And he made the sea, molten, ten cubits from brim to brim, round all about; and its height was five cubits; and a line of thirty cubits encompassed it round about.
Solomon's workers cast a huge round bronze basin, wide enough to hold thousands of gallons. It replaced the small washing basin (the laver) of the tabernacle, Israel's tent of worship, and its size, shape and metal all carry meaning.
One commentator gives its size, what it stands on, and what the priests used it for:
The Sea matches the laver of the tabernacle, but how much greater it is! It was 10 cubits in diameter (about 15 feet) and its height 5 cubits (7 1/2 feet). Twelve bronze oxen supported it, all facing outward, three toward each direction of the compass. They stand for the twelve tribes of Israel. The oxen speak of lowly, patient service. The priests washed in the Sea. This pictures the moral cleansing they needed for carrying out their service. The sea held 3000 baths of water, which is over 12,600 gallons.
The altar of sacrifice was bronze too. One writer draws the two together:
Solomon's molten sea was made of bronze. Bronze is the fitting symbol of divine righteousness demanding judgment on sin (as at the bronze altar), or judgment on uncleanness (as at the bronze sea). Revelation 1 describes the Lord Jesus as having "His feet like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace." That is how He appears, walking among the lampstands. He cannot tolerate evil, but must, in the exercise of judgment, trample it beneath His feet.
The basin held water, not blood, and that decides who came to it. A believer who sins is not sent back to the beginning:
A priest under the law with defiled hands and feet did not need to go back to the bronze altar. He needed to go forward to the bronze sea. He did not need the blood applied again to make him a priest. He only needed to wash with water, so that he could carry out his priestly duties. So now, if a believer fails, if he sins, if he picks up defilement, he does not need to be washed in the blood again as at the first. He simply needs the cleansing action of the Word... Does this make little of defilement? The very opposite! Did the provision of a whole sea of water make little of priestly defilement?... Once a man is cleansed by the blood of Jesus, he is clean forever. If Christ has cleansed me, I am divinely, eternally clean.
One writer takes the hands and feet as two areas of life. Only one of them, he says, still needs the daily washing:
The brazen sea served for the daily purification of the priests. There they washed their hands and their feet. That made them fit to carry out their service and to dwell where the Lord dwelt... The Word of God does this washing, on the ground of Christ's intercession as Advocate. Under the law this washing applied to hands and feet, that is to say, to works and walk. Under grace it applies only to walk. This is because we have been purified from dead works to serve the living God. That happened once for all — something the law could not do.
The verse also notes the basin's round shape. One commentator asks why, and answers from John 13, where Jesus washed His disciples' feet:
Why was the washing laver, or molten sea, round? You will see if you turn to John 13. In this chapter the Lord Jesus reveals to us His present priestly service. The atoning work is done. "It is finished." This priestly work for us is going on... The molten sea was round, that is, it had neither beginning nor end, so to speak — everlasting as an emblem. And such is the love of our Great High Priest. "Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end." Love that never stops washing our feet, and restoring our souls.
Revelation shows a sea before God's throne, but the water is gone:
"Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal." The reference back to the molten sea in the earthly sanctuary is too obvious to be mistaken. But it is not a sea of water, as there. It is a sea of glass — a silent yet powerful witness to the fixed and unchangeable purity of the eternal home of the glorified. On earth we often need the water (of the Word), because of the defilement we pick up along the way. That defilement comes in between our souls and God. In the wonderful scene we are going to, defilement will never be possible.
- Bronze — the metal of judgment. The righteousness that judged sin at the altar will not overlook uncleanness at the sea.
- Water — what the bronze then makes possible. Those who came here were already priests; they needed washing, not another sacrifice.
- Hands and feet — where the washing lands: works and walk, done daily by the Word, so that service can go on.
- Round — the shape of the love behind it, with no beginning and no end, still washing feet today.
- Glass — where it all arrives. Before the throne the sea is crystal, not water, because nothing there can ever stain again.
