Around all the walls of the house he carved engraved figures of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, in the inner and outer rooms.
Every wall of Solomon's temple was carved with the same three figures, then covered in gold. Why these three — winged cherubim, palm trees and half-open flowers — and why on the walls of both the inner and the outer room?
Carving on Every Surface
The carving ran right around the house, and gold went over it.
Morrish Bible DictionaryCarving was used a great deal in the Temple. "Around all the walls of the house he carved engraved figures of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, in the inner and outer rooms." They were then covered with gold. 1 Kings 6:18, 29-35. In prophecy the Psalmist mourns over the enemy breaking that carved work down with axes and hammers. Ps. 74:6. For the "carved images" of idol worship (Judges 18:18; 2 Chr. 33:7, 22; 2 Chr. 34:3-4), Scripture uses a different word, translated elsewhere as "graven image."
The Cherubim
The cherubim stand for God's government. One writer notes which creatures are missing from this carving, and draws a conclusion from that.
H. L. RossierWe have already seen that the cherubim are attributes of the righteous government of God… In these chapters before us the cherub has a unique place. It is neither an ox nor a lion. It is an intelligent being… The eagle is not mentioned in the decoration of the temple, or of the vessels of the court. The eagle stands for how fast God's judgment falls, and that does not fit a settled, peaceful government… The cherubim therefore are the aspect of intelligence in the government of God here. This intelligence ornaments the house of God. Those who draw near may see it in all the details of the divine building.
Seen and Hidden
The carving stood on the walls inside and out. The same writer finds two parts to God's thoughts here — one open to view, one out of sight.
H. L. RossierGod's ways in His government are the outer part, the part that can be read on the wall, and they bear witness to this intelligence, to this endlessly varied wisdom. But beyond this there is a whole other part of God's thoughts, unknown under the law, hidden and covered over inside the temple where no human eye could see them. These are the counsels of God… God has revealed them to us by His Spirit (1 Cor. 2:9-10).
The Palm Trees
The palm has a settled meaning across the Bible. Its heavy use in this building points to one period of time.
Numerical Bible NotesIt is the symbol of beauty (Song of Solomon 7:7), of righteousness, prosperity and fruitfulness (Ps. 92:12-14), of salvation and victory (Rev. 7:9), and of kingly glory (John 12:13). Its wide use in the first temple ties it to the kingdom and glory that Solomon's reign pictures (1 Kings 6:29, 32, 35; 1 Kings 7:36; 2 Chron. 3:5). These are the marks of the Millennial age… The palm tree grows steadily through every season, and so pictures constancy and perseverance.
The tabernacle had no palm trees at all. One writer reads that absence as a sign of what was still to come.
Truth & TestimonyThere was no representation of the palm tree in the tabernacle and it appears that it is an anticipation of the time of the Millennium.
Flowers Half Open
Commentators differ on the half-open flowers. One reads them as spring just breaking, then turns the picture toward the people who will live in that kingdom.
H. L. RossierThe half-open flowers are the emblem of a new season, of the beginning of spring (Song of Solomon 2:12). Psalm 92:13-14 says, "The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree … Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God." So these emblems are not only emblems of the kingdom, but also of those who belong there. There will be perfect harmony between the glories of the kingdom and those who will have part in it.
Another writer reads the open flower as full maturity, not a beginning. He also draws one lesson from the three carvings together.
Leslie M. GrantBut in this way God was insisting on His government of grace and truth, which people forget too easily. The palm trees speak of Christ who bears fruit with unfailing consistency. The open flowers picture the mature beauty (not buds) of the Lord Jesus. So we see the four principles that mattered most if God was to dwell there — grace, truth, fruitfulness and beauty.
Summary
- Covered. The figures ran around every wall, inner room and outer, and gold went over all of it — nothing in God's house stayed plain.
- Government. The cherubim stand for God's righteous rule. The lion, ox and eagle are absent here, so the wall shows the calm, intelligent side of that rule.
- Triumph. The palm speaks of righteousness, victory and royal glory. It never appeared in the tabernacle, which marks the temple as a picture of a coming reign.
- Bloom. The open flowers show freshness and beauty. Commentators read them either as spring just starting or as full maturity.
- Hidden. What the wall showed was God's government, open to any eye. His deeper counsels stayed out of sight inside, and He has revealed them by His Spirit.