The Doors

The doors and the walls were alike in their beauty, and together they speak of Christ, and of what divine grace will work in those who are His. The pitiful lament of Psalms 74 comes to mind here. Asaph describes the desolation of the sanctuary by an outside foe. In measure this Psalm was fulfilled in the days of Nebuchadnezzar; but its complete fulfillment awaits the period of “the great tribulation.” The King of the North will come down with overwhelming hosts; and because of the evil of the Jewish mass, he will be allowed to wreak his vengeance on their land and sanctuary (Dan. 11:40; Joel 2). The pious remnant will feel the position keenly. “A man was famous according as he had lifted up his ax upon a thicket of trees. But now they break down the carved work thereof with axes and hammers” (Psa. 74:5-6). Men once famous for felling trees now spending their strength in destroying the sanctuary of God! Heart-breaking to those who loved the house for the sake of the One who dwelt therein. Asaph was a contemporary of David. It is not certain that he lived to see the Temple built, yet he writes thus graphically of its destruction! The spirit of prophecy is divinely wonderful. By its means God “calleth the things which be not as though they were” (Rom. 4:17).
But 1 Kings 6 speaks of palmy days when the blessing of Jehovah rested upon Israel, before the sin and folly of both king and people blasted everything. The recorder appears to speak of two sets of doors: in verses 31-32 folding doors into the Oracle, thus separating the holy place from the holiest of all; and in verse 32-35 folding doors into the Temple itself, the entrance into the Oracle being slightly the narrower of the two sets. The Oracle doors were made from the olive tree and the Temple doors from the fir tree. The Revisers in their margin, and J. N. Darby in his text, think the cypress to be meant rather than the fir. The following Scriptures connect this tree with desirability and beauty―Isaiah 55:13; 60:13; Hosea 14:8. A suitable type of Christ, assuredly! The doors were carved with cherubim, for this blessed One will rule and execute judgment for God; with palm-trees, for victory is with Him; and with “half-open flowers” (J. N. D.), suggestive that there are with Him always greater and more delightful things to come. Over all this was placed gold, typical of the righteousness and glory of God. Even the hinges of the doors were gold (1 Kings 7:50). The lintel and side posts of both sets of doors were made of olive-wood. The power of the Spirit is in mind in this. Only by His power are we able to avail ourselves of Christ for access into the divine, presence. Ephesians 2:18 gives us a sweet statement in few words of our great privilege as men saved by grace. “Through Him (Christ) we have access by one Spirt unto the Father.”