4:1 He made a bronze altar, 30 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 15 feet high. 

 

The bronze altar was the place of sacrifice. The sacrifice pointed to the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

4:2 He also made the big bronze basin called “The Sea.” It measured 15 feet from rim to rim, was circular in shape, and stood seven and one-half feet high. Its circumference was 45 feet.

 

The Sea was a large community bathtub where the priests cleansed themselves. Critics are so desperate to find mistakes in the Bible, that they often use this verse to support their world view. When figuring the value of pi, the biblical author used a round number instead of the exact two place decimal. This would be like saying a scientist made a mistake in the value of pi, because he stated 3.14 instead of 3.1415.

 

4:3 Images of bulls were under it all the way around, ten every eighteen inches all the way around. The bulls were in two rows and had been cast with “The Sea.” 4:4 “The Sea” stood on top of twelve bulls. Three faced northward, three westward, three southward, and three eastward. “The Sea” was placed on top of them, and they all faced outward.5 It was four fingers thick and its rim was like that of a cup shaped like a lily blossom. It could hold 18,000 gallons.

 

Twelve metal bulls, representing the 12 tribes of Israel, held up the large bathtub.

 

4:6 He made ten washing basins; he put five on the south side and five on the north side. In them they rinsed the items used for burnt sacrifices; the priests washed in “The Sea.” 

 

The washing basins were for cleansing the sacrifices.

 

4:7 He made ten gold lampstands according to specifications and put them in the temple, five on the right and five on the left. 

 

The tabernacle only had one lampstand. The temple contained ten lampstands. The lampstands gave light to the Holy Place. Some theologians identify this lampstand as a type of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

4:8 He made ten tables and set them in the temple, five on the right and five on the left. He also made one hundred gold bowls. 

 

The tabernacle only had one table. The temple contained ten tables. The tables held the shewbread. The shewbread was a type of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

4:9 He made the courtyard of the priests and the large enclosure and its doors; he plated their doors with bronze. 

 

The courtyard was the appointed place where the sacrifice was slain. The sacrifice pointed to the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

4:10 He put “The Sea” on the south side, in the southeast corner. 

 

The priests cleansed themselves on the southeast corner of the courtyard.

 

4:11 Huram Abi made the pots, shovels, and bowls. He finished all the work on God’s temple he had been assigned by King Solomon.

 

Huram Abi was the half Jewish, half Phoenician artisan from Tyre.

 

4:12 He made the two pillars, the two bowl-shaped tops of the pillars, the latticework for the bowl-shaped tops of the two pillars, 4:13 the four hundred pomegranate-shaped ornaments for the latticework of the two pillars (each latticework had two rows of these ornaments at the bowl-shaped top of the pillar), 4:14 the ten movable stands with their ten basins, 4:15 the big bronze basin called “The Sea” with its twelve bulls underneath, 4:16 and the pots, shovels, and meat forks. All the items King Solomon assigned Huram Abi to make for the Lord’s temple were made from polished bronze. 

 

The Phoenicians controlled the Mediterranean Sea. They had learned many skills from many different nations. They were close to Israel, so they spread news about Solomon’s great empire. All of the nations sent ambassadors to Israel and learned about the one true God.

 

4:17 The king had them cast in earthen foundries in the region of the Jordan between Succoth and Zarethan. 

 

Archaeologists discovered these foundries about thirty-five miles north of the Dead Sea, where the clay could be used for casting bronze.

 

4:18 Solomon made so many of these items they did not weigh the bronze. 

 

Israel was so wealthy in bronze, that it was not weighed.

 

4:19 Solomon also made these items for God’s temple: the gold altar, the tables on which the Bread of the Presence was kept, 20 the pure gold lampstands and their lamps which burned as specified at the entrance to the inner sanctuary, 21 the pure gold flower-shaped ornaments, lamps, and tongs, 22 the pure gold trimming shears, basins, pans, and censers, and the gold door sockets for the inner sanctuary (the most holy place) and for the doors of the main hall of the temple. 

 

Israel was so prosperous, that all of the utensils were made of gold.