There were lattices of checker work with wreaths of chain work for the capitals on the tops of the pillars, a lattice for the one capital and a lattice for the other capital.
This verse sits inside a long, careful description of the two great bronze pillars at the front of Solomon's temple. Here the account pauses on the ornament that covered their tops. Why does Scripture spend so much detail on decoration, and what do a lattice and a chain have to say about God?
The Pillars the Ornament Belongs To
The ornament belongs to two pillars that stood at the entrance, where no one could miss them. Each pillar carried a name.
H. L. RossierThe bronze pillars, placed in front of the porch of the temple, drew attention at once. They represented the outward display of the principles of the kingdom. We have already said that no other pillar is mentioned in the temple. They were named Jachin (He shall establish) and Boaz (in Him is strength). These were the two great truths shown in symbol to everyone who shared in Solomon's blessed reign. Everything came from Him; in Him, and in Him personally, there is strength. He sustains Himself and needs no outside help at all. His strength establishes others; it does not need to be established.
Another writer gives their size, and what they testified about Christ:
W. W. FeredayThese great pillars, each about 18 cubits high, were a public testimony. Stability is found in Christ, and only in Christ.
The Crown at the Top
Other passages give the capital different measurements. One writer solves the puzzle by treating it as a structure with several parts, not one solid block.
The Temple1 Kings 7:16 makes the capitals — or crowns, as the Hebrew word Cotharoth means — five cubits high. Verse 19 makes the lily work four cubits. And 2 Kings 25:17 says, "the height of the capital was three cubits." I think each of these capitals had four parts. (1) A square ledge on the top, half a cubit thick, with the pomegranates on it. (2) A similar ledge at the bottom. (3) A bowl one cubit deep (1 Kings 7:41). (4) A rounded swelling of three cubits (1 Kings 7:20). The last two together, covered with lily work, would make the four cubits. The two ledges would complete the height of five cubits. A network or checker work also covered the capitals, expressing self-control (1 Kings 7:17-18).
Net and Chain
One writer reads the two patterns in this verse as a picture of what Christ does with His own. First He catches them. Then He holds them.
W. W. FeredayThe ornaments of the pillars suggest what Christ works for and in His own. "Nets of checker work": He has caught us out of the sea of humanity for Himself (Matt. 13:47; Luke 5:10). "Wreaths of chain work": He binds and secures all whom He acquires (Hosea 11:4).
The writer uses an older translation here: "nets of checker work." The ESV reads "lattices of checker work."
Where Else Chains Appear
The chain work was not invented for the temple. It appears in only one other place in Scripture, and that place says something about the bond that unites God's people.
Henri L. RossierChains also decorate the pillars here. Scripture mentions them nowhere else except on the shoulder pieces and the breastplate of the high priest. They hold the different parts firmly together. They seem to picture the strength of the bond that unites the people of God.
Commentators differ over how to count and separate these ornaments. One writer says the English translation mixes up two different things. He reads the chains as a picture of subjection rewarded:
The TempleThe seven chains of wreathed work on each pillar tell of entire subjection. They also tell of what it results in: fullness of honour. The English translation constantly confuses the network or checker work with the chain work or wreaths — seven chains hung on each pillar. The confusion is not in the Hebrew Scriptures, which are perfectly clear and distinct. It is in the translation. Only from the Hebrew originals is it possible to harmonise these various differences.
Beauty Recorded, Then Lost
Set this careful description beside what happened to the pillars later. They did not last.
W. W. FeredayMeanwhile, Solomon's notable pillars have been broken up as scrap, and carried to Babylon (Jer. 27:19-22; Jer. 52:17-23). The Holy Spirit dwells sorrowfully upon their beauty while recording their destruction.
Summary
- Pillar — Two bronze columns stood at the temple entrance, showing the principles of the kingdom. Their names meant "He shall establish" and "in Him is strength."
- Crown — The word behind "capital" means a crown. This crown had ledges, a bowl and a swelling — which explains the different measurements elsewhere.
- Net — One writer reads the checker work as a net: Christ has caught His own out of the sea of humanity for Himself.
- Chain — The chain work binds and secures what the net catches. Chains appear elsewhere only on the high priest's shoulder pieces and breastplate.
- Memory — The pillars later ended up as scrap in Babylon. Scripture still records their beauty in full detail.