Daily Jewel

by PasT> Carnell, McAlsester, OK
Oct. 5, 2011

“Pillars”
“Wisdom has built her house; she has set up its seven pillars.” – Proverbs 9:1

Pillar: “An upright shaft or structure, of stone, brick, or other material, relatively slender in proportion to its height, and of any shape in section, used as a building support, or standing alone, as for a monument.” It can also refer to: “a person who is a chief supporter of a society, state, institution, etc.: a pillar of the community.”
It could very well be that as Solomon is writing this Proverb he is looking at one of the greatest structures ever constructed—the Temple he had built for God! Here is a passage describing a couple of the pillars that were a part of the structure. “He cast two bronze pillars, each eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference. He also made two capitals of cast bronze to set on the tops of the pillars; each capital was five cubits high. A network of interwoven chains adorned the capitals on top of the pillars, seven for each capital. He made pomegranates in two rows encircling each network to decorate the capitals on top of the pillars. He did the same for each capital. The capitals on top of the pillars in the portico were in the shape of lilies, four cubits high. On the capitals of both pillars, above the bowl-shaped part next to the network, were the two hundred pomegranates in rows all around. He erected the pillars at the portico of the temple. The pillar to the south he named Jakin and the one to the north Boaz. The capitals on top were in the shape of lilies. And so the work on the pillars was completed.” – 1st Kings 7:15-22

We are told in First Kings that the Temple took seven years to build. Solomon was meticulous and thorough and what makes this all the more impressive is that He wanted to give God the very best…and by the sounds of it he did! By looking at the verses above a lot of detail also went into the construction of the pillars and when you add that to what a pillar represents it stands to reason they are meant to either support and/or highlight the structure! One other observation: I find it interesting that Solomon “named” these pillars. They were obviously very special—not just in what they represented but because they stood for something! They were a “monument” to show how special God is! Solomon says that wisdom has set up her “seven” pillars. There have been a number of attempts to try and identify or explain what he was trying to get across here. I kind of like what J.I. Packer does in his understanding. Packer relates the "seven pillars" to the seven aspects of the Spirit that were placed upon the Messiah-Christ in Isa 11:2: "The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him… “The Spirit of wisdom and of understanding…”, “The Spirit of counsel and of power…” “The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD."
So what can we say to bring this verse to some personal relevance? Here is my weak attempt: God wants to build His “house” in our lives. Wisdom is the “pillar” that He has provided to support this house—to keep it standing and steady—especially when the storms and the winds come. With wisdom comes much more; understanding, knowledge, power and what may be the most important—the fear (or more appropriate a total respect) for the Lord! Also, building this house takes time. It is meticulous work and cannot be accomplished in just a few days—weeks—months—in fact, I would say that the building never ends! Do you desire to be a “pillar?” Do you want to be an example for others? Allow God to build and do His work in your life. And like the pillars in 1st Kings—God knows your name. You are special to Him and that should be worth every ounce of effort we give for Him.
Pastor J. T. Carnell