Details

O. T. #766  "Details"
June 2, 2016
1 Kings 7-Part 2


LET IT GLOW

King Solomon spent a fortune on his palace-his residence, the courtyard, and  housing for his women. Previously, we learned about its five various parts. The rest of the chapter (13-51) describes the furnishes he provided for the Temple.

Solomon brought in the best men to work on the Temple. Huram (Hiram in the Hebrew language), was one of those skilled men. He was from the city of Tyre (not to be confused with the King of Tyre), and his mother was a widow an Israeli from the tribe of Naphtali or Dan, which was a contradiction. (One was her  birth place and the other was her residence, or she could have married into one tribe.) At any rate, Huram was an Israeli.

What is notable about him? Huram was highly skilled and experienced in all kinds of bronze work. He did all the work King Solomon assigned to him. Does that mean he was obedient to the king's instructions/wishes?

What a thing to have said about a person. Are you and I known as a person who is obedient to King Jesus' instructions?

LET IT GROW

The Temple's furnishings were unique and extensive:
1. The porch of the Temple had two huge bronze free-standing pillars with a description as:

• each 27 feet tall and 18 in circumference;
• tops of those pillars, called a capital, were decorated with bronze elaborate shapes of pomegranates (a fruit of the Promised Land), a border of lily-work, checker-work, wreaths of chain-work.
• On the top of each pillar was a bowl, so the pillars could have served as a giant lampstand. 
• The south pillar was named Jakin and the north was named Boaz.

2. A huge circular brass fountain-type basin:

• held about 12,000 gallons of water;
• was known as The Sea;
• stood in the southeast side of the Temple;
• was the used by the priests to wash after killing the sacrificial animals. It probably provided water for the 10 movable basins. 
• Huram arranged it to be supported by 12 oxen, with 3 each facing the directions of the compass.

3. Ten portable lavers were constructed  as carriage-like bases, decorated with ornamental cherubim,
     lions, and oxen.
4. Other objects, pots, shovels, and sprinkling bowls were used in the process of sacrifices, and are
     described in the rest of the chapter.

The work of Huram was not engraving, but casting. Large molds were dug in the clay, and the molten brass was poured into them.
Details. Did you notice all the details in this chapter? And we are not finished yet. Do you think God concerned with the details in our life?

Do we consider God's Word as important a these furnishings?

[Resources: NIV Bible, The MacArthur Bible Commentary, Liberty Bible Commentary]

LET IT GO

Be an obedient child of God our Father.

Make the Bible as important to me as the world does precious metals.

Seek God's will for the details of my life.