And he formed the two pillars of brass; the height of one pillar was eighteen cubits, and a line of twelve cubits encompassed the second pillar.
The temple is built. At its entrance stand two huge pillars of bronze. The verse gives only metal and measurements. Yet commentators read these pillars as a public statement, set where everyone coming to the house would see them.
One writer traces where the bronze came from and what it stands for.
David took the brass (more likely "copper" or "bronze") for the pillars from Syria in war, as we are told in 1 Chron. 18:8. Brass stands for the righteousness of God in judgement. That is why it was used for the altar of burnt offering. Scripture gives four pictures of righteousness. Gold — divine righteousness in itself. Brass (or copper) — divine righteousness applied to man in judgement. Linen — "the righteous deeds of the saints" (Rev. 19:8). Filthy rags — the righteousness of the flesh (Isa. 64:6).
Bronze carries more than one meaning. One writer marks off the use here from the way the metal speaks elsewhere.
When the book of Kings mentions brass, it is not a picture of the divine righteousness by which we come to God. It shows to the eyes of the world the righteousness that marks the kingdom and the government of Solomon, or of Christ. In a word, it is the righteousness of God, but shown outwardly in government.
Eighteen cubits high, twelve around. In feet, the size is easier to picture.
Two great pillars of copper at the entrance added to the splendour of the temple. Each was 18 cubits (27 feet) high and 12 cubits (18 feet) around. If these were solid copper their weight must have been tremendous. They would still be very strong if they were hollow with walls only 4 inches thick.
Another writer looks at where the pillars stood, and at the design in their proportions.
The word that 1 Kings uses for where they stood means "by," not "in": he set up the pillars by the porch of the temple. They were hollow, and the brass was four fingers thick (Jer. 52:21). Brass is a symbol of strength; hollow speaks of emptiness. People who know about such things say that the thickness and size given here give the greatest strength with the least metal. That is just like God in His perfect wisdom.
The pillars stood where no visitor could miss them, and they carried two names.
The bronze pillars stood in front of the porch of the temple and caught the eye at once. They were the outward display of the principles of the kingdom. We have already said that the temple has no other pillar. They were named Jachin (He shall establish) and Boaz (in Him is strength). These were the two great truths pictured for everyone who shared in the blessed reign of Solomon.
The same writer weighs the tense of the first name.
Under Solomon himself the pillar Jachin — He shall establish, not, He has established — spoke of an establishing still to come, of which Solomon's reign was only a faint picture. As for the pillar Boaz — In Him is strength — this is something past, present, future, and eternal. Strength is in Him. The moment the link with God broke, neither the king nor the kingdom would have any strength.
Another writer takes the two names and follows them past Solomon's day.
Jachin means "He shall establish." It is a promise that God will one day establish His house, for it was not to be established then. Israel's unfaithfulness later brought that house down, but God's promise for the future stands. Boaz means "in Him is strength." If the weakness of Israel led to ruin and failure, the Lord Jesus is still the strong One who will do the will of God perfectly.
One writer links these two columns with a promise made to the overcomer, and finds a contrast as well as a likeness.
"The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God." In Solomon's temple two vast bronze pillars stood in the porch. This promise surely points back to them, yet it also stands in contrast. Those pillars were taken away when the temple was destroyed. The promise to the overcomer here is that he will never go out again. It is a fixed and eternal position.
- Bronze stands. Bronze speaks of God's righteousness applied to man in judgement, put on show before the eyes of the world.
- Strength stands. Vast, hollow, four fingers thick — the greatest strength from the least metal. One writer calls that God's perfect wisdom.
- Two names stand. Jachin, "He shall establish," and Boaz, "in Him is strength" — the only pillars named in the house, set in front of it for all to read.
- A future stands. Jachin is future tense, not past; Solomon's reign was the weak picture of an establishing still to come.
- The overcomer stands. Solomon's pillars went when the temple fell. The one made a pillar in God's temple will never go out again.
