4:1-22 The furniture of the temple. - Here is a further account of the furniture of God's house. Both without doors and within, there was that which typified the grace of the gospel, and shadowed out good things to come, of which the substance is Christ. There was the brazen altar. The making of this was not mentioned in the book of Kings. On this all the sacrifices were offered, and it sanctified the gift. The people who worshipped in the courts might see the sacrifices burned. They might thus be led to consider the great Sacrifice, to be offered in the fulness of time, to take away sin, and put an end to death, which the blood of bulls and goats could not possibly do. And, with the smoke of the sacrifices, their hearts might ascend to heaven, in holy desires towards God and his favour. In all our devotions we must keep the eye of faith fixed upon Christ. The furniture of the temple, compared with that of the tabernacle, showed that God's church would be enlarged, and his worshippers multiplied. Blessed be God, there is enough in Christ for all.

Verse 8. - Ten tables. These tables also (the use of which is given in ver. 19) are not mentioned, so far as their making is concerned, in the parallel, except in its summary, ver. 48 (cf. 1 Kings 7.), where furthermore only one table, called "the table" (Exodus 25:23), is specified, with which agrees our 2 Chronicles 29:18. It is hard to explain this variation of statement. It is at least an arbitrary and forced explanation to suppose that ten tables constituted the furniture in question, while only one was used at a time. Keil and Bertheau think that the analogy of the ten candlesticks points to the existence of ten tables. The question, however, is, where is the call for, or where are the indications of any analogy? An hundred basins of gold. The Hebrew word employed here, and translated "basins," is מִזְרְקֵי, as also vers. 11, 22, infra; and 1 Kings 7:40, 45, 50; Exodus 27:3; Exodus 38:3; Numbers 4:14; but it is represented as well by the English translation "bowls" in 1 Chronicles 28:17; 2 Kings 25:15; Numbers 7:13, 19, etc. The "pots," however, of our vers. 11, 16 has for its Hebrew הַסִּירות. It were well if, in names such as these, at any rate, an absolute uniformity of version were observed in the translation, for the benefit of the English reader, to say nothing of the saving of wasted time for the student and scholar. These basins, or bowls, were to receive and hold the blood of the slain victims, about to be sprinkled for purification (see Exodus 24:6-8, where the word אַגָּן is used; Exodus 29:12, 10, 20, 21; Leviticus 1:5, and passion; Hebrews 9:18-20; see also Exodus 38:3; Numbers 4:14,) The Hebrew word מִזְרָק, whether appearing in our version as" basin"' or "bowl," occurs thirty-two times, sixteen in association exactly similar with the present (viz. Exodus 27:3; Exodus 38:3; Numbers 4:14; 1 Kings 7:40, 45, 50; 2 Kings 12:13; 2 Kings 25:15; 1 Chronicles 28:17; 2 Chronicles 4:8, 11, 22; Nehemiah 7:70; Jeremiah 52:18, 19; Zechariah 14:20), fourteen as silver bowls in the time of the tabernacle for the meat offering of "fine flour mingled with oil" (vie. Numbers 7:13, 19, 25, 31, 37, 43, 49, 55, 61, 67, 73, 79, 84, 85), and the remaining two in an entirely general application (Amos 6:6; Zechariah 9:15). It is evident, therefore, that the מִזְרָק was not the only vessel used for holding the blood of purification, nor was it exclusively reserved to this use.

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