23 Now he made the sea of cast metal ten cubits from brim to brim , circular in form , and its height was five cubits , and thirty cubits in circumference e e . 24 Under its brim gourds went around encircling it ten to a cubit , completely surrounding the sea ; the gourds were in two rows , cast with the rest . 25 It stood on twelve e oxen , three facing north , three facing west , three facing south , and three facing east ; and the sea was set on top of them, and all their rear parts turned inward . 26 It was a handbreadth thick , and its brim was made like the brim of a cup , as a lily blossom ; it could hold two thousand baths .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 1 Kings 7:23-26
Commentary on 1 Kings 7:13-47
(Read 1 Kings 7:13-47)
The two brazen pillars in the porch of the temple, some think, were to teach those that came to worship, to depend upon God only, for strength and establishment in all their religious exercises. "Jachin," God will fix this roving mind. It is good that the heart be established with grace. "Boaz," In him is our strength, who works in us both to will and to do. Spiritual strength and stability are found at the door of God's temple, where we must wait for the gifts of grace, in use of the means of grace. Spiritual priests and spiritual sacrifices must be washed in the laver of Christ's blood, and of regeneration. We must wash often, for we daily contract pollution. There are full means provided for our cleansing; so that if we have our lot for ever among the unclean it will be our own fault. Let us bless God for the fountain opened by the sacrifice of Christ for sin and for uncleanness.