"Then He Made"

INTRO

Our theme for 2 Chronicles is Royal Throne. In 2 Chronicles, the son of David (Solomon) was able to walk out what David had been promised—the building of the temple for God in Jerusalem. In chapters 1—2, Solomon asked for help from King Hiram of Tyre in working together to build the temple. Remember this was written to explain to those returning from Babylonian exile what had happened in the past. One of those returning exiles, Zerubbabel, rebuilt the temple after he returned, so these specifics would have been important to him (Zechariah 4:10).

TEACHING

2 Chronicles 3:1-4: The Sanctuary Foundation. Solomon began building the temple on Mount Moriah (now known as the temple mount and located across the Kidron Valley from the Mount of Olives) in the place David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan (v.1). It was the same place where Abraham met Melchizedek (Genesis 14), and where Abraham came to sacrifice his son Isaac (Genesis 22). Land in Israel is always important. This was the place where the Lord showed up to David and Ornan. The building began on the second day of the second month of the fourth year of Solomon’s reign, which, according to MacArthur, would have been in April or May of 966 BC.¹The project was completed in seven-and-a-half years. The temple was 90 feet long and 30 feet wide (v. 3), with a portico that added another 30 feet and was overlaid with pure gold (v. 4). It was not a huge building and is smaller than most church buildings today. The craftsman leading the work was Huram-abi from Tyre (2 Chronicles 2:13).

2 Chronicles 3:5-7: The Main Sanctuary. The chronicler continues with detailed descriptions, these for the main room of the sanctuary. It included palm trees, possibly as an image of the tree of life, and chains, possibly created using buds and flowers to represent the Garden of Eden (v. 5).²The term “gold of Parvaim” is not understood by scholars, but the assumption is that it was a purer and more valuable type of gold (v. 6). Most everything in the temple was covered with gold; and cherubim were carved into the wood (v.7).

2 Chronicles 3:8-14: The Holy of Holies. This would become the permanent dwelling of the ark and God’s presence. The sacredness of the Holy of Holies is seen in the 45,000 pounds (23 tons) of gold that was used. Solomon’s attention to the details is staggering.

The statement “then he made” used throughout this chapter reflects that the work was done by Solomon (v. 8). Martin Selman states Solomon was faithful to the plans God gave him.³The plan came to fruition because Solomon walked it out. Gary Linten writes, “God is not looking for perfect people, He is simply searching for those who are devoted to Him.”⁴If you’re praying for revival, you should walk it out!

What does the Bible say about faithfulness?

• 1 Samuel 26:23: David was faithful to God and waited on God to fulfill his calling to be king.
• 2 Chronicles 16:9: God is looking for those whose hearts are completely His.
• Psalm 12:1: God is looking for the faithful.
• Proverbs 20:6: Who can find a trustworthy man?
• Proverbs 28:20: A faithful man will have many blessings.
• Matthew 25:21: Well done, you good and faithful servant.
• Luke 16:10, 12: Those who are faithful with little are also faithful with much; those who are unfaithful will lose what they have.
• 1 Corinthians 4:1-2: We are managers of God’s mysteries.
• Revelation 2:10: Be faithful until death.

Many of us do not realize we’ve been given the blueprints to God’s plans because we haven’t been faithful in our lives. We see the level of Solomon’s faithfulness because he built the porch and the foundation of the temple well. He built the sanctuary well. He built the Holy of Holies extremely well. He handled rightly the tasks God gave him to do. He did it well.

2 Chronicles 3:14: The Temple Veil. Solomon used the same colors for the veil in the temple as was used for the veil of the tabernacle. Cherubim were woven into it.

2 Chronicles 3:15-17: The Entrance Pillars. Two free-standing pillars that were 27 feet high were placed in the entrance to the temple. More chainwork was made in the inner sanctuary and placed on the pillars (1 Kings 7:17-20).

2 Chronicles 4: The furnishings and the lampstands are described in chapter 4.

CLOSING

Selman recorded that the responses to the temple were conflicting. Some recognized the temple would bring God near to the people and give them great joy (Psalm 27:4-6), and attending the temple provided the people a way to come into God’s presence (2 Samuel 22:7; Jonah 2:7). On the other hand, the actual design and layout of the temple emphasized how difficult it was to get to God. The only Israelites who were allowed into the temple were the Levites and the priests. Only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies, and then only once each year. Therefore, the people never saw any of what is described in this chapter. “To most Israelites, therefore, the temple was an unseen world. God had drawn near to them, but the way to him was hedged around with many restrictions.”⁵

The presence of God was unseen and untouchable by the majority of the people. The temple was beautifully built, but no one could get in it to come to God. But, at the death of Christ, the veil in the sanctuary was split from top to bottom so everyone, even us ordinary people, could have access to God (Matthew 27:51; Hebrews 10:19-20). Solomon’s faithfulness in building the temple is a shadow of what is in heaven (Hebrews 8:5).