2 Chronicles 3:15-17 Also he made before the house two pillars of thirty and five cubits high… The dimensions of these pillars are still unsettled and uncertain. But there can be no question as to their main characteristics, and very little doubt as to their spiritual significance. Their obvious size and their names speak of strength; the decorations which they bore speak of beauty. Standing where they stood, in or at the porch of the house of the Lord, they were standing monuments of the two closely related truths - I. THAT WE SHOULD RECOGNIZE IN GOD HIMSELF STRENGTH AND BEAUTY. 1. Strength. Our temptation is to trust in the strong barrier of sea or mountain range; in the powerful army and navy with all their equipments; in the vigorous and sagacious policy of our statesmanship; in the amplitude of pecuniary resources, etc. But the strength of a country, as also of a man, is in God. If his favour is turned away, all our material advantages will fail us. Rabshakeh's multitudes of armed Assyrians disappear at the stroke of the God of Israel; the rich man, with his full barns and his cherished plans, leaves his wealth behind him when God says, "Thy soul is required of thee." But to the faithful Hezekiah the favour of Jehovah proves an ample shield against the threatening enemy. And they are blessed who "walk in the light of God's countenance;" for he is "the glory of their strength: and in his favour shall their horn be exalted" (Psalm 89:15, 17). The wise nation and the wise man will not look complacently around them to find the secret and source of their strength; they will look up toward him that dwelleth in the heavens, and say, "Jachin; Boaz;" "he will establish;" "in him is strength.' 2. Beauty. We are inclined to boast of the beauty of the landscape; or of the persons of our sons and daughters; or of our palaces and castles and cathedrals; or of our "pleasant pictures," and fair gems and jewels. But our delight should be, first and most, in him whose Divine character is perfect; who unites in himself, with completest symmetry, all possible attributes; who is as merciful as he is pure; who is as pitiful as he is righteous; who is as gentle as he is strong; whom we can not only adore and honour, but delight in and love. We go to the house of the Lord that we may behold "the beauty of the Lord" (Psalm 27:4); and especially that we may dwell upon the beauties and the glories of the character of that Son of man who was "holy, harmless, undefiled," in whose mouth no guile was found, but in whose life every grace that can adorn humanity was seen by those that knew him. II. THAT WE SHOULD SEEK FROM GOD OUR STRENGTH AND BEAUTY. The Israelites went up to the house of the Lord that by obedient sacrifice, by reverent worship, by believing prayer, they might secure the favour of the Most High. If we would gain from God the strength we need, and that spiritual excellency which is the true beauty of the nation and the individual, we must go to God to seek it. We must present ourselves before him from whom all strength and glory come. We must seek him (1) in confession, and in Christ who is our Propitiation; (2) in reverent worship; (3) in earnest and believing prayer for his upholding power and for his shaping hand. Then will he make us strong to overcome and to accomplish; beautiful to attract and to win. - C. Parallel Verses KJV: Also he made before the house two pillars of thirty and five cubits high, and the chapiter that was on the top of each of them was five cubits. |
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