And he made two capitals of molten brass, to set upon the tops of the pillars; the height of the one capital was five cubits, and the height of the other capital was five cubits;
This verse stops to describe two crowns of cast bronze, each seven and a half feet high, set on top of Solomon's two great temple pillars. Why does Scripture pause over the head of a pillar, and what did these crowns say to everyone who came to God's house?
The Hebrew behind "capitals" is not an architectural throwaway. One writer explains the term and, at the same time, reconciles the different heights Scripture gives for these tops:
1 Kings 7:16 gives the capitals — or crowns, as the Hebrew word Cotharoth means — as five cubits high. Verse 19 gives the lily work as four cubits. And 2 Kings 25:17 says, "the height of the capital was three cubits." The truth, I take it, is that each of these capitals had four parts: a square ledge on top, half a cubit thick, carrying the pomegranates; a similar ledge at the bottom; a bowl one cubit deep; and a rounded belly of three cubits. The last two together, covered with lily work, would make the four cubits. The two ledges would complete the height of five cubits.
Inside the house the furniture was gold. Outside, in the courtyard where people stood, the metal changed:
Divine righteousness is what makes us able to stand before Him. We have it in Christ in heaven. Bronze is the symbol of the righteousness of God, showing on earth what He is for sinful man. The temple's furniture was gold; the court's furniture was bronze, cast in the earth. Hiram worked in bronze only.
Almost everything in Solomon's temple copied the older tent of worship on a grander scale. These crowned pillars did not:
The vessels of Jehovah's house were on a much larger scale than those of the tabernacle, but they were the same, though greater in number. The only new things were the pillars, Jachin and Boaz. The names mean "He will establish" and "in Him is strength" — names that make the meaning of these pillars plain. I have no doubt that the passage in Revelation 3:12 alludes to these pillars.
The crowns sat at the top of two columns whose names carried a message anyone entering could read. One of them looks forward; the other never needed to:
Solomon's throne, his government, his people's relations with God, his worship — everything, in picture form, rested on what God had done. He had established his reign. But under Solomon himself the pillar Jachin said He shall establish, not He has established. It pointed to a future establishing, and Solomon's reign was only a faint picture of it. As for the pillar Boaz — In Him is strength — this is something past, present, future, and eternal. Strength is in Him. Solomon, like every godly king in Israel, had to know this. The moment the link with God was broken, neither the king nor the kingdom would have any strength.
The decoration on these crowns carries meaning:
A lattice network of chains ornamented the capitals on top of the pillars. Besides this, two rows of copper pomegranates served as ornaments, and the capitals were in the shape of lilies. The pomegranates (full of seeds) speak of the abundant fruitfulness of the work of God, while the lilies speak of the beauty of God's work.
Fruit at the very top of a pillar pictures what the Lord looks for:
Bronze pomegranates ornamented the tops of the pillars. How can the divine character be declared before all without bearing fruit abounding in righteousness? The Lord desires to be crowned with fruit. If strength is in Him, it is there to produce fruit.
The pillars themselves did not last, but their message did:
He will establish; in Him is strength — a precious assurance both for Israel and for ourselves. He is willing, He is able. David's royal house forfeited everything by unfaithfulness; but Christ will restore it all in the day of His power. Meanwhile, Solomon's famous pillars have been broken up as scrap and carried to Babylon. The Holy Spirit dwells sorrowfully on their beauty while recording their destruction.
- Crown. The word for "capital" means crown. The different heights given in Kings and 2 Kings fit together once you count the crown's four parts.
- Crowned in bronze. Bronze belongs to the courtyard, not the inner house. It pictures God's righteousness shown on earth to sinful man.
- Crowned with new truth. The tabernacle had nothing like these pillars. They were the one new feature, their names tell why, and one writer hears them behind Revelation 3:12.
- Crowned with fruit and beauty. Pomegranates and lily work at the top speak of fruitfulness and beauty in God's work. The Lord wants to be crowned with fruit.
- Crowned forever. The pillars ended as scrap in Babylon. But "He will establish" and "in Him is strength" wait on Christ, not on Solomon.
[and] nets of checker-work, wreaths of chain-work, for the capitals which were upon the top of the pillars; seven for the one capital and seven for the other capital.
