12/23/2010 5:24:14 AM
SPIRITUAL DIARY
My Worship Time Focus: Finishing the temple
Bible Reading
& Meditation Reference: 1Kings 7:13-51; 2Chronicles 4
Message of the verses: This is the fourth and last main point in Dr.
Wiersbe’s commentary on 1Kings, the third chapter, and it has six sub-points in
it. He begins his commentary on this
fourth main point with the following, “The furnishings of the temple were
important to the priests, for without the divinely ordained furniture, they
couldn't do their ministry or pleas the Lord.”
The brazen altar (2Chron. 4:1): “1 Then he made a bronze altar, twenty cubits
in length and twenty cubits in width and ten cubits in height.”
The laver or
molten sea (1Kings 7:23-26; 2Chronicles 4:2-5, 10): “23
Now he made the sea of cast metal ten cubits from brim to brim, circular
in form, and its height was five cubits, and thirty cubits in circumference.
24 Under its brim gourds went around
encircling it ten to a cubit, completely surrounding the sea; the gourds were
in two rows, cast with the rest. 25 It
stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing
south, and three facing east; and the sea was set on top of them, and all their
rear parts turned inward. 26 It was a
handbreadth thick, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, as a lily
blossom; it could hold two thousand baths.”
“2 Also he made the cast metal sea, ten cubits
from brim to brim, circular in form, and its height was five cubits and its
circumference thirty cubits. 3 Now
figures like oxen were under it and all around it, ten cubits, entirely
encircling the sea. The oxen were in two rows, cast in one piece. 4 It stood on twelve oxen, three facing the
north, three facing west, three facing south and three facing east; and the sea
was set on top of them and all their hindquarters turned inwards. 5 It was a handbreadth thick, and its brim was
made like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom; it could hold 3,000 baths.
“10 He set the sea on the right side of the house
toward the southeast.”
This
laver or molten sea was to the left side or the southwest side of the temple
and it was used for washing, because the priests would become defiled when offering
the sacrifices and they must remain clean or this could have caused their
death, This sea set on twelve oxen, three in each direction, and they could
have represented the twelve tribes of Israel.
“In
the Scripture, water for drinking is a picture of the Spirit of God (John
7:37-39), while water for washing is a picture of the Word of God (Psalm 119:9;
John 15:3; Eph. 5:25-27).” Dr. Wiersbe
goes on to write the following, “As the priests labored for the Lord in the
temple, they became defiled and needed to be cleansed; and as we serve the
Lord, we too can become defiled and need the ‘washing of water by the
word.’ Jesus pictured this truth in John
13 when He washed the disciples’ feet.”
The ten stands and lavers (verses 27-39;
2Chronicles 4:6): “27 Then he made the ten stands of bronze; the
length of each stand was four cubits and its width four cubits and its height
three cubits. 28 This was the design of
the stands: they had borders, even borders between the frames, 29 and on the borders which were between the
frames were lions, oxen and cherubim; and on the frames there was a pedestal
above, and beneath the lions and oxen were wreaths of hanging work. 30 Now each stand had four bronze wheels with
bronze axles, and its four feet had supports; beneath the basin were cast
supports with wreaths at each side. 31
Its opening inside the crown at the top was a cubit, and its opening was
round like the design of a pedestal, a cubit and a half; and also on its opening
there were engravings, and their borders were square, not round. 32 The four wheels were underneath the borders,
and the axles of the wheels were on the stand. And the height of a wheel was a
cubit and a half. 33 The workmanship of
the wheels was like the workmanship of a chariot wheel. Their axles, their
rims, their spokes, and their hubs were all cast. 34 Now there were four supports at the four
corners of each stand; its supports were part of the stand itself. 35 On the top of the stand there was a circular
form half a cubit high, and on the top of the stand its stays and its borders
were part of it. 36 He engraved on the
plates of its stays and on its borders, cherubim, lions and palm trees,
according to the clear space on each, with wreaths all around. 37 He made the ten stands like this: all of them
had one casting, one measure and one form. 38
He made ten basins of bronze, one basin held forty baths; each basin was
four cubits, and on each of the ten stands was one basin. 39 Then he set the stands, five on the right
side of the house and five on the left side of the house; and he set the sea of
cast metal on the right side of the house eastward toward the south.
“6 He also made ten basins in which to wash, and
he set five on the right side and five on the left to rinse things for the
burnt offering; but the sea was for the priests to wash in.”
It
first can be noted that these basins were very beautiful, but also very useful,
for each held 230 gallons of water and they were on wheels, like a wagon. They were set on each side of the temple,
five to a side, but could be move around where they were needed, as they were
used to wash the sacrifices. The water
must have come from the large laver or sea.
Dr.
Wiersbe writes of these lavers the following, “It’s worth noting that these
very practical and useful stands were also very beautiful, which teaches us
that God sees beauty in holiness and the holiness of beauty (Ex. 28:2; Psalms.
29:2; 96:6, 9; 110:3).”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: The book of Hebrews teaches about OT pictures
that have become reality since Jesus Christ came to earth to die for the sins
of the world, and these pictures are seen in today’s SD. I can learn a lot from these articles that
were in and around the temple, and the temple itself. I learn that Jesus Christ was the sacrifice
made for my sins, and that I have the Holy Spirit living in me to keep me
clean. I learn that my body is the
temple of the Holy Spirit who lives within me.
I can also learn that I am to be a living sacrifice, which is holy and
acceptable to the Lord and is my reasonable service and worship to the Lord who
loved me enough to die for me in order to pay for my sins.
My Steps of
Faith for Today:
1.
Give myself to the Lord for worship and service.
2.
Trust the Lord to direct my path.
3.
Trust the Lord to work out the details of our trip
to Hawaii.
4.
Remember that I am in a battle and in great need of
the spiritual armor that the Lord has provided for me as I am in the battle.
12/23/2010 6:25:36 AM
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