And before the house he made two pillars thirty-five cubits long; and the capital that was on the top of each of them was five cubits.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And he made chains [as] in the oracle, and he put them on the top of the pillars; and he made a hundred pomegranates, and put them on the chains.
Two great pillars stand in front of the temple. Linked chainwork tops them, and a hundred pomegranates hang on the chains. Commentators read both ornaments as a message to anyone who came near God's house.
One writer points to the only other place this chainwork appears: the clothing of the high priest, the man who stood before God for Israel.
These chains decorate the pillars here. They appear nowhere else except on the shoulder pieces and the breastplate of the high priest. They hold the various parts together, and they seem to picture how solid the bond is that unites the people of God.
Another writer takes the chain as jewellery worn on the neck, not as a shackle.
The chain work reminds us of the Lord's words to the shepherdess: "Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments, your neck with chains of gold." Instead of a stiff neck, her neck was submissive to the gracious authority of the Lord Jesus — "bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ." So the golden chain speaks of the gentle authority of the Lord Jesus in His ability to bring souls willingly to submit to Him. How different are the chains and fetters of iron... which show the forced bondage of those who refuse to be willingly subject to the Lord.
The verse fastens the pomegranates to the chainwork. The same writer reads that order as cause and effect.
Solomon put wreaths of chainwork on top of the pillars, and 100 carved pomegranates on the wreaths... the chainwork speaks of willing submission to the authority of the Lord Jesus. Pomegranates are noted for their great number of seeds, which points to the promise of much fruit — the result of submission to the Lord.
The fruit sits at the very top, in plain view. Rossier asks what such a display is for.
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. He is the True Vine here below, and as such, He has no other function.
The high priest's robe also carried pomegranates, paired with golden bells. That pairing sets a measure — and a warning.
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... 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 chains and fruit decorate two pillars that were given names, and those names carry the message.
Solomon "set up the pillars in front of the temple... that on the south he called Jachin ['He will establish'], and that on the north Boaz ['In Him is strength']." They are silent but eloquent witnesses to two great truths: God establishes, and strength is in Christ. The Holy Spirit puts those truths into words in 2 Corinthians 1:21 — "And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us."
Commentators differ over the exact arrangement, since the numbers in Kings, Chronicles and Jeremiah are reported differently. One writer counts seven chains on each pillar and blames the confusion on translation rather than the text.
The seven chains of wreathed work on each pillar tell of complete subjection, and of what it results in — fullness of honour. In the English translation there is constant confusion between the network or chequer work and the chain work or wreaths... The confusion is not in the Hebrew Scriptures, which are perfectly clear and distinct, but in the translation.
These ornaments belong to a house built in a time of peace, and that setting points forward.
The two pillars called Jachin (He will establish) and Boaz (In Him is strength) are symbols of the stability of the government of this earth in the glorious reign of Christ. Solomon's reign and the house he built are a picture of that reign.
- Chains bind. This chainwork appears nowhere else but on the high priest's shoulders and breastplate. There it holds the parts together — a picture of the bond that unites God's people.
- Chains submit. Gold on the neck, not iron on the wrists. The chain speaks of the gentle authority of Christ, who brings a soul to obey willingly.
- Chains carry fruit. The hundred pomegranates hang on the chainwork. Seed in abundance follows submission: fruit is what obedience produces.
- Fruit crowns. The fruit sits at the top of the pillars, in full view. The Lord means to be crowned with it. It should match our testimony, not be outnumbered by our words.
- Strength establishes. The pillars are called "He will establish" and "In Him is strength." They picture the stability of Christ's coming reign — and 2 Corinthians 1:21 says the same of believers.
And he set up the pillars in front of the temple, one on the right hand and the other on the left; and he called the name of that on the right Jachin, and the name of that on the left Boaz.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.