What Does I Kings 7:48 Mean?

Solomon makes all the furnishings for the house of the Lord: the altar of gold, and the table of gold on which is the showbread. The narrative transitions from Hiram's bronzework to the golden furnishings that Solomon supplies for the temple's interior. The gold altar and the gold table are the two primary pieces of furniture in the nave—the altar of incense standing before the veil and the table of showbread standing along the north wall. Both are made of gold, distinguishing the interior furniture from the exterior bronze.

The material distinction between exterior bronze and interior gold creates a graduated experience: the worshiper moves from the bronze of the courtyard through the cedar of the vestibule into the gold of the nave. The progression from base metal to precious metal mirrors the progression from common ground to holy ground, and the material itself teaches the worshiper about the increasing sanctity of the space. The closer one gets to God's presence, the more valuable the materials become.

The writer of Hebrews describes the heavenly sanctuary with its "golden altar of incense" and the "ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold" (Hebrews 9:4). Solomon's golden altar and table are the earthly copies of the heavenly originals that Christ ministered before. The Son of David who entered the heavenly sanctuary "once for all" (Hebrews 9:12) ministered at the true golden altar, and the gold that Solomon applied to wood and stone is the material attempt to represent a heavenly splendor that transcends all earthly materials.