This verse sits inside a long, careful description of the two great bronze pillars at the front of Solomon's temple. Here the account pauses on the ornament that covered their tops. Why does Scripture spend so much detail on decoration, and what do a lattice and a chain have to say about God?
The ornament belongs to two pillars that stood at the entrance, where no one could miss them. Each pillar carried a name.
The bronze pillars, placed in front of the porch of the temple, drew attention at once. They represented the outward display of the principles of the kingdom. We have already said that no other pillar is mentioned in the temple. They were named Jachin (He shall establish) and Boaz (in Him is strength). These were the two great truths shown in symbol to everyone who shared in Solomon's blessed reign. Everything came from Him; in Him, and in Him personally, there is strength. He sustains Himself and needs no outside help at all. His strength establishes others; it does not need to be established.
Another writer gives their size, and what they testified about Christ:
These great pillars, each about 18 cubits high, were a public testimony. Stability is found in Christ, and only in Christ.
Other passages give the capital different measurements. One writer solves the puzzle by treating it as a structure with several parts, not one solid block.
1 Kings 7:16 makes the capitals — or crowns, as the Hebrew word Cotharoth means — five cubits high. Verse 19 makes the lily work four cubits. And 2 Kings 25:17 says, "the height of the capital was three cubits." I think each of these capitals had four parts. (1) A square ledge on the top, half a cubit thick, with the pomegranates on it. (2) A similar ledge at the bottom. (3) A bowl one cubit deep (1 Kings 7:41). (4) A rounded swelling of three cubits (1 Kings 7:20). The last two together, covered with lily work, would make the four cubits. The two ledges would complete the height of five cubits. A network or checker work also covered the capitals, expressing self-control (1 Kings 7:17-18).
One writer reads the two patterns in this verse as a picture of what Christ does with His own. First He catches them. Then He holds them.
The ornaments of the pillars suggest what Christ works for and in His own. "Nets of checker work": He has caught us out of the sea of humanity for Himself (Matt. 13:47; Luke 5:10). "Wreaths of chain work": He binds and secures all whom He acquires (Hosea 11:4).
The writer uses an older translation here: "nets of checker work." The ESV reads "lattices of checker work."
The chain work was not invented for the temple. It appears in only one other place in Scripture, and that place says something about the bond that unites God's people.
Chains also decorate the pillars here. Scripture mentions them nowhere else except on the shoulder pieces and the breastplate of the high priest. They hold the different parts firmly together. They seem to picture the strength of the bond that unites the people of God.
Commentators differ over how to count and separate these ornaments. One writer says the English translation mixes up two different things. He reads the chains as a picture of subjection rewarded:
The seven chains of wreathed work on each pillar tell of entire subjection. They also tell of what it results in: fullness of honour. The English translation constantly confuses the network or checker work with the chain work or wreaths — seven chains hung on each pillar. The confusion is not in the Hebrew Scriptures, which are perfectly clear and distinct. It is in the translation. Only from the Hebrew originals is it possible to harmonise these various differences.
Set this careful description beside what happened to the pillars later. They did not last.
Meanwhile, Solomon's notable pillars have been broken up as scrap, and carried to Babylon (Jer. 27:19-22; Jer. 52:17-23). The Holy Spirit dwells sorrowfully upon their beauty while recording their destruction.
- Pillar — Two bronze columns stood at the temple entrance, showing the principles of the kingdom. Their names meant "He shall establish" and "in Him is strength."
- Crown — The word behind "capital" means a crown. This crown had ledges, a bowl and a swelling — which explains the different measurements elsewhere.
- Net — One writer reads the checker work as a net: Christ has caught His own out of the sea of humanity for Himself.
- Chain — The chain work binds and secures what the net catches. Chains appear elsewhere only on the high priest's shoulder pieces and breastplate.
- Memory — The pillars later ended up as scrap in Babylon. Scripture still records their beauty in full detail.
And he made pomegranates, namely two rows round about upon the one network, to cover the capitals that were upon the top of the pillars; and so he did for the other capital.
