1 Kings 7:13-22: a reflection

13King Solomon sent and brought Hiram out of Tyre. 14He was the son of a widow of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in bronze; and he was filled with wisdom and understanding and skill to work all works in bronze. He came to King Solomon and performed all his work. 15For he fashioned the two pillars of bronze, eighteen cubits high apiece; and a line of twelve cubits encircled either of them. 16He made two capitals of molten bronze to set on the tops of the pillars. The height of the one capital was five cubits, and the height of the other capital was five cubits. 17There were nets of checker work and wreaths of chain work for the capitals which were on the top of the pillars: seven for the one capital, and seven for the other capital. 18So he made the pillars; and there were two rows of pomegranates around the one network, to cover the capitals that were on the top of the pillars; and he did so for the other capital. 19The capitals that were on the top of the pillars in the porch were of lily work, four cubits. 20There were capitals above also on the two pillars, close by the belly which was beside the network. There were two hundred pomegranates in rows around the other capital. 21He set up the pillars at the porch of the temple. He set up the right pillar and called its name Jachin; and he set up the left pillar and called its name Boaz. 22On the tops of the pillars was lily work. So the work of the pillars was finished.

As Solomon's temple is built, the skilled craftsman Hiram casts two great bronze pillars for its porch, and gives each a name. He set up the right pillar and called its name Jachin, and the left pillar and called its name Boaz. These names were not idle: Jachin means he establishes, and Boaz means in him is strength. The pillars standing at the entrance of God's house declared, to all who passed between them, that God establishes and that in him is strength. They were a standing testimony that the stability and strength of God's people lay not in themselves but in God, who establishes them and in whom is their strength. The names of the pillars preached a truth: it is God who establishes, and in God is strength.

Notice what the pillars declared by their names: God establishes, and in him is strength. Jachin, he establishes; Boaz, in him is strength. These two great pillars stood at the entrance of the temple, and all who passed between them were reminded that their stability and strength were in God. It was not the people who established themselves, nor their own strength that upheld them; God establishes, and in him is strength. The pillars, firm and enduring, testified to a firmer truth: the God whose house they guarded is the one who establishes his people and in whom their strength is found. What holds us firm is not our own power but God, who establishes; where our strength lies is not in ourselves but in him. The names preached what the people needed to remember.

That is worth resting in, for God establishes us, and in him is our strength, not in ourselves. We can try to establish ourselves by our own efforts and rely on our own strength, and find ourselves unsteady and spent; but the pillars of God's house declared that God establishes, and in him is strength. Our stability and our strength are found not in ourselves but in God, who establishes his people and in whom their strength lies. When you feel unsteady or weak, remember that God establishes, and in him is strength, as the pillars Jachin and Boaz declared. Rest your stability and strength in God, who establishes his people and in whom our strength is found, rather than in yourself, as the temple pillars were named Jachin, he establishes, and Boaz, in him is strength; for we cannot finally establish ourselves nor uphold ourselves by our own power, but God establishes his people and is himself their strength, and it is in him, not in ourselves, that we stand firm and are strong.

Lord, as Solomon's temple is built, the skilled craftsman Hiram casts two great bronze pillars for its porch, and gives each a name. He set up the right pillar and called its name Jachin, and the left pillar and called its name Boaz. These names were not idle: Jachin means he establishes, and Boaz means in him is strength. The pillars standing at the entrance of your house declared, to all who passed between them, that you establish and that in you is strength. They were a standing testimony that the stability and strength of your people lay not in themselves but in you. Show me what the pillars declared by their names: you establish, and in you is strength. Jachin, he establishes; Boaz, in him is strength. These two great pillars stood at the entrance of the temple, and all who passed between them were reminded that their stability and strength were in you. It was not the people who established themselves, nor their own strength that upheld them; you establish, and in you is strength. The pillars testified to a firmer truth: you are the one who establishes your people and in whom their strength is found. Let me rest in that, for you establish me, and in you is my strength, not in myself. I can try to establish myself by my own efforts and rely on my own strength, and find myself unsteady and spent; but the pillars of your house declared that you establish, and in you is strength. When I feel unsteady or weak, help me remember that you establish, and in you is strength, Lord, as the pillars Jachin and Boaz declared, and rest my stability and strength in you rather than in myself.