Study note

1 Kings 7:48–49

The gold altar replaced the incense-burning altar used in the tabernacle (Exodus 30:1–10). In the temple, ten tables and ten lampstands replaced the single table and lampstand from the tabernacle (Exodus 25:23–40). One gold table for the Bread of the Presence is mentioned. But the author of Chronicles notes ten tables, five on each side of the temple’s main room (2 Chronicles 4:8), along with ten solid gold lampstands. The bread symbolized God's provision for his people, and the lampstand represented God as the source of life and truth. Both symbols pointed to Christ, the bread of life (John 6:35) and the light of the world (John 8:12).