Boaz & Jachin

Summary of a sermon on the occasion of the names of our two sons

That the name Boaz belongs with Naomi and Ruth is well known. Much less known is that Boaz, besides being a main character in the book of Ruth, is also the name of one of the two great bronze pillars in Solomon’s temple. The left pillar was called Boaz, the right pillar Jachin.
1 Kings 7:15–22; 2 Chronicles 3:15–17

The first time Boaz is mentioned in the Bible is in connection with the beginning of the barley harvest. The beginning of the barley harvest coincides with a feast day on Israel’s calendar: the day of the firstfruits sheaf. It was on this day that Christ rose from the dead… as Firstfruit! The name Boaz means: in Him is strength. Indeed: resurrection power.
Ruth 1:21ff; Leviticus 23:9–15; 1 Corinthians 15:22

Of Boaz it is said that he came from Bethlehem. Bethlehem means: house of bread. David came from there, and of course the Son of David, the Living (barley) Bread.
Ruth 2:4; John 6:9 cf. 6:51

Boaz was “a very wealthy man.” In other words, someone able to pay a great price. Boaz is a type of Him who paid the ransom for ALL. All of humanity has been bought and paid for and is therefore the property of Christ. Moreover, Boaz acts in the book of Ruth as a kinsman-redeemer and is in this a type of the great Redeemer.
Ruth 2:1; 1 Timothy 2:6

The history of the book of Ruth prophetically refers to the fate of the Jewish people. From the diaspora it returns impoverished and destitute to the land of the fathers (ch.1). There it finds grace in the eyes of the Man of Bethlehem (ch.2), which leads to an encounter on the threshing floor (read: in Zion; ch.3). Finally, the Man of Bethlehem acts as redeemer so that the lost land is at last returned to the original family (ch.4). The threshing floor as a picture of Zion: see Micah 4:10–13; 2 Chronicles 3:1

The name Jachin means “founder.” If there is One known in the Bible as the Founder, it is surely God Himself. Many times it is said that He has established the foundations of the earth. Keep in mind that in the Bible the earth is not a planet but the dry land on which we walk.
Zechariah 12:1; Genesis 1:10

It is God who will establish Jerusalem and set it as a praise in the earth. To this very day the nations overburden themselves with this city. There lies the core of the entire problem of the Middle East. Until… there will be heard: “Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord.” From that moment on the city will live up to its name: fortress of peace!
Isaiah 62:7; Zechariah 12:3; Matthew 23:39

Of the Messiah we read in Isaiah 9:7 that He will sit upon the throne of David. Great will be the dominion and endless the peace in that Kingdom because He establishes it. And, it is then added, the zeal of the LORD will perform this. The promised Kingdom will not come by the hand of man. Nor can it be hindered by the hand of man.

Paul writes: “Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my Gospel…” (Concordant). When God in our days “establishes” a person, He does so in the Message that Paul preached. Nothing gives more certainty and stability than precisely the Message that was revealed to the apostle of the nations.
Romans 16:25

The two colossal bronze pillars in Solomon’s temple were in fact stylized pomegranate trees with no fewer than four hundred fruits in total. Emblems of fertility, of bringing forth new life. In spring these trees are among the very first to blossom. Boaz and Jachin together are a monumental reference to the new Life (of beginning of the barley harvest…).
1 Kings 7:15–22; 2 Chronicles 3:15–17

The same Solomon who placed these bronze pomegranate trees in the temple writes in the Song of Songs that he will give his love where the (red!) pomegranates blossom. Again, here, the association of pomegranates with (love)union and thus with the bringing forth of new life. Pomegranates speak of the highest there is, namely Love and Life. The Hebrew word for “pomegranate” (rimmon) also means “height.”
Song of Songs 7:12–13

Boaz and Jachin stand literally and figuratively for the going in and going out of the sanctuary. The priest who entered or exited the house of God passed by these two pillars. In imagery these pillars speak of Him who once entered into the heavenly sanctuary and who in the near future will come out again.

Boaz is the name of the left pillar and Jachin the name of the right pillar. Left and right in the Bible (as also in our language) stand respectively for humiliation and exaltation. Think of the well-known division of the goats on the left and the sheep on the right. To sit at someone’s right hand is the highest honor one can receive. When we “leave someone on the left” it means we ignore them. In English, the word for “left” also means “abandoned.” The right side has precedence. In politics, “the left” refers to those who stand up for the disadvantaged.
Matthew 25:33; Psalm 110:1

The left pillar stood toward the south, while the right pillar stood northward. In symbolism, left and south are more or less synonymous—just as right and north are. South and north stand respectively for humiliation and exaltation. We say: down in the south and up in the north. In the night sky we know on the one hand the Southern Cross and on the other hand the Northern Crown.
cf. 2 Chronicles 4:10

Boaz, the left pillar to the south, speaks of Christ who from humiliation rose from the dead (at the beginning of the barley harvest) and then entered into the heavenly sanctuary.

Jachin, the right pillar to the north, speaks of the exalted Christ who will soon come out of the heavenly sanctuary to establish His Kingdom.

The bronze pillars were cast at the Jordan—more specifically at the place where the water once stood still when the people of Israel crossed through it (Zarethan). The passing through the (death)Jordan has always been a symbol of death and resurrection and thus of the beginning of new life. The crossing of the Jordan, moreover, took place—how could it be otherwise—at the beginning of the barley harvest!
1 Kings 7:46; Joshua 3:16; Joshua 5:10–12

Delen: