and the candlesticks of pure gold, five on the right, and five on the left, before the oracle; and the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs of gold,
This verse ends the list of what stood inside Solomon's temple. The tabernacle, Israel's earlier tent of worship, had one golden lampstand — so why ten here, and what was this "inner sanctuary"?
Older translations call these objects "candlesticks." The original word says something different.
In the Temple there were ten golden lampstands, with their seventy lamps. The word is usually translated "candlestick," but the word "candle" never occurs in Scripture, neither in the Hebrew nor in the Greek; it is always "lamp" and "lampstand." The lampstand is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ as the centre, source and subject of testimony in the power of the Holy Spirit. The centre shaft pictures His own personal ministry; the branches picture ministry in the Church by the evangelist, pastor and teacher. A candle needs nothing and keeps itself going: you only have to light it, and it burns from beginning to end. A lamp is different. It depends on the oil, which pictures the Holy Spirit.
One writer compares the temple furniture with the tabernacle's. (The ESV says south and north where older translations say right and left.)
The incense altar and the table were clearly the same as in the tabernacle. But instead of only one lampstand with seven lamps on the left side of the outer sanctuary, there were five lampstands on the right and five on the left. At the very least this shows that the light will be far greater in the Father's house.
Commentators differ on what ten means. One reads it as a question put to the king and the nation.
Ten is the number of responsibility, as we see in the ten commandments of the Law. So the prominence of ten in Solomon's Temple reminds us that everything stood on the ground of responsibility. Whether that wonderful system of glory and blessing continued depended on the faithfulness of king and people… Would the royal house of David be true to its trust as God's witness among the nations? Sadly, we know the answer.
Another writer points the same number to Christ.
The lampstands speak of Christ as the One who sustains testimony. Their being ten reminds us that this One meets every claim of the law, and His testimony is perfection. That includes His great sacrifice, by which He has fulfilled the law on behalf of others.
The lamps faced the innermost room. Kings and Chronicles call it the oracle.
An "oracle" is of course a speaking-place, and both Kings and Chronicles use the word for the innermost sanctuary of the temple. Failure followed so soon after the temple was built that God may have seldom spoken from His holy oracle in Jerusalem, if He ever did. Yet that was God's intention. The intention only came true in full when the Lord Jesus appeared. He could speak of the temple of His body, and in Him we find not only the speaking place, but the Speaker. All that God has to say to us is in and through Him.
Who made the gold objects matters too.
Scripture presents the objects of gold, here and in 2 Chronicles 4, as the work of Solomon and not of Hiram. Solomon busies himself with everything that displays divine righteousness in its full glory. Christ alone can display this. Intercession (the golden altar), the showing forth of Christ (the table of the bread of the Presence), the light of the Spirit (the lampstand), even the smallest vessel of the sanctuary — all answer to this righteousness that He Himself established. Even the doors of the sanctuary swung on golden hinges.
The verse also lists flowers. They belonged to the lampstand's design.
The Word constantly links life and light; light often stands for life, as darkness stands for death. The golden lampstand was meant to suggest life as well as to give light. It was made like a tree, with stem, branches, flowers and fruit. The tree it stood for was the almond tree, "the hastener", the tree that blossoms early — a picture of resurrection life.
Gold tongs seem a strange thing to include.
It seems strange at first that these lamps should be given wick-trimmers and trays for the trimmings. But it becomes simple when we remember that here, as elsewhere, the Spirit of God is linked with the human instruments He is pleased to use, and that they need — how often! — the service this implies. So the trimmers are "golden", for the glory of God, though only a priest's hand can use them rightly.
- Light's source — Not a candle that burns on its own, but a lamp fed with oil. Testimony lives only by the Holy Spirit.
- Light's measure — Ten is the number of responsibility, seen in the ten commandments. Commentators differ: does it show Israel's duty, or Christ meeting every claim of the law?
- Light's increase — One stand in the tabernacle becomes ten in the temple: a picture of far greater light in the Father's house.
- Light's direction — The lamps shine toward the oracle, God's speaking-place. That purpose came true when Christ came as both the place and the Speaker.
- Light's upkeep — Even the trimming tools are gold. Righteousness marks the smallest vessel, and those who carry the light need trimming too.
and the basons, and the knives, and the bowls, and the cups, and the censers of pure gold; and the hinges of gold, for the folding-doors of the inner house, the most holy place, [and] for the doors of the house, of the temple.
The closing list of Solomon's temple work comes down to the smallest items in the building. It names cups, snuffers, bowls, incense dishes, fire pans, and even the gold fittings of the doors. The question the verse raises is why God's record bothers with such details, and why every one of them had to be gold.
Two metals dominate the temple account, and they are not interchangeable. Everything in verse 50 is gold because everything in it belongs inside the house, where God dwells.
Here is a quotation from a friend who has died: "Gold is the righteousness of God for drawing near, where God is. Brass is the righteousness of God for dealing with man's evil, where man is" (W. Kelly). So the vessels inside the house were gold. Those outside — the altar, the sea of cast metal, the stands and the basins — were brass.
The list runs from lamp trimmers down to door fittings. One writer takes the gold on every object, down to the least, as a display of divine righteousness.
Solomon is occupied with all the objects that display divine righteousness in its glorious essence. Christ alone can display this. The golden altar speaks of intercession. The table of showbread shows forth Christ. The lampstand is the light of the Spirit. Even the least of the vessels of the sanctuary answers to this righteousness that He Himself established. Even the doors of the sanctuary swung upon golden hinges. How would it be possible to enter into the most holy place and dwell there apart from divine righteousness?
The bronze work and the gold work did not come from the same hand. Writers see meaning in that division of labour.
So in 2 Chronicles 4 we find all the fittings — the altar and the sea of bronze, and the pots and shovels and basins — for everything has its place. And, further, Solomon made all the golden vessels. Huram, who was not an Israelite, might be trusted with the outside vessels. But "Solomon made all the vessels that were in the house of God" (2 Chronicles 4:19). They stood under his own direct supervision, as was fitting for him.
Snuffers and snuff-dishes were the tools for trimming lamp wicks and carrying off the burnt ends. Their presence in the list tells us something the description of the lampstand leaves out.
We have spoken of the Lampstand, a picture of Christ Himself, and the oil, a picture of the Holy Spirit. But the account never mentions the wick, or cotton, without which there would be no light. The snuff dishes imply it. They served to remove the burnt part of the wick after hours of burning, so that the light could shine freely and at full strength.
One writer turns the snuffers into a picture of how Christ deals with His own.
Trimming the lamps would involve the snuffers of pure gold. They removed anything that dimmed the clear shining of the light, and anything that blocked the flow of the olive oil that kept the light burning. We have only a feeble grasp of the watchful, gracious ministry of Christ. He deals so gently, yet firmly, with His own, removing all in us and about us that does not match His own character.
The word behind one of these vessels points to its use.
The root of the word for "bowl" is "to sprinkle." These bowls or basins probably carried the blood into the Most Holy Place, where the blood of atonement was sprinkled. It is the blood of Jesus which gives boldness of access within the veil.
The verse ends with the gold for the doors of the innermost room and of the main hall. Older translations render this "hinges": "In the temple the hinges were of gold" (Morrish Bible Dictionary). Whichever the fitting, the metal makes a point about the entrance itself.
The inner doors leading to the most holy place were gold. The doors of the main hall were gold too. It is said they were gold, not overlaid with gold, so their value must have been great indeed. Gold speaks of the glory of God. So the very entrance into the holy place was for the glory of God, not for the blessing of the one who entered. Yet where God is glorified, the one entering cannot but be blessed.
- Gold inside. Gold is God's righteousness for drawing near, where God is. Bronze is His righteousness for dealing with man's evil, where man is. Everything in this verse is gold.
- Gold down to the doors. Even the least vessel of the sanctuary, and the doors themselves, matched that standard.
- Gold from the king's hand. Huram could make the outside bronze. Solomon made every golden vessel himself.
- Gold that trims. Snuffers imply a wick. They picture the gracious ministry of Christ, removing whatever dims the light.
- Gold that admits. The basins carried sprinkled blood, and the doorway was gold: access is real, but it exists for God's glory.