Last week we finished off the water
basins and carts that surrounded the Temple. And what a wonderful
revelation we obtained from these. Please go and read it if you
have missed it and have the time.
Today I want us to start moving
towards the Temple and have a look at the two bronze pillars at the
entrance of the Temple. These two pillars were made of bronze and
the top of the pillars were in the shape of lilies. They also had
pomegranates as decorations. These two pillars also interestingly
had names:
"Then he set up the pillars by
the vestibule of the Temple; he set up the pillar on the right and
called its name Jachin, and he set up the pillar on the left and
called its name Boaz." 1 Kings 7:21
So let us have a look at the
symbolism of the two bronze pillars and their interesting
names.
First of all. Why two pillars
except that it is practical? Two symbolizes agreement. And I
believe that God wanted to tell the Israelites that He wants to
walk in agreement with them. He and them should be a team. The
Temple was in effect there to draw them closer to Him. So the one
pillar symbolized Him and the other the Israelites themselves. And
together they were in total agreement.
Secondly the bronze symbolized
God's righteous judgment against sin. And this whole Temple
typifies God's grace and forgiveness of it once they came to Him
for forgiveness.
Thirdly let us have a look at the
names. Jachin means 'Yah establishes' and Jachan means victorious.
This is the pillar on the right. The pillar on the left is Boaz,
which means 'Bearer of the covenant'. Put together it would seem
that they mean that Yah (meaning God) establishes the covenant and
is victorious. Isn't that wonderful?
So put together these two pillars
seem to indicate the following to us:
God is righteous to judge all sin,
but He established the covenant for Israel, so that they could walk
in agreement with Him into victory. Wow. This statement really made
me think, because it is saying the same to us today.
He was righteous in judging all our
sin in His Son. He had to deal with sin, so that He could establish
a new covenant with us. And in this new covenant there is only one
thing for us to do and that is to walk in agreement with Him. Isn't
it just amazing how the same message comes through the whole time
while we are discussing the Temple? And that is that God wants us
close to Him by His side, walking in agreement. That is all. That
is the whole secret to life. And yet it is too simple, it is too
easy and now we run around frantically trying to 'figure'
everything out. We rush around and try on our own. We sweat, we
fight, we go to war in our businesses and we struggle to survive.
We reason everything out, we blame the government and everyone we
can for the way things are. We want to excel and to reach the top;
we want to make something of our lives, frantically searching for
meaning. We look around and we see a sick world, we see people
struggling and we conclude that we need to toughen up to make it.
We grit our teeth and we become determined to show the world that
we can. We put unrealistic pressure on our children and we teach
them to dance to the melody of this life. We teach them to cope
under pressure and we teach them that life isn't fair. And all the
while God is standing at the entrance of the 'Temple' waiting for
us to get into agreement with Him. He sees us running around in the
outer court, sacrificing, sweating and crying. And all the while He
is crying too, because He has so much more for us. So much more. He
is waiting for us to give up on our own efforts and rather to walk
further with Him.
Are you ready to stop running, to
stop trying, to stop forcing things to happen? He is waiting at the
entrance. He is ready to lead you in, in agreement with Him. Are
you ready?
Father I see Your tears of
frustration. I see You agonizing for Your children determined on
doing their own thing. Father, we know that in agreement with You
all things are laid out for us. In agreement with You we can walk
and not grow weary, run and not faint. You will give us the
strength. Here we come Father; we look forward to walking in
agreement with You. In Jesus' Name. Amen