Read 2 Chronicles 4 here (text coming …) or at Bible Gateway.
The Hebrew paragraphs:
4:1 {s} He made the bronze altar
4:2-5 {s} He made the bronze sea; it held 3000 baths
4:6 {s} He made ten washbasins to wash the implements for the burnt offering
4:7 {s} He made ten lampstands of gold
4:8 {s} He made ten tables and 100 bowls of gold
4:9-18 {s} The articles of bronze Huram the master craftsman made for the house of YHVH
4:19-5:1a {s} The articles of gold Solomon had made for the Holy Place and Holy of Holies/ he finished the work
The Chiastic structure:
And Solomon made all the vessels that were for the house of God, and the altar of gold, and the tables, and upon them the bread of the Presence … 2 Chr 4:19
The bread of the Presence, literally lechem ha’paniym in Hebrew,—what other translations often term ‘showbread’—is the phrase used throughout the Torah for the twelve loaves, one for each tribe in Israel, set out on the golden table in the Holy Place.
The bread was renewed every Sabbath (Lev 24:8). In this way, through the teaching tool of Natural Pictures, the Torah links the life-giving presence of YHVH with the day of Sabbath rest. On the Sabbath we are freed from the obligations of the fields, the workshops, and the marketplace to gather with other believers and meet with YHVH in His appointed time.
“For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there I am in the midst of them.” Mat 18:20
In contrast, the golden altar of incense and the golden lampstands were maintained daily, morning and evening (Exo 30:7–8; 27:20–21). The incense rose as a sweet fragrance before YHVH, just as our daily prayers also do.
Let my prayer be set before You as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Psa 141:2
The lampstands illuminated the Holy Place, just as our daily reading of the Word likewise illuminates our heart, our mind and the day before us.
Your word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Psa 119:105
These daily rhythms—incense and light—teach us how to maintain our personal relationship with YHVH, and the health of our inner man. The weekly renewal of the bread of the Presence teaches us to gather on the Sabbath to rest in His presence, and maintain our community relationship with YHVH and with each other in the assembly of the believers.
If there are questions, this is a good resource:
Exodus 25 through 27, The Natural Picture of the Tabernacle – Christine Miller
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