Page 232 - Through New Eyes

The World of the Temple 231

during the Davidic era. The Temple proper consisted only of the
two rooms, the Most Holy and the Holy Place. The dimensions
of the Most Holy were doubled, which made it eight times as
large; while the Holy Place was twelve times as large. 19 The
Temple itself was shaped as a stepped pyramid, its walls becom-
ing thicker stage by stage as one approached the ground (1
Kings 6:6; Ezekiel 41: 7). (See Diagram 16. 3.) Leaning on these
stages were three stories of outlying rooms. The floor of the
Temple was no longer made of dirt but of gold (1 Kings 6:30).
The walls of the Temple were engraved with cherubim and palm
trees, symbolizing God’s two hosts of angels and men (1 Kings
6:29). In the Most Holy, there were now four cherubim guard-
ing God’s throne. He “sat” on the wings of two, and the wings of
the other two overshadowed the throne. This new arrangement
was called God’s Chariot, and in Ezekiel we see the four
cherubim repositioned as the four wheels of the Chariot (1
Chronicles 28:18; 1 Kings 6:23-28).
In the Holy Place there were ten new golden lampstands in
addition to the tree-lampstand from the Tabernacle. There were
also ten tables for the utensils of the new lampstands (2 Chroni-
cles 4:7-8).
Outside the Temple was an open porch flanked by two huge
freestanding pillars named Jachin and Boaz (1 Kings 7:15-22).
Jachin represented the High Priest, and Boaz the King, as the
two servant-guardians of God’s Kingdom. The design of these
pillars symbolized ladders to heaven, with the bronze shaft asso-
ciated with the Courtyard, the arboraceous collar representing
the Holy Place, and the cubic Lily at the top representing the
Most HolyZO (see Diagram 16.4).
Also in the courtyard was a huge bronze sea (1 Kings
7:23-26; 2 Chronicles 4:2-5). This replaced the small laver of
cleansing of the Tabernacle. The bronze sea also replicated the
Temple, with its bronze bowl associated with the Courtyard, the
row of bulls representing the Holy Place, and the Lily design at
the top signifying the Most Holy. The twelve bulls under the
bronze ocean were positioned in the same configuration as
Israel’s encampment in Numbers 2, and thus represented Israel
and the land.