2 Chronicles 3:3

Everything Solomon did and made for the work he was called to do followed the instructions he had received. God Himself pointed out the site, and gave the design and the way to build (1 Kings 6:38; 2 Chr. 3:3). Human hands put the building up, but the building was divine. Human thoughts and human ideas must not push their way into the things of God.

The altar is equal to the holiest: the cross of Christ is equal to all the claims of God. Twenty cubits, by twenty, was the measure of the holiest; and twenty cubits, by twenty, the measure of the altar... note these measurements were given by instruction. "Now these are the things in which Solomon was instructed." The altar must not be one cubit less or more than the holiest.

In Deuteronomy 3:11 we find a cubit "after the cubit of a man"; and in 2 Chronicles 3:3, a cubit "after the first measure," or "former" or "older" measure. From these passages it is clear that there were different measures called the cubit.

In all structures, if there is to be symmetry, there must be accuracy of measurement, and for this there must be a standard. In Scripture this standard was the cubit, or Ammah, from a word meaning "mother." It was the length of the "mother-arm," the forearm — from the elbow to the tip of the finger, the part used in all work. So it was a standard taken from man, not above him. God's requirements are completely reasonable and righteous. They do not go beyond what a human can do.

The foundation (v. 3) shows that what God builds is solid and lasting. Hebrews 11:10 points to the same thing — "the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God." The size, 60 by 20 cubits, was not great compared to many buildings of our time. It was only about 90 by 30 feet. But the magnificence of the temple was far beyond any present day building.

It was vitally important to lay a costly foundation under the temple of God — one solid enough to pass every test. This is what God has done for His spiritual house as well. The foundation is Christ, the Chief Cornerstone... It is impossible to remove one without compromising or shaking the whole building.

The temple was double the size of the tabernacle in length, width and height. Yet the proportions of the different parts stayed the same. During the journey through the wilderness, the tabernacle might have seemed a small thing next to what the house of God would be in glory. But all God's plan, all the order of His house, was already found in that temporary tent. It is the same with the Church.

In Kings the temple is the place where God dwells with His own, and also the centre of His government among Israel. In Chronicles... it is the place where people come near to God to worship Him, the "house of sacrifice" (2 Chron. 7:12)... Because the temple is shown here as the place of approach, all the details of this chapter make sense. Here we again find the bronze altar and the veil, omitted in the description of the temple in the book of Kings.