And under it was the similitude of oxen, encompassing it round about, ten in a cubit enclosing the sea round about, two rows of oxen, cast when it was cast.
Verse 3 pauses on a small detail: two rows of figures ran under the rim of the huge bronze basin in Solomon's temple, cast in the same pour as the basin. Why record such a minor ornament, and what were the figures — gourds in some texts, oxen in others — meant to teach?
One description sets the two rows beside the lily-shaped rim, then turns to the water they encircled.
The rim was shaped like the rim of a cup, with lily flowers, and gourds in two rows, ten gourds to a cubit. This bronze sea, with its vast body of water, gives us the idea of unlimited supply. It is a symbol of Jesus in resurrection and in ascended glory, in whom all the fullness of spiritual life, power, and blessing dwells.
The other reading, small oxen, matches the twelve large oxen the basin rested on. Where the figures are read that way, the animal itself carries meaning:
The ox is one of the four animals that form the attributes of the throne (Revelation 4). These animals represent the active qualities of God, the principles of His government. The ox is the firmness and patience of God in His ways.
The figures shared the basin's metal. That metal carried its own meaning:
Solomon's cast sea was made of bronze. Bronze is the fitting symbol of divine righteousness demanding judgment on sin (as in the bronze altar) or judgment on uncleanness (as in the bronze sea). Revelation 1 says of the Lord Jesus that "His feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace." That is how He is seen walking among the lampstands. He cannot tolerate evil. In judgment He must trample it under His feet.
The figures stood ten to a cubit — roughly ten in every eighteen inches. One writer turns that crowding into comfort about small troubles, not only great ones.
Do you say, Well, I look to Him mainly in great trials, to help me in great temptations. But what hinders my soul, and troubles it most, are the little worrying trials of life. "The little foxes that spoil the vineyards." Have you not noticed those little oxen too? There are not only the great oxen, looking every way; there is also the patient, watchful care of our tender High Priest. In His preserving, restoring service He watches over us in all the little trials of our wilderness path — yes, even ten in every cubit.
He roots that comfort in what Christ Himself went through:
"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin." The captain of our salvation has walked the road before us in every step. … Therefore He is able to save us from all temptations: whether they are great, from north, east, west, or south; or small, even ten in every cubit of our path.
The figures were not attached afterwards. They came out of the mould as one piece with the basin, and one writer ties that to the service of Christ:
This washing is an inseparable part of His blessed work. He says so sweetly, "I am among you as the one who serves." But do not use this precious word as a cover for indifference about evil, as if out of love He allowed the least evil or defilement. Nothing can be more false or dangerous. He does not allow it. In love He takes the towel and ties it round Himself to serve. He pours the water into the basin, not to allow or overlook evil, but to wash it away, to restore our consciences.
The basin, ornament and all, was there so the priests could wash. That washing has its counterpart today:
Under the law, a priest whose hands and feet had become defiled did not need to go back to the bronze altar. He needed to go forward to the bronze sea. He did not need the blood applied again to make him a priest. He only needed to wash with water, so that he could carry out his priestly work. … So now, if a believer fails, if he sins, if he picks up defilement, he does not need to be washed in the blood again as he was at the first. He only needs the cleansing action of the Word.
- Two readings. Gourds in some texts, small oxen in others — either way, two rows of figures ringed the whole basin.
- Bronze. Altar and basin were both bronze: righteousness that judges sin and judges defilement, and overlooks neither.
- Patience. Read as oxen, the figures picture the firmness and patience of God in His ways.
- Ten in a cubit. The figures crowd close together, like a High Priest whose watchful care covers small daily trials as well as great ones.
- Forward, not back. The figures were cast with the basin, so this service is never separate from the Servant. The defiled priest went forward to the water, not back to the altar. The believer who fails needs the cleansing of the Word, not a fresh start.
It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east; and the sea was above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward.
Twelve bronze oxen carry the huge basin in Solomon's temple, and they face out to every point of the compass. Why record the pose of animals under a washing bowl, and what did it teach?