Two rows of pomegranates ran around the netting on top of each great pillar at the temple entrance. Commentators read this cast fruit as far more than decoration.
One writer moves from the size of these ornaments to their meaning:
Two great copper pillars stood at the entrance and added to the magnificence of the temple. Even the capitals on top of the pillars were 5 cubits (7.5 feet) high, and a lattice network of chains decorated them. Besides this, two rows of copper pomegranates served as ornaments, and the capitals had the shape of lilies. The pomegranates, full of seeds, speak of the abundant fruitfulness of the work of God, while the lilies speak of the beauty of God's work.
Chapiter is an older English word for the capital, the crowning piece on top of a pillar. Scripture gives three different heights for it, and one writer fits them together:
1 Kings 7:16 gives the chapiters — or crowns, as the Hebrew word Cotharoth means — as five cubits high. Verse 19 gives the lily work as four cubits. And 2 Kings 25:17 says, "The height of the capital was three cubits." I take it that each of these chapiters had four parts. On the top was a square ledge, half a cubit thick, and on this ledge were the pomegranates. A similar ledge sat at the bottom. Then came a bowl one cubit deep, and a bulge of three cubits.
after-note-none: The last two together, covered with lily work, would make four cubits. The two ledges would complete the height of five cubits. The chapiters were also covered with a network or chequer work, which speaks of temperance and self-control.
Why pomegranates, and so many of them? The same fruit hung on the robe of Israel's high priest, next to golden bells:
One detail stands out: the pillars had hundreds of pomegranates on their capitals. In the Word the pomegranate seems to be the image of fruit borne for God. Bells and pomegranates alternated along the hem of the high priest's garment. The bells represent the testimony, the pomegranates the fruit. The pomegranates on the robe were of blue, purple, and scarlet. This was heavenly fruit, fruit matching the dignity of the Lord and His royal dignity as Messiah. Our fruit should bear the character of Christ and be worthy of Him. It should also match our testimony, just as the pomegranates were the same in number as the golden bells. One often finds Christians with more bells than pomegranates, more words than fruit!
The names of the two pillars meant "He will establish" and "in Him is strength." One writer links that strength to the fruit above it:
Bronze pomegranates decorated the tops of the pillars. How can the divine character be declared before everyone without bearing fruit that abounds in righteousness? The Lord desires to be crowned with fruit. If strength is in Him, it is there to produce fruit. He is the True Vine here below, and as such He has no other function. All His care for His own, all His disciples, has for its purpose that they might bear fruit.
Commentators differ on the netting: one reads it as self-control, another as Christ holding those He has caught. Here each part of the decoration points to Him:
The decorations of the pillars suggest what Christ works for and in His own. "Nets of checker work": He has caught us out of the sea of humanity for Himself. "Wreaths of chain work": He binds and secures all whom He acquires. "Pomegranates" are often used in Scripture as emblems of fruitfulness. All who are Christ's are meant to be fruitful. "Upon the top of the pillars was lily work": the lily character, purity and lowliness, is precious in His sight.
Jeremiah lists these same pomegranates again, when the pillars go to Babylon as scrap. One writer reads both the loss and the hope in that record:
He will establish; in Him is strength — a precious assurance both for Israel and for ourselves. He is willing, He is able. David's royal house has forfeited everything by unfaithfulness, but Christ will restore it all in the day of His power. Meanwhile, Solomon's famous pillars have been broken up as scrap and carried to Babylon (Jeremiah 27:19-22; 52:17-23). The Holy Spirit dwells with sorrow on their beauty while recording their destruction.
- Crown — the Hebrew word for the capital means a crown. The pomegranates rested on ledges at its top and bottom, above the netting.
- Strength — the names of the pillars spoke of establishing and of strength. The fruit sat on the very top of that strength.
- Fruit — the pomegranate is packed with seeds. It stands for fruit borne for God, and strength in Christ is there to produce it.
- Balance — on the high priest's robe every bell had a pomegranate to match. Fruit should keep pace with words, not lag behind them.
