II Chronicles Chapter 4
Please read: II Chronicles 4 –
The beauty of all the furnishings and vessels created for the temple would have been difficult to describe in words. Included in the descriptions were vessels created for outside the temple. There were basins on carts for the people to wash in, small basins for cleansing sacrificed animal parts, and utensils used to sacrifice. The first thing the people saw as they entered the outer courtyard of the temple was the great altar where the blood of animals was sacrificed to make atonement for the sins of the people. It would have been easy for the people to see the fires on the altar no matter what the size of the crowd since it was raised up off the ground.
An item that was described in detail was the huge basin known as the sea. This basin sat on top of 12 oxen. This was the basin that the priests used to wash themselves before service to the LORD in the temple. It is believed that they washed their hands and their feet from this large basin. This large round basin was said to be a diameter of 10 cubits which would have been approximately 15 feet across. I am still wondering how they climbed up to be able to access the water. Some have suggested that there may have been spouts coming out of the heads of the oxen. This seems more plausible. This would have also made it easier to fill the small basins used for washing the animal parts for sacrificing.
I have included a link to someone’s creation of a 3D walkthrough of their interpretation of what the temple and the temple courtyards might have looked like. It is of course just someone’s interpretation so it is not accurate, but it may help to get an idea of the layout of the exterior courts and the temple itself. If the link does not work for you, you can search out the title on YouTube as “Solomon’s Temple 3D Tour.”
Let's Reflect
1. The brim of the big basin known as the sea is described beautifully. What is the description of the brim?
2. The sea was filled with water. The word “baths” was a Hebrew unit of liquid measurement. A “bath” was equal to about 6 gallons. How many “baths” of water did the sea basin hold? Note this recorded number is different than the one recorded in the book of I Kings 7, but we also need to remember that this book of Chronicles was written after the Babylonian captivity. This is a minor detail and it does not change the meaning of Scripture.
3. How were the 10 lampstands arranged in the temple?
4. Hiram a man hired because of his great craftsmanship created many things for the temple. What are 2 or 3 things he created?
5. So much bronze was used in creating these things. What does the Bible say about the amount of bronze?
6. What were the entrance doors to the temple made of as well as the inner doors?
