CHAPTER 4 Oct. 14 
Details of the Temple Furniture
Then he made an altar of brass, twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and ten cubits in height. 2Also he made the molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass; and its height was five cubits; and a line of thirty cubits encircled it. 3Under it was the likeness of oxen which encircled it for ten cubits, encircling the sea. The oxen were in two rows, cast when it was cast. 4It stood on twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, three looking toward the west, three looking toward the south and three looking toward the east. The sea was set on them above, and all their back parts were inward. 5It was a handbreadth thick; and its brim was worked like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily. It received and held three thousand baths. 6He made also ten basins, and put five on the right hand and five on the left, to wash in them. Such things as related to the burnt offering they washed in them; but the sea was for the priests to wash in. 7He made the ten lampstands of gold according to the command concerning them; and he set them in the temple, five on the right hand and five on the left. 8He made also ten tables, and placed them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left. He made one hundred basins of gold. 9Furthermore he made the court of the priests, and the great court, and doors for the court, and overlaid their doors with brass. 10He set the sea on the right side of the house eastward, toward the south. 11Huram made the pots, the shovels and the basins. So Huram made an end of doing the work that he did for king Solomon in God’s house: 12the two pillars, and the bowls, and the two capitals which were on the top of the pillars, and the two networks to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars, 13and the four hundred pomegranates for the two networks; two rows of pomegranates for each network, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the pillars. 14He made also the bases, and the basins he made on the bases; 15one sea, and the twelve oxen under it. 16Huram his father also made the pots, the shovels, the forks, and all its vessels for king Solomon for the house of Yahweh of bright brass. 17The king cast them in the plain of the Jordan, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredah. 18Thus Solomon made all these vessels in great abundance; for the weight of the brass could not be estimated. 19Solomon made all the vessels that were in God’s house, the golden altar also, and the tables with the showbread on them; 20and the lampstands with their lamps, to burn before the oracle according to the commandment, of pure gold; 21and the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs, of gold (perfect gold); 22and the snuffers, basins, spoons and fire pans, of pure gold. As for the entry of the house, the inner doors of it for the most holy place, and the doors of the main hall of the temple were of gold.

Commentary

4:1 Stephen says that David tried to find a tabernacle for God, "But  Solomon built him anhouse. Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, Heaven is my throne... what house will ye build me?" (Acts 7:46-49 AV). This cannot mean 'God no longer dwells in the temple as He used to before Christ's death', because the reason given is that the prophet Isaiah says that God cannot live in houses. This reason was true in Isaiah's time, before the time of Christ. It would seem that Stephen is politely saying: 'Solomon made this mistake of thinking that God can be limited to a physical building. You're making just the same mistake'. And he goes on to make a comment which could well allude to this: "Ye do always resist the Holy Spirit: as your fathers (including Solomon) did, so do ye" (Acts 7:51 AV). Further evidence that Stephen saw Solomon's building of the temple in a negative light is provided by the link between Acts 7:41 and 48: "They made a calf... and rejoiced in the works of their own hands... howbeit the Most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands" (AV). The word "made" is stressed here in the record of Solomon's building the temple (3:8,10,14-16; 4:1,2,6-9,14,18,19,21). The work of the temple was very much produced by men's hands (2:7,8). Things made with hands refers to idols in several Old Testament passages (e.g. Is. 2:8; 17:8; 31:7). Significantly, Solomon's temple is described as being made with hands in 1 Chron. 29:5. The lesson ought to be clear: we can expend huge effort in apparently serving God when in fact we are only serving ourselves; and thus we can turn the supposed service of God into an idol.