- Beauty — the Holy Spirit lingers on this ornament even while recording that the pillars went to Babylon as scrap. What man forfeits, Christ will restore in the day of His power.
And the capitals that were upon the top of the pillars were of lily-work [as] in the porch, four cubits.
Two huge bronze pillars stood at the entrance of Solomon's temple. Why does this verse stop to record that their tops were shaped like lilies, and how high they were?
Scripture gives more than one height for these capitals. One writer works out how the parts fit together:
In 1 Kings 7:16, the capitals — or crowns, as the Hebrew word Cotharoth means — are said to be five cubits high. In verse 19 the lily work is said to be four cubits. And in 2 Kings 25:17, "the height of the capital was three cubits." The truth, I think, is that each of these capitals had four parts: a square ledge on the top, half a cubit thick, on which were the pomegranates; a similar ledge at the bottom; a bowl of one cubit deep; and a rounded belly of three cubits. The last two together, covered with lily work, would make the four cubits. The two ledges would complete the height of five cubits.
So why a lily? One writer explains what it pictures:
The lily is the ideal of purity, beauty, and attractive grace. It may be found (though not always) in the lowliest circumstances, and even surrounded by the signs of the curse, though that is foreign to its own nature. Such an emblem may well suit the Lord Himself in His character as Man; and His people too, as by grace they share it with Him.
The crown on the pillar may also say something about the kingdom it stood in:
The pillars were crowned with lily work, a picture, we believe, of the glory of this reign at its beginning (Matt. 6:28-29).
Yet the Lord turned that comparison around:
Our blessed Lord once spoke with appreciation of "the lilies of the field." "Consider them," He said. "I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these" (Matt. 6:28-29). From His holy heaven He had seen Solomon in his magnificent coronation robes, made by skilful hands. But to His mind the modest lily, the work of God, was a more attractive picture. The Song of Songs compares God's saints to lilies.
The Song of Songs uses the same flower for the people God loves, and the contrast there is sharp:
Link it with the Song of Songs, and hear what the Bridegroom says of the earthly bride: "As a lily among brambles, so is my love among the young women." That is the gorgeous lily growing in the thorn thickets of Palestine. We have the teaching about the thorn: how it came in, and what its end will be. We were all thorns once. We can take these words for ourselves, and say that His grace has transformed us into the lily. Clothed in Christ, the believing soul has that fragrance and beauty before Him. God is the One who does this; it is not the result of their scheming and toil.
One writer connects these pillars with a promise Christ made to a church that had little strength:
The tops of the pillars were of lily-work: the lily character, purity and lowliness, is precious in His sight. Solomon's massive bronze pillars were in the Lord's thoughts in His promise to the one who conquers in Philadelphia. He said, I will make him a pillar in the house of My God and he shall go out no more. What an encouragement to all who with little strength seek to keep His word and not deny His name.
The pillars under the lily work stood in plain view, and their names carried a message:
The bronze pillars stood in front of the porch of the temple, and they caught the eye at once. They put the principles of the kingdom on public display. They were named Jachin (He shall establish) and Boaz (in Him is strength). These were the two great truths presented in symbol to everyone who took part in the blessed reign of Solomon. All came from Him; in Him, and in Him personally, there is strength. He maintains Himself and needs no outside help at all. His strength establishes others; it never needs establishing itself.
- Crown. The Hebrew word for these capitals means crowns. The four cubits of lily work covered part of a five-cubit crown.
- Character. The lily pictures purity, beauty and grace that can grow in the lowliest place. It fits Christ as Man, and His people by grace.
- Contrast. Solomon crowned his pillars with lilies. Yet the Lord said Solomon in all his glory was never dressed like one flower.
- Change. In the Song of Songs the lily grows among thorns; we were all thorns once, and grace, not effort, made the difference.
- Continuation. The lily character is precious to Christ now. The one who conquers gets a place as a pillar in the house of God, standing on the strength that is in Him.
And the capitals upon the two pillars, above also, close to the enlargement which was behind the network, had two hundred pomegranates in rows round about, [also] on the other capital.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And he set up the pillars for the porch of the temple; and he set up the right pillar, and called its name Jachin; and he set up the left pillar, and called its name Boaz.