The sea replaces the smaller washing basin of the tabernacle, but on a far greater scale.
The Sea answers to the laver of the tabernacle, but again, how much higher! It was 10 cubits in diameter (about 15 feet) and its height 5 cubits (7 1/2 feet) (v. 2). 12 bronze oxen supported it, all facing outward, three toward each direction of the compass. So the 12 tribes of Israel are represented. The oxen speak of lowly, patient service. The priests washed in the Sea (v. 6). This pictures the moral cleansing they needed in order to carry out their service.
The sea also answers two questions: who supplies the cleansing, and how much of it there is.
The sea pictures the cleansing His people need, which the Lord Himself so graciously provides. The huge amount of water it held suggests the unlimited provision grace has made.
The altar where sacrifices burned and the sea where priests washed were made of the same metal. That is no accident.
Solomon's sea was cast in bronze. Bronze is a fitting symbol of God's righteousness, which demands judgment on sin (as at the bronze altar), or judgment on uncleanness (as at the bronze sea)... This explains why both were made of bronze: the altar where sin was atoned for, and the sea where defilement was washed away. Everything in Scripture has its meaning, and we should seek, in a spirit of prayer, to find out what that meaning is.
The sea held water. That fixed the direction for a priest who had dirtied his hands or feet.
A priest under the law with defiled hands and feet did not need to go back to the bronze altar. He needed to go forward to the bronze sea... So now, if a believer fails, if he sins, if he picks up defilement, he does not need to be washed in the blood again as he was at the first. He only needs the cleansing action of the Word... Did the provision of a sea holding 3000 baths of water make light of a priest's defilement? Did it not rather prove how serious it was?
The number and the direction are both read as deliberate. Twelve matches the tribes; the outward gaze reaches beyond them.
In Scripture the ox always pictures the patient worker for God (1 Cor. 9:9-10), and twelve is the number of Israel's tribes. Most likely there were pipes running down through the mouths of the oxen, so that the water flowed out when it was needed. So here we see the word of the Lord flowing out through Israel in the coming day, to bless all the nations. The oxen looked toward every direction under heaven.
Commentators differ on what the ox pictures. Next to patient labour, another writer sees the ox as a picture of how God Himself acts toward His people.
The ox, as we have already seen, is the firmness and patience of God in His ways. The twelve bronze oxen are the full display, in every sense, of God's patience in His ways. By that patience He has brought Israel under the rule of the Messiah, and has made her able to stand in holiness before Himself.
A later king took the sea off these oxen and set it on a stone floor. One writer reads that new base as a new principle.
Ahaz took the basin off what formed its base and set it on a stone pavement. Is this stone pavement not a striking picture of the nature and heart of man? All the religious trends of the present day rest on the claim that the basis of our practical dedication to His service is the human element, and not the character of God.
The sea has one more appearance in Scripture, and by then it has changed.
In Revelation 4:6, we read that before the throne was a sea of glass like crystal. This sea of glass is an allusion to the molten sea in Solomon's temple. But it is not a sea of water. It is glass like crystal, because those who are redeemed... in glory no longer need cleansing. They have entered a perfect and settled state of holiness.
- Base — the sea rests on twelve oxen, the twelve tribes. They picture patient service, and God's own patience in bringing His people to stand in holiness before Him.
- Bronze — the sea shares its metal with the altar: righteousness that judges sin and uncleanness alike.
- Water — a defiled priest went forward to the sea, not back to the altar. The huge supply shows how serious defilement was.
- Outward — the oxen face all four directions. They point to the word of the Lord flowing out through Israel to the nations.
- Fixed — before the throne the sea becomes glass. Those in glory no longer need cleansing.
And its thickness was a hand-breadth, and its brim like the work of the brim of a cup, with lily-blossoms; in capacity it held three thousand baths.
This verse gives three details about Solomon's great bronze basin: the thickness of its wall, the lily shape of its rim, and the water it could hold. Each detail matters, because the priests washed at this sea before they served.
