the entrance hall and the most holy place. The main hall is often called 'the holy place’. It was 40 *cubits long (about 60 feet or 18 metres). Beneath the gold, Solomon had covered the walls with *pine. Also, Solomon used *cedar wood on the walls. He made the floor out of *pine and the ceiling had *cedar beams.

Solomon covered the inside of the *temple with designs of *palm trees and chains. There were designs of *cherubim on the walls. Solomon added to the colour of the *temple with precious stones.

The gold came from a place called Parvaim. We do not know where that place was. But this was the best gold that Solomon could get.

Verses 8-9 The length of the most holy place was 20 *cubits (about 30 feet or 9 metres). And the width was the same as the length. Also, it was 20 *cubits high. Solomon covered the walls of the most holy place with 600 *talents of gold. The nails that fixed the gold to the walls were gold. They weighed 50 *shekels (about 1.25 pounds or 0.6 kilos). Also, Solomon covered the upper parts of the *temple with gold.

Verses 10-13 A cherub was a kind of *angel. Here, as in the holy tent, two models of them covered the *ark of God’s special promise. The two cherubim in the holy tent were gold (Exodus 25:18). Here in the *temple, the workmen made the cherubim out of *olive wood. Then they covered the wood with gold.

The *cherubim had two wings each. These wings were 5 *cubits (about 7.5 feet or 2.3 metres) long. So, the 4 wings were the whole width of the most holy place. Each *cherub touched a wall at the side and they touched each other in the centre. They had their backs to the end wall and their faces were toward the main hall. The *cherubim were 10 *cubits (about 15 feet or 4.5 metres) tall.

Verse 14 The curtain separated the most holy place from the holy place (5:7). The holy place was the main hall. The most holy place was for the *ark. The colours of the curtain were the same as the curtain in the holy tent (Exodus 26:31). And the design was the same. The curtain kept the most holy place private. Only the chief priest could go into this room to meet with God. Even he had to obey certain rules before he could enter it. The chief priest could go into the most holy place on only one day in the year. And then, he had to take with him the blood of a special *sacrifice. On that day, people remembered that God forgives *sin (Leviticus chapter 16).

Also, there were doors between these two rooms. The workmen made the doors out of *olive wood. On the doors, there were designs of *cherubim, *palm trees and flowers. The workmen covered the designs with gold (1 Kings 6:31-32).

Verses 15-17 The columns were each 18 *cubits (about 27 feet or 8.1 metres) high. And they were 12 *cubits (18 feet or 5.4 metres) round. On the top of each column, there was a top piece of 5 *cubits (about 7.5 feet or 2.3 metres). They stood in front of the entrance hall, which was 20 *cubits (about 30 feet or 9 metres) high.

The size of 35 *cubits seems to be an error in copies of the text. But it might be that 35 *cubits was the total height of the two columns.

Huram made these columns out of *bronze because Solomon asked him to do that. Also, he made the top pieces out of *bronze.

The columns were called Jachin and Boaz. Jachin probably means ‘He (God) establishes.’ And Boaz probably means ‘He (God) gives strength.’ The columns would remind the people that God established their nation. And they must trust God to make it strong.

temple ~ a special building for the *worship of God or other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the *worship of the real God.
Jews ~ another name for the *Israelites.
Lord ~ a title for God, to show that he is over all people and things.
lord ~ someone with authority, such as the king.
cubit ~ The usual cubit was about 21 inches (53 centimetres). The old cubit was a little less than 18 inches (46 centimetres).
pine ~ a tree.
palm ~ a tree.
cherubim ~ special angels. Images of these were in the most holy place where they were over the ark. Isaiah and Ezekiel saw cherubim when they saw God’s glory.
angel ~ a servant who brings messages from heaven. God made angels to serve him and to take his messages.
ark ~ the ark of the LORD or the ark of God; the Bible also calls it the ark of God’s special promise. It was a wooden box with gold all over the outside and over the inside. It had two gold cherubim on the top. (see Exodus 25:10-22.) The *Israelites kept the ark in the most holy place, first in the LORD’s tent and then in the temple. The ark was a sign that God was with them (Exodus 25:22).
glory ~ great honour and beauty.
Lord ~ a title for God, to show that he is over all people and things.
lord ~ someone with authority, such as the king.
temple ~ a special building for the *worship of God or other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the *worship of the real God.
Jews ~ another name for the *Israelites.
talent ~ equal to 75 pounds or 34 kilos in weight.
shekel ~ equal to 0.4 ounces (11 grams) in weight.
cherub ~ a special angel. Images of these angels were in the most holy place where they were over the ark. Isaiah and Ezekiel saw cherubim when they saw God’s glory.
angel ~ a servant who brings messages from heaven. God made angels to serve him and to take his messages.
ark ~ the ark of the LORD or the ark of God; the Bible also calls it the ark of God’s special promise. It was a wooden box with gold all over the outside and over the inside. It had two gold cherubim on the top. (see Exodus 25:10-22.) The *Israelites kept the ark in the most holy place, first in the LORD’s tent and then in the temple. The ark was a sign that God was with them (Exodus 25:22).
glory ~ great honour and beauty.
Lord ~ a title for God, to show that he is over all people and things.
lord ~ someone with authority, such as the king.
cherubim ~ special angels. Images of these were in the most holy place where they were over the ark. Isaiah and Ezekiel saw cherubim when they saw God’s glory.
temple ~ a special building for the *worship of God or other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the *worship of the real God.
Jews ~ another name for the *Israelites.
linen ~ a type of material that is like cotton. Linen is a very good quality material.
pomegranate ~ a fruit which had lots of seeds in it.
BC ~ years before Christ was born.
sacrifice ~ something that people give to God. If it was an animal, the priests would burn all or part of it on an *altar. That was to say thank you to God. People also offered sacrifices when they asked God to forgive their *sins. Jesus died as a sacrifice for our *sins. To sacrifice is to give a sacrifice.
cedar ~ a kind of tree; or the wood from that tree.
angel ~ a servant who brings messages from heaven. God made angels to serve him and to take his messages.
ark ~ the ark of the LORD or the ark of God; the Bible also calls it the ark of God’s special promise. It was a wooden box with gold all over the outside and over the inside. It had two gold cherubim on the top. (see Exodus 25:10-22.) The *Israelites kept the ark in the most holy place, first in the LORD’s tent and then in the temple. The ark was a sign that God was with them (Exodus 25:22).
Lord ~ a title for God, to show that he is over all people and things.
lord ~ someone with authority, such as the king.
cherubim ~ special angels. Images of these were in the most holy place where they were over the ark. Isaiah and Ezekiel saw cherubim when they saw God’s glory.
temple ~ a special building for the *worship of God or other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the *worship of the real God.
angel ~ a servant who brings messages from heaven. God made angels to serve him and to take his messages.
glory ~ great honour and beauty.
Jews ~ another name for the *Israelites.
olive ~ a fruit from which we get olive oil. It grows on an olive tree.