Two hollow brass columns stood at the front of Solomon's temple. Solomon gave each one a name. Why name a pillar at all, and what did those two names say to everyone who walked past?
Each name is a short sentence about God, not about Israel. Writers call them the right and left pillars; the verse names the same two by south and north.
Solomon named the pillars Jachin (on the right of the entry) and Boaz (on the left). Jachin means "He shall establish." This is a promise that God will one day establish His house. He was not going to establish it then. Israel's unfaithfulness later cost them that house. But God's promise about the future still stands. Boaz means "in Him is strength." Israel's weakness led to ruin and failure. But the Lord Jesus is still the strong One, and He will do the will of God perfectly.
Did the pillars stand in the porch or in front of it? One writer weighs the wording, and reads the metal too.
About the position of the pillars: the word that 1 Kings renders "in" means "by" — "He set up the pillars by the porch of the Temple." This matches 2 Chronicles 3:17, "He erected the pillars in front of the temple." The pillars were hollow, and the brass was four fingers thick. Brass is the emblem of strength. Hollow expresses emptiness. Those skilled in these questions say that the thickness and size given here secure the greatest strength with the smallest quantity of metal. That is just like God in His perfect wisdom.
Jachin is future tense. That one detail changes what the pillar claims.
Solomon's throne, his government, his people's relations with God, his worship — everything rested on what God had done. He had established Solomon's reign. All of it was a picture. But in Solomon's own day the pillar Jachin said, He shall establish — not, He has established. It spoke of an establishing still to come, and Solomon's reign was only its feeble picture. As for the pillar Boaz — In Him is strength — this is something past, present, future, and eternal. Strength is in Him. Solomon, like every godly king in Israel, had to know this. The moment the link with God was broken, neither the king nor the kingdom would have any strength.
The number is not decoration. One writer ties the pair to the Bible's rule about witnesses.
And further, let us note that there were two pillars, the sign of divine stability. This kingdom, when it is in the hands of the Lord Jesus, will not be a mere picture but a reality. It will never dissolve through the weakness of man. It will not pass to anyone else. So, as the witness of it, there were two pillars — Jachin and Boaz. These show it as a figure, but only as a witness. "Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses."
Solomon's reign was only a picture. The real kingdom is still to come.
The pillars did not last. Babylon's army broke them up. Yet their message survived the wreck.
In Solomon's case the brass pillars could not be kept. The king and those who followed him were unfaithful. The Chaldeans broke the pillars up. Solomon's kingdom could not be established, because he did not seek his strength in God. But even if the material pillars have disappeared, the moral pillars remain. Strength is in the Lord. A day is coming when He will show everyone that He has established in righteousness a kingdom that can never be moved.
One writer finds both truths said about Christians in the New Testament.
They are silent but eloquent witnesses to two great truths: God establishes, and strength is in Christ. The truths declared in this way are expressed by the Holy Spirit in 2 Corinthians 1:21 — "And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us."
Another writer hears these pillars behind Christ's promise to the believer who overcomes.
"The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God" (Revelation 3:12). Solomon set up two huge brass pillars in the porch of the temple, remarkable for strength and solidity. The names of these pillars were Jachin, establish, and Boaz, strength. The allusion in our text is to these pillars. The believer in Philadelphia is weak and tested. He may even be thrown out of the respected and popular church on earth. Yet he will be established and made strong in the eternal blessedness of Heaven.
- Establish — Jachin means "He will establish." The tense is future. Solomon's kingdom pictured something God had not yet done.
- Strength — Boaz means "in Him is strength." That one is timeless — past, present, future, and eternal.
- Witness — two pillars stood in front of the house, not inside it. Two, because a matter is confirmed by two witnesses.
- Broken — unfaithfulness cost Israel the pillars, and Babylon's army broke them up. The metal went; the message did not.
- Yours — God establishes believers in Christ now, and Christ promises the overcomer a pillar's place in the temple of His God.
