two pillars, and the globes and the capitals on the top of the pillars, two; and the two networks, to cover the two globes of the capitals which were on the top of the pillars;
This verse sits inside an inventory of the bronze work Huram made for the temple. Two of the items stood in full view of everyone who came: the pillars, and the capitals on top with their network covering.
Huram's work is summed up in a block of verses, and the amounts involved are staggering.
The list of things Huram provided runs from verse 11 to verse 16. To what was mentioned before it adds carts (v. 14) that carried the basins... The temple used so much bronze that no one determined its weight (v. 18).
Where the pillars stood was part of their message.
The bronze pillars stood in front of the porch of the temple, and they caught the eye at once. They were the outward display of the principles of the kingdom. As we have already said, no other pillar appears in the temple.
Each pillar carried a name, and each name carried a message. One points to what God does; the other to where strength lies.
Solomon "set up the pillars in front of the Temple, one on the right and the other on the left. He called the one on the right Jachin ['He will establish'], and the one on the left Boaz ['In Him is strength']" (2 Chron. 3:17). They are silent but eloquent witnesses to the great truths of ESTABLISHMENT BY GOD and STRENGTH IN CHRIST. The Holy Spirit states the same truths in 2 Cor. 1:21: God is the One who establishes us with you in Christ, who anointed us, sealed us, and gave us the pledge of the Spirit in our hearts.
The tense of the first name matters — it points forward, while the second is true at every moment.
But 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. The pillar Boaz — In Him is strength — speaks of something past, present, future and eternal. Strength is in Him... If the link with God is broken, neither the king nor the kingdom has any strength.
The verse ends with the lattice or network covering the bowls of the capitals. The ornaments on that network were not decoration only.
Wreaths of chainwork went on top of the pillars, and 100 carved pomegranates went on the wreaths. As we have mentioned, the chainwork speaks of willing submission to the authority of the Lord Jesus. Pomegranates are known for their many seeds. So they point to the promise of great fruit, and that fruit is the result of submission to the Lord.
The pomegranate carries its own meaning, and with it comes a warning.
In the Word the pomegranate seems to be the image of fruit borne for God. The hem of the high priest's robe was trimmed with bells and pomegranates one after the other (Ex. 28:31-35). 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 equal in number to the golden bells. One often finds Christians with more bells than pomegranates, more words than fruit!
Other passages describe these same pillars, and at first sight they do not agree. One writer gathers them all and shows how to handle the difficulty.
Scripture mentions the bronze pillars that stood by the porch of the Temple, one on either side, in seven places — 1 Kings 7:13-22, 41-46; 2 Kings 25:16-17; 2 Chron. 3:15-17; 2 Chron. 4:12-13; Jer. 52:20-23; Ezekiel 40:49. On the surface these accounts appear to vary. To bring the whole into harmony needs prayerful waiting on God and careful thought over His Holy Word. It has been found with this, as with other apparent discrepancies of Scripture, that they are in fact Divine perfections, and the seeming differences help to bring out the truth.
What stood at Solomon's door pointed past his reign.
The two pillars called Jachin (He will establish) and Boaz (In Him is strength) are the symbols of the stability of the government of this earth in the glorious reign of Christ, which is typified by the reign of Solomon and the house he built.
- Listed — The verse is one line in the inventory of Huram's bronze work for the house of God.
- Established — Jachin, "He will establish," looked ahead in Solomon's day. His reign was only a faint picture of the reign of Christ still to come.
- Strengthened — Boaz, "in Him is strength," holds good past, present and for ever. Break the link with God, and neither king nor kingdom has any strength.
- Crowned — The networks on the capitals carried chainwork and pomegranates. They stand for glad submission to the Lord, and for the rich fruit that submission brings.
- Displayed — The pillars stood at the entrance in full view, showing the principles of the kingdom. The same two truths — established by God, strong in Christ — are what God works in His people now.
and the four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, two rows of pomegranates for one network, to cover the two globes of the capitals which were upon the pillars.
This verse is one line in a list of the temple's metalwork. It counts the fruit-shaped ornaments on top of the two great pillars at the temple entrance. Why does Scripture stop to count four hundred pomegranates, and why were they placed so high up?
The four hundred covered the bowls of the capitals. The capitals were the decorated tops of the two pillars at the front of the house. One writer describes the arrangement and what the ornaments picture:
The capitals placed on top of the pillars were themselves 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 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.
The pillars carried names, and their number carries meaning too:
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 fall apart through the weakness of man. It will not be handed on to others. So, as the witness of it, there were two pillars — Jachin and Boaz. They show it as a picture, but only as a witness. "Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses."
The pomegranates were not fixed to the bare stone. They sat on the latticework, and one writer draws a cause and effect from that order:
The pillars speak of that which is stable and outstanding (Gal. 2:9; Rev. 3:12). Wreaths of chainwork went on top of the pillars, and 100 carved pomegranates went on the wreaths. As we have mentioned, the chainwork speaks of willing submission to the authority of the Lord Jesus. Pomegranates are known for their many seeds. This points to the promise of great fruit, which is the result of submission to the Lord. The pillars were named Jachin (meaning "He will establish"), and Boaz ("in Him is strength"), indicating the solidity and power of the Lord Jesus.
The pomegranate also appears on the high priest's robe, paired with bells. That pairing gives a test a reader can apply to himself:
In the Word the pomegranate seems to be the image of fruit borne for God. Bells and pomegranates trimmed the hem of the high priest's garment, one after the other. The bells represent the testimony, and 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!
Fruit sits at the very top of a pillar named for strength. One writer asks why:
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. All His care for His own, all His disciples, has for its purpose that they might bear fruit. He must show Himself before all eyes as He who produces it.
The count is given in different ways, and one writer works through how the four hundred is reached:
The number is given in different ways. The pomegranates were in two rows, twelve in a row: twenty-four on the upper ledge of each pillar, and twenty-four on the lower ledge, facing the four winds — that is, facing east, west, north, and south. That is forty-eight on each pillar, ninety-six together. One pomegranate stood at each corner of the ledges, making one hundred all round each ledge, and two hundred on each pillar. The number on the two pillars was four hundred. The pomegranates and lily work speak of the fruits and graces of the Spirit.
- Foundation — Two pillars at the entrance witness to a kingdom that will never collapse through human weakness. Their names mean "He will establish" and "in Him is strength".
- Submission — The pomegranates rest on chainwork. The chainwork speaks of willing submission to the authority of the Lord Jesus.
- Fruit — Out of that submission comes the promise of great fruit, pictured by a fruit packed with seeds. The lily shapes beside it speak of the beauty of God's work.
- Balance — On the high priest's robe, bells and pomegranates matched in number. Testimony and fruit should match too. Often there are more words than fruit.
- Crown — Strength is in Christ to produce fruit. He desires to be crowned with it. So the fruit sits at the top of the pillar, in full public view.