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Those who become like Boaz are pillars in the church life (one of the pillars in the temple was named “Boaz”—1 Kings 7:21); in the Scriptures the pillar is a sign, a testimony, of God’s building through transformation in practicing the Body life—Gen. 28:22a; 1 Kings 7:15-22; Gal. 2:9; 1 Tim. 3:15; Rev. 3:12; Rom. 12:2; Eph. 4:11-12:
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Those who are pillars in the church life are constantly under God’s judgment (bronze), realizing that they are men in the flesh, worthy of nothing but death and burial—Psa. 51:5; Exo. 4:1-9; Rom. 7:18; Matt. 3:16-17:
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We must judge ourselves as nothing and as being qualified only to be crucified; whatever we are, we are by the grace of God, and it is not we who labor but the grace of God—1 Cor. 15:10; Gal. 2:20; 1 Pet. 5:5-7.
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The reason for both division and fruitlessness among believers is that there is no bronze, nothing of God’s judgment; instead, there is pride, self-boasting, self-vindication, self-justification, self-approval, self-excuse, self-righteousness, condemning others, and regulating others instead of shepherding and seeking them—Matt. 16:24; Luke 9:54-55.
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When we love the Lord and experience Him as the man of bronze (Ezek. 40:3), He will become our extraordinary love, boundless forbearance, unparalleled faithfulness, absolute humility, utmost purity, supreme holiness and righteousness, and our brightness and uprightness—Phil. 4:5-8.
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On the capitals of the pillars in the temple, there were “nets of checker work [like a trellis] with wreaths of chain work”; these signify the complicated and intermixed situations in which those who are pillars in God’s building live and bear responsibility—1 Kings 7:17; 2 Cor. 1:12; 4:7-8.
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On the top of the capitals were lilies and pomegranates—1 Kings 7:18-20:
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Lilies signify a life of faith in God, a life of living by what God is to us, not by what we are; the bronze means “not I,” and the lily means “but Christ”—S. S. 2:1-2; Matt. 6:28, 30; 2 Cor. 5:4; Gal. 2:20.
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The pomegranates on the wreaths of the capitals signify the fullness, the abundance and beauty, and the expression of the riches of Christ as life—Phil. 1:19-21a; Eph. 1:22-23; 3:19.
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Through the crossing out of the network and the restriction of the chain work, we can live a pure, simple life of trusting in God to express the riches of the divine life of Christ for God’s building in life.
Morning Nourishment
1 Kings 7:21 And he erected the pillars at the portico of the temple. When…he erected the left pillar, he called its name Boaz.Rev. 3:12 He who overcomes, him I will make a pillar in the temple of My God…
Gal. 2:20 I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me…
The names of these two pillars were Jachin and Boaz (1 Kings 7:21). Jachin means, “He shall establish,” and Boaz means, “In it is strength.” These two pillars standing on the portico testify that the Lord will establish His building and that genuine strength is in the building. Even today, the building of the church gives this testimony. By the details of the picture in 1 Kings 7, we see how we can be a pillar in the building of God, judging ourselves, living by faith, bearing the responsibility, and expressing the riches of life. (Life-study of Genesis, p. 1077)
Today’s Reading
The two pillars were made of bronze (1 Kings 7:15). In Genesis the pillar is a pillar of stone, but in 1 Kings 7 the pillars are pillars of bronze…. [Bronze] signifies God’s judgment. For example, the altar at the entrance of the tabernacle was covered with bronze indicating God’s judgment (Exo. 27:1-2; Num. 16:38-40). The laver was also made of bronze (Exo. 30:18). Furthermore, the serpent of bronze put on a pole (Num. 21:8-9) also testified of Christ’s being judged by God on our behalf (John 3:14)….That the two pillars were made of bronze clearly indicates that if we would be a pillar, we must realize that we are those under God’s judgment. We should not only be under God’s judgment, but also under our own judgment. Like Paul in Galatians 2:20, we must say, “I have been crucified. I have been crucified because I am not good for anything in God’s economy. I am only qualified for death.”If you think that you are qualified, then you have nothing to do with bronze. Instead, you are self-made gold. The experience of bronze is that we are always under God’s judgment and under our own self-judgment. We all must apply this word to ourselves, saying, “Lord, have mercy upon me, for in me there is nothing good.” This is the reason that we have been crucified. If we think there is something good in us, we are liars.
In Galatians 2:20 Paul said, “It is no longer I who live, but…Christ…lives in me.” We may also apply his word in 1 Corinthians 15:10, which says, “But by the grace of God I am what I am; and His grace unto me did not turn out to be in vain, but, on the contrary, I labored more abundantly than all of them, yet not I but the grace of God which is with me.” In Galatians 2:20, Paul said, “No longer I who live, but…Christ” and in 1 Corinthians 15:10, he said, “Not I but the grace of God.” Paul seemed to be saying, “Whatever I am, I am by the grace of God. By myself, I am nothing. By myself, I could never be an apostle or a minister of God’s living word. I labored more than the others, but it was not I who labored—it was the grace of God.” This is the experience of bronze.
In typology and in figure, the two bronze pillars in 1 Kings 7 tell us that we must be under God’s judgment as well as under our own self-judgment. We must judge ourselves as being nothing and as being only qualified to be crucified. I say this not only to the brothers, but also to the sisters….We must consider ourselves as those under God’s judgment.
Our problem is that we do not condemn ourselves. Rather, we vindicate, justify, approve, and excuse ourselves. Often we say, “That is not my mistake; it is Brother So-and-so’s mistake. I am always careful. I am not wrong.” This is self-vindication. After we vindicate ourselves, we proceed to justify and approve ourselves…. Sometimes, however, we are caught in a mistake. Then we excuse ourselves…. In the past, I have had a lot of self-vindication, self-justification, self-approval, and self-excuse…. If we would daily crucify these four things, there would be no fighting whatever. (Life-study of Genesis, pp. 1064-1067,1071)
Further Reading: Life-study of Genesis, msg. 83