2 Chronicles 3

Solomon begins building the temple on Mount Moriah, the place David had prepared. The chapter describes its size, its gold-covered rooms, the two great cherubim in the Most Holy Place, the veil, and the two bronze pillars at the entrance. Everything is made for the worship of the God who chose to dwell among His people.

2 Chronicles 3:1

The temple rises on a place already marked by God’s dealings with His people. Moriah is linked to Abraham’s offering of Isaac, and here David met the LORD at Ornan’s threshing floor. The building rests on mercy and provision, not on Solomon’s ambition.

BSA: Moriah (“the mountain of God’s provision”): The site recalls God providing for Abraham, so the temple stands where God supplies what His people need. appeared (“been seen, revealed Himself”): God had made Himself known here, so the site was chosen by His revealing, not by human planning.

See also: Genesis 22:2; 1 Chronicles 21:18-22.

2 Chronicles 3:2

The work starts in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign, in the second month. The writer records the date carefully, as an event set within real history. The house of God was built at a definite time, in an orderly way, by those who were willing to start.

See also: 1 Kings 6:1.

2 Chronicles 3:3

The temple’s floor plan was sixty cubits by twenty, about twice the size of the tabernacle’s. The old standard was the older, longer cubit. The size was not random; it followed the pattern God had given David.

BSA: foundation (“base, starting point”): Everything that follows rests on this laid base, which shows the care God’s house required.

See also: 1 Chronicles 28:11-12.

2 Chronicles 3:4

The portico was a porch across the front, the first thing a worshiper met. Its inside was overlaid with pure gold. The height given here, one hundred twenty cubits in the Hebrew, is large and is read in different ways; the main point is the grandeur of the entrance.

BSA: pure (“clean, or untainted”): Gold without mixture suggests that what is brought near God should be clean.

2 Chronicles 3:5

The main hall was lined with cypress and covered with fine gold. Palm trees and chains were carved on it. Palms speak of life and flourishing, so the house felt like a garden of beauty where God’s people could meet Him.

BSA: main room (“greater house, the large hall”): This is the larger room in front of the inner sanctuary, where priests carried out the daily service.

See also: Psalm 92:12-13.

2 Chronicles 3:6

Precious stones were added for beauty. The gold came from Parvaim, a place whose location is not known today. Nothing was too costly for the house of God. The beauty was meant to honor Him, not to show off the builder.

BSA: beauty (“glory, loveliness”): The same word carries the idea of glory, so the adorning pointed to the glory of the One who lived there.

2 Chronicles 3:7

Beams, thresholds, walls and doors were all covered with gold, and cherubim were carved on the walls. Wherever a worshiper looked, the room spoke of God’s holiness. The cherubim recall the guardians placed at Eden, reminding all that God is approached on His terms.

BSA: cherubim (“angelic beings, heavenly guardians”): They are God’s attendants who guard His holiness and surround His throne.

See also: Genesis 3:24.

2 Chronicles 3:8-9

The Most Holy Place was a perfect cube, twenty cubits each way, and was covered with six hundred talents of gold. Even the nails were gold, fifty shekels in weight. The most sacred room was the most carefully made, because here God’s presence was said to dwell.

BSA: Most Holy Place (“the sacred inner sanctuary”): It was the innermost room, where the ark rested and where God’s presence was met.

See also: Hebrews 9:3-5.

2 Chronicles 3:10

Within the Most Holy Place Solomon set two large carved cherubim, covered in gold. They stood over the ark, as if the very throne room of heaven had a counterpart on earth. They show that the God who dwells here is King.

BSA: sculptured work (“image work, carved figures”): The cherubim were shaped by a craftsman, in the form God had directed.

See also: Psalm 99:1.

2 Chronicles 3:11-13

Each cherub had two wings of five cubits. One wing touched a side wall, and the other met the second cherub’s wing in the middle, so the wings spanned twenty cubits, the whole width of the room. The two stood upright, looking toward the main room, as if watching over all who came to worship.

BSA: touched (“meeting, joining”): Their wings met in the center, forming a single canopy over the holy place.

2 Chronicles 3:14

The veil stood between the holy room and the Most Holy Place. It was woven of blue, purple and crimson yarn and fine linen, with cherubim on it. It taught that sinful people could not walk freely into God’s presence. Christians see its tearing at the cross as opening the way.

BSA: veil (“curtain, screen”): It was a curtain that hid the inner room and so marked the line between God’s holiness and the people.

See also: Matthew 27:51; Hebrews 10:19-20.

2 Chronicles 3:15-16

Two great pillars stood in front of the temple. The thirty-five cubits is probably the height of each, or the figure stated in another account may differ because of how the measures were taken. The tops were crowned with chains and a hundred pomegranates, signs of beauty and abundance.

BSA: pomegranates (“a fruit or tree used as an ornament”): The fruit was a sign of fruitfulness and was used in decoration on the priests’ robes too.

See also: 1 Kings 7:15-20.

2 Chronicles 3:17

Solomon set one pillar on the south and one on the north, and gave them names. Jachin means He will establish, and Boaz carries the sense of strength. Anyone entering passed between two reminders: God establishes His house and His people, and He is their strength.

BSA: Jachin (“He will establish”): The name declares that God is the One who makes His house and His people stand. Boaz (“strength, might”): The name points to the strength on which the worshiper depends.

See also: Psalm 89:2.