One writer turns the figures of this verse into sizes we can picture.
The Sea answers to the laver of the tabernacle, but again, how much higher! It was 10 cubits in diameter (about 15 feet) and its height 5 cubits (7½ feet). … The priests washed in the Sea, symbolizing moral cleansing necessary for carrying out their service. The sea contained 3000 baths of water, which amounts to over 12,600 gallons. Being a hand-breadth thick (about 4 inches), its weight must have been great.
One writer hears in that scale an echo of a psalm about God as the source of life.
The larger reservoir, the Bronze Sea, suggests the idea of a greater fulness and more abundant supply…
The Bronze Sea made by Hiram for Solomon, standing by the Temple of God, reminds us of the words of the Psalmist, "With you is the fountain of life."
Compare this verse with 1 Kings 7:26 and the numbers differ. Commentators explain the gap as the difference between full capacity and normal contents.
1 Kings 7:26 states that it "contained 2000 baths." This probably means the amount of water usually put into it. 2 Chronicles 4:5 says "it received and held 3000 baths," which may signify its full capacity. The dimensions of the basin do not seem to agree with this capacity. But its exact shape is not given. It may have bulged out a good deal in the middle.
The wording quoted here follows an older translation; the ESV reads simply "It held 3,000 baths."
The huge figure pictures how much God has provided for cleansing His people. One writer follows that thought into a later scene in Revelation.
The molten sea is typical of that cleansing which His people need and which is so graciously provided by the Lord Himself. The immense quantity of water contained in the molten sea suggests the unlimited provision grace has made. In Revelation 4:6, we read that before the throne was a sea of glass like crystal. This sea of glass is an allusion to the molten sea in Solomon's temple. But it is not a sea of water, but of glass like crystal, because the redeemed in glory no longer need cleansing. They have entered upon a perfect and fixed state of holiness.
The one ornament in this verse is the lily-shaped rim. One writer links it to the Song of Songs, where the lily pictures the one the King loves.
Do you notice the brim of the molten sea? What are those flowers? Flowers of lilies. It is said in the Song of Songs, "As a lily among brambles, so is my love among the young women." And again, "He grazes among the lilies." Does not all this say, "I must wash your feet, according to what you are in my sight; what I have made you."
Another writer ties the lily to Israel's future and to the character it pictures.
The brim of the molten sea had flowers of lilies worked into it. This carries our minds into the Song of Songs, where we have the various fruits of grace that will be displayed in Israel after their reconciliation. In that book the King repeatedly likens His people to lilies. A beautiful comparison, certainly. It tells of purity and lowliness, two features always delightful to the eye of the Lord.
One writer sets the sea beside the altar, and draws out what the difference means when a believer fails.
At the altar I see bronze together with blood; at the sea I find bronze together with water. Both point to Christ. The blood that makes expiation and the water that cleanses both flow from a crucified Savior…
But the bronze sea contained water, not blood. Those who came to it had already proved the power of the blood and therefore only needed the washing of water…
A priest under the law, whose hands and feet had become defiled, did not need to go back to the bronze altar, but forward to the bronze sea… So now, if a believer fails, if he commits sin, if he contracts defilement, he does not need to be washed again in the blood as at the first, but simply needs the cleansing action of the Word…
Does this make little of defilement? The very opposite! Did the provision of a sea, with its 3000 baths of water, make little of priestly defilement? Did it not rather prove how much was made of it?
- Scale. The temple sea dwarfed the tabernacle laver. Its greater size speaks of greater fulness and more abundant supply.
- Capacity. The 3,000 baths here is the sea's full capacity. The 2,000 of 1 Kings is the amount usually kept in it.
- Supply. That immense quantity pictures the unlimited provision grace has made for cleansing God's people.
- Character. The lily rim recalls the Song of Songs: purity and lowliness. He washes His people according to what He has made them in His sight.
- Use. The sea held water, not blood. One already cleansed goes forward to wash, not back to the altar. And a sea that size shows how much God makes of defilement.