And upon the top of the pillars was lily-work; and the work of the pillars was finished.
This chapter describes the two huge bronze pillars at the entrance of Solomon's temple, and it ends with what sat on top of them: lily-work. Why should a flower crown the heaviest metalwork in the house of God?
Two designs sat on top of these pillars. One writer gives the meaning of each:
The pomegranates (full of seeds) speak of the abundant fruitfulness of the work of God, while the lilies speak of the beauty of God's work.
Another writer links the lily-work to the glory of Solomon's reign, and turns the fruit beside it into a lesson for us:
The pillars were crowned with lily-work, a picture, we believe, of the glory of this reign at its beginning (Matt. 6:28-29). Our fruit should bear the character of Christ and be worthy of Him. It should also match our testimony. One often finds Christians with more bells than pomegranates, more words than fruit!
One writer sets out what the lily pictures, and who it fits:
The lily is the perfect picture of purity, beauty and attractive grace. It may be found in the lowliest circumstances, though not always. It may even be surrounded by the signs of the curse, though the curse is foreign to its own nature. Such an emblem may well suit the Lord Himself in His character as Man; and His people too, as by grace they share it with Him.
Jesus once compared the king who built this temple with a flower:
Our blessed Lord once spoke with appreciation of "the lilies of the field." "Consider them," He said. "I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these" (Matt. 6:28-29). From His holy heaven He had seen Solomon in his magnificent coronation robes, made by skilful hands. But to His mind the modest lily, the work of God, was the more attractive picture. God's saints are likened to lilies in the Song of Songs (Song 2:2-16). May the gracious Spirit of God work the lily character in us all. No "outward adornment" will compare with it (1 Peter 3:3).
Solomon's temple copied the tabernacle — the tent of worship that came before it — in most of its furniture, only on a larger scale. The pillars were the exception:
The vessels of the Lord's house were on a much larger scale than those of the tabernacle. But they were the same, only greater in number. The only new things were the pillars, Jachin and Boaz. That is to say, "He will establish," and "in Him is strength." These names make the meaning of the pillars obvious. I have no doubt that the passage in Revelation 3:12 refers to these pillars.
The two names are not saying the same thing twice. One looks forward; the other never changes:
Under Solomon himself the pillar Jachin — He will establish, not He has established — spoke of an establishing still to come. Solomon's reign was only a weak picture of it. As for the pillar Boaz — In Him is strength — this is something past, present, future, and eternal. Strength is in Him. The moment the link with God broke, neither the king nor the kingdom would have any strength.
The verse says the work of the pillars was finished. Yet what Solomon finished did not last:
In Solomon's case, the king and his successors were unfaithful, so the bronze pillars could not be kept. The Chaldeans broke them up (Jer. 52:17-23). His kingdom could not be established because he did not seek his strength in God. But even if the material pillars have disappeared, the moral pillars remain. The day will come when the Lord, in whom is strength, will show everyone that He has established a kingdom in righteousness. That kingdom shall never be moved.
The two ideas — a pillar and a lily-crowned top — come together in a promise the Lord makes to believers:
"On the tops of the pillars was lily-work": the lily character, purity and lowliness, is precious in His sight. Solomon's massive bronze pillars were in the Lord's thoughts when He promised the overcomer in Philadelphia: "I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God. Never shall he go out of it." What an encouragement to all who with little strength seek to keep His word and not deny His name.
- Crowned. The top of the temple's heaviest metalwork was not a weapon or a crest but a flower. Beauty sat on top of strength.
- Lowly. The lily stands for purity, beauty and grace that can grow in the lowliest setting. It fits Christ as Man, and His people with Him.
- Compared. Jesus set Solomon's robes beside a field lily and called the lily lovelier. God's own work outshines the king's.
- Named. Jachin ("He will establish") and Boaz ("in Him is strength") were the one new feature of this temple. The first pointed ahead; the second was always true.
- Finished. The work was finished, yet the Chaldeans broke these pillars up. What they stood for still waits: a kingdom that cannot be moved, and an overcomer made a pillar who goes out no more.