And the capital upon it was brass, and the height of the one capital [was] five cubits; and the network and the pomegranates, upon the capital round about, all of brass; and similarly for the second pillar, and the pomegranates.
Jerusalem has fallen, and the record reads like an inventory — it even measures the bronze crown on top of one pillar and counts its decoration. Why does Scripture linger over beauty at the very moment Babylon is smashing it up and carting it away?
The "capital" (older translations say "chapiter") was the crown set on top of each bronze pillar at the temple entrance. The accounts give different heights for it. One writer reconciles them by breaking the crown into parts:
What strikes one commentator is the tone of the record. The details are loving; the event is a demolition.
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. The Holy Spirit dwells mournfully upon their beauty while recording their destruction.
The verse repeats one word: bronze, bronze, bronze. The material itself carried a message.
Bronze signifies the righteousness of God in judgement. So it was used for the Altar of Burnt-offerings. Scripture gives four figures of righteousness: Gold — intrinsic divine righteousness. Bronze (or copper) — divine righteousness as applied to man in judgement. Linen — "the righteousness of the saints." Filthy rags — the righteousness of the flesh.
One writer reads both ornaments as pictures of what Christ works for His own and in them:
"Nets of chequer 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. Scripture often uses "pomegranates" as emblems of fruitfulness. All who are Christ's are meant to be fruitful.
The pomegranate has a companion elsewhere in Scripture, and the pairing turns the ornament into a test:
In the Word the pomegranate seems to be the image of fruit borne for God. The hem of the high priest's garment was trimmed with bells and pomegranates, one after the other. 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 verse insists that the second pillar was identical. There were two, and each had a name:
Solomon "set up the pillars in front of the temple, one on the south, the other on the north." He named the south pillar Jachin ['He will establish'] and the north pillar Boaz ['In Him is strength']. They are silent but eloquent witnesses to two great truths: God establishes, and strength is in Christ.
Once you know the names, the smashing of the pillars reads as a verdict:
Even the two pillars of the temple are broken in pieces and carried away to Babylon. So are all the bronze, the gold, and the silver of the house of God. The Lord had been despised. What did Jachin and Boaz still have to do at Jerusalem? The strength that was in the Lord had departed through Judah's unfaithfulness. God had destroyed it instead of establishing it.
The bronze went to Babylon. Yet the loss of the objects did not cancel what they said:
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 this: He has established in righteousness a kingdom which can never be moved.
- Crown. The capital was the crown on top of the pillar. It stood five cubits high, ringed with network and pomegranates.
- Cause. Bronze pictures the righteousness of God applied to man in judgement. The very metal the record measures spoke of the judgement then falling.
- Fruit. Pomegranates picture fruit borne for God, and bells picture testimony. The standing danger is more words than fruit.
- Collapse. The pillars carried the names "He will establish" and "In Him is strength". The Lord had been despised, so God broke instead of establishing.
- Continuance. The bronze went to Babylon, but the truth did not. The material pillars fell; the moral pillars stand. Christ will yet establish a kingdom that cannot be moved.
And there were ninety-six pomegranates on the [four] sides; all the pomegranates upon the network were a hundred round about.
The chapter ends with a list of what Babylon carried off from the temple. It stops to count the ornaments on the two great bronze pillars at the entrance. Why would God count decorative fruit while the enemy tore His house down for scrap?
This list belongs to a record of loss, not of dedication. One commentator notes that the pillars named for God's promise ended up as scrap on the road to Babylon:
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 (Jer. 27:19-22; Jer. 52:17-23). The Holy Spirit lingers sorrowfully over their beauty while recording their destruction.
The figures here — ninety-six on the sides, a hundred on the network — have puzzled readers. Scripture gives the count in more than one way. One account lays out the arrangement and takes the "sides" as the four directions the pillars faced:
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 (Jer. 52:23) — that is, east, west, north, and south. That makes forty-eight on each pillar, ninety-six together. One pomegranate stood at each corner of the ledges, making one hundred around each ledge, 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.
The same writer distinguishes the network in this verse from the chain work, and finds meaning in the chains:
The seven chains of wreathed work on each pillar speak 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 — seven chains suspended on each pillar. The confusion is not in the Hebrew Scriptures, which are clear and distinct. It is in the translation.
This ornament carried meaning. One writer points to where else the pomegranate appears:
In the Word the pomegranate seems to be the image of fruit borne for God. Bells and pomegranates alternated around the hem of the high priest's garment (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 and resemble 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!
Another writer reads the pomegranate from its most obvious feature:
Pomegranates are known for their many seeds. They point to the promise of great fruit, and that fruit is the result of submission to the Lord.
The two pillars carried names: Jachin, "He will establish," and Boaz, "in Him is strength." One commentator asks a blunt question about them:
Even the two pillars of the temple are broken in pieces and carried away to Babylon, along with all the brass, the gold, and the silver of the house of God. The Lord had been despised. What should Jachin and Boaz still have to do at Jerusalem? The strength that was in the Lord had departed through Judah's unfaithfulness. God had destroyed it instead of establishing it. So ends the history of man, placed under responsibility before God.
The metal went to Babylon. What the pillars stood for did not go with it.
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 in righteousness a kingdom that shall never be moved. Then it shall be said, "The LORD reigns; He is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed; He has put on strength as His belt. Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. Your throne is established from of old; You are from everlasting" (Ps. 93:1-2).
- Counted. The ninety-six pomegranates faced the four directions. With the corner pieces, each ledge held a hundred — four hundred over both pillars.
- Fruit. The pomegranate, packed with seeds, stands for fruit borne for God. It matched the bells on the high priest's robe: fruit and testimony, equal in number.
- Subjection. The chain work on the pillars speaks of complete subjection. Fruit is the result of that submission to the Lord.
- Broken. Jachin ("He will establish") and Boaz ("in Him is strength") went to Babylon as scrap. The strength was in the Lord, and Judah had despised Him.
- Established. The Spirit lingers over their beauty even while recording their ruin. The promise they carried still holds: Christ will establish a kingdom that will never be moved.