1Then he made an altar of bronze, twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and ten cubits high. 2Also he made the molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim. It was round, five cubits high, and thirty cubits in circumference. 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; and the sea was set on them above, and all their hindquarters were inward. 5It was a handbreadth thick. Its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily. It received and held three thousand baths. 6He also made ten basins, and put five on the right hand and five on the left, to wash in them. The things that belonged to the burnt offering were washed in them, but the sea was for the priests to wash in.
7He made the ten lamp stands of gold according to the ordinance 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, the great court, and doors for the court, and overlaid their doors with bronze. 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 finished doing the work that he did for King Solomon in God’s house: 12the two pillars, the bowls, the two capitals which were on the top of the pillars, 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 also made the bases, and he made the basins on the bases— 15one sea, and the twelve oxen under it. 16Huram-abi also made the pots, the shovels, the forks, and all its vessels for King Solomon, for Yahweh’s house, of bright bronze. 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, so that the weight of the bronze could not be determined.
19Solomon made all the vessels that were in God’s house: the golden altar, the tables with the show bread on them, 20and the lamp stands with their lamps to burn according to the ordinance before the inner sanctuary, of pure gold; 21and the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs of gold that was purest gold; 22and the snuffers, the basins, the spoons, and the fire pans of pure gold. As for the entry of the house, its inner doors for the most holy place and the doors of the main hall of the temple were of gold.
King David's son, Solomon, was born of Bathsheba (2 Sam. 5:14). Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all of Israel for 40 years circa 971-931 B.C.. Solomon was graciously blessed by God to become the wisest man ever to live. (1 Kings 3:1-15; Eccl. 2:9) Being the kingly son of David, Solomon also received the benefits of the Davidic Covenant. (1 Chron. 17:1-27; Psa. 89) He and his kingdom of peace (1 Kings 4:20-25) thus became a Messianic type of God's coming eschatological kingom prophesied throughout the Old Testament (Isa. 2:1-4; 11:1-10) - the very kingdom offered by Jesus to the nation of Israel in the New Testament. (Mark 1:14-15; Luke 1:29-33) Solomon also built the first Jerusalem Temple that remained until the time of the Babylonian invasion when King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed it in 586 B.C.. (1-2 Kings) Solomon became a prolific author of Scripture who wrote much of the book of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Psalm 72, and Psalm 127. According to Jewish tradition, the final version of the book of Job may also have been put together by Solomon and/or during the time of his adminstration. Solomon's reign was internationally renowned at the time for being a most glorious kingdom so that Israel became a Messianic light to the nations. (1 Kings 10; 2 Chron. 9:22) Late in life, however, Solomon contradicted his own wisdom by disobeying the Lord. In disobedience to the Torah, Solomon multiplied horses, wives, and gold for himself. (Deut. 17:14-20; 2 Chron. 9:13-28) Worst of all, he imported idolatry into Israel through his international marriage alliances. (1 Kings 11:1-8) His secular kingdom pursuits also dulled his earlier spirituality. (Eccl. 2:1-7) Because of Solomon's disobedience, God divided the great unity achieved by King David, but waited until after his death to do so (1 Kings 11-12). After Solomon's death, Israel will be divided between the north and south, between what was called the northern kingom of Israel/Ephraim and the southern kingdom of Judah.