1 Kings 7:21 “And he set up the pillars at the porch of the temple: and he set up the right pillar, and called the name thereof Jachin: and he set up the left pillar, and called the name thereof Boaz.”
In the chronicles of Kings the Bible says that when Israel had been in the land 480 years, Solomon began to build the Temple of the Lord. At the entrance of the Temple were two pillars named Jachin and Boaz. Jachin had been a son of Simeon, and Boaz the grandfather of David. Names had meaning and those two men must have lived up to their names.
When Israel heard the names of the pillars, they must have reflected back on the meaning of those men’s names and how they exemplified godly character.
What I wondered is why it took so long to erect a house to honor the Lord? The United States has only been a nation for 250 years, that means it took another 230 years for God to establish His Temple in Israel.
In reality it was God who determined the time and people to build such a temple, and one thing I’ve learned is that God’s timing is perfect.
It wasn’t like people couldn’t draw near to God previously, the Tabernacle of the Lord had been present in Israel since their wanderings in the desert.
Could it be that the Temple was as much a priority to God as it was to David? Even as Israel rebelled against God and demanded a king, so God recognized Israel also needed a Temple. A monument to the nations that the Lord Jehovah was God of Israel.
2 Chronicles 2:6 “But who is able to build a temple for him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain him? Who then am I to build a temple for him, except as a place to burn sacrifices before him?”
Solomon in his wisdom could see the necessity of a Temple but he also knew that it must be built as God had ordained. God had a reason for building it and Solomon was the man to do it.
The Fullness of Time
From the moment God created the Heavens and the Earth, there has been a time and purpose for everything. God doesn’t make rash decisions nor does He act on a whim. He has demonstrated an order to everything and His Creation has unfolded just as He planned.
Galatians 4:4-5 “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”
Man didn’t fall into sin apart from the knowledge of God. God gave Adam the choice to walk in righteousness and Adam ultimately failed and chose rebellion. God knew Adam would fail and so He planned to redeem mankind from the beginning. When the time to redeem mankind came, Jesus did what He planned to do before He had created one iota of the Earth or the Heavens….to redeemed mankind to Himself.
God’s timing is perfect. God’s order is perfect. God’s work is perfect.
Like a finely tuned clock, Creation is set and counts down to the fulfillment of all that God has purposed.
You may be asking…what does this have to do with Jachin and Boaz?
Jachin signifies how God will establish. Boaz signifies that in God is strength.
The Temple plans and structures each had meaning and purpose. Every element of its construction signified God’s holiness, His purposes, and His plans both for the Temple and for the fulfillment of redemption.
Isaiah 56:7 “Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices Will be accepted on My altar; For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.”
God’s intent for the Temple was His people to draw near Him in prayer. The sacrifices made them acceptable, and the High Priest interceded for the people…a type and shadow of Christ to come.
Jesus fulfilled the perfect sacrifice and interceded on behalf of all who would draw near.
God Draws Near
God’s strength was established through His Son. Jesus fulfilled all that was required for mankind to once again draw near.
Left to their own plans, mankind fell deeply into sin and rebellion. When the Lord saw that all the works of man were evil, He sent a flood to wipe them out, but in the midst of His fury He looked for any who were righteous.
God found Noah and through his righteousness, God repopulated the earth.
Genesis 9:16-17 “When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”
As God’s promise to Noah revealed the established plan between God and all flesh, so does the fulfillment of the plan rest on God’s strength.
In the midst of God’s plans, does your life seem out of order?
If so, it could very well mean you’ve been trying to do it all yourself.
We do not have the ability to order our lives. Sure, we can manufacture some semblance of life apart from God, but money, houses, or even a family are just ideals that make us feel in control.
At the root of every life is the ideology or position of the heart. If your heart is bent on self-fulfillment, you will work and strive all your days to reach an ideal that never will satisfy. Work becomes long and arduous, things lose their value, and relationships change and can bring more trials than triumphs.
When you understand that life is more than a false ideal, you begin to look for something more. That more is Christ. He formed you for a purpose, just as He formed all that is around you for a purpose. He is strength and He establishes all who draw near.
There is no Temple anymore, nor is there a need for a Temple. Jesus fulfilled all the Temple had required. He was the perfect sacrifice. He is the great High Priest, interceding on behalf of His people. He still is the pillar of strength and He establishes His people today.
Jesus does it all.
Hope or Hopelessness
God spoke through the prophet Isaiah regarding His faithful ones and those who will reject Him, the principles He revealed are timeless in nature.
Isaiah 66:22-24 “For as the new heavens and the new earth
that I make shall remain before me, says the LORD,
so shall your offspring and your name remain.
From new moon to new moon,
and from Sabbath to Sabbath,
all flesh shall come to worship before me,
declares the LORD. “And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me.
For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”
To those God calls He also draws near, their future is one of great joy. For those who have rejected His elective call, they will know the fullness of God’s wrath against such wickedness.
God is sovereign over His Creation. He knows those who will follow, He has known it from the beginning.
God’s love is such that He gives mankind a choice to either accept or reject His call. God is just in redemption because He has fulfilled the requirement of sin, and He is just in judgement. For those who have rejected the sacrifice of Christ, they now must fulfill the requirement of their sin which is their own eternal death.
The Lord Strong and Mighty
As God established and provided the strength of the Temple, so God both establishes and gives strength to His people.
Isaiah 66:1-2 “Thus says the LORD:
“Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool;
what is the house that you would build for me,
and what is the place of my rest?
All these things my hand has made,
and so all these things came to be,
declares the LORD.
But this is the one to whom I will look:
he who is humble and contrite in spirit
and trembles at my Word.”
What does God look for in His people?
Humility. The heart that recognizes its frailty and incompetence to save itself is humble. Pride is at the heart of the sinner, proven true by all who have broken God’s commandments and sinned. To relinquish a position of pride is to demonstrate the ability to receive forgiveness.
Contrite spirit. The spirit of man was given by God. Mankind has offended the giver of life by rebelling against His holiness and offending Him personally. The law of the Lord reflects the nature of God and God wants everyone to turn from their rebellion. A contrite spirit recognizes sin and chooses to follow Christ.
The Word of God has been revealed and the Bible is the demonstration of that Word. For those of old, the Word was revealed through prophets. The Lord spoke, and if the people listened they received the Word in humility and turned from their ways.
Trembling demonstrates the fear of the Lord. Recognizing God’s position and power is to know and understand His Sovereignty and strength.
Do you want life forevermore or will you live out your days for your own self-fulfillment? If you draw near to God, He will draw near to you. He clearly loves you, He made that abundantly clear at the cross.
If you hear the call to draw near, you now know what it takes. All receive the call, but few are they who draw near.
Will you be one of the few?
U.T. 