And there were made on them, on the doors of the temple, cherubims and palm trees, like as were made upon the walls; and there were thick planks upon the face of the porch without.
Thick planks - a thick plank-work at the threshold.
Remarks:
(1) The temple here described in detail, as about hereafter to be, corresponds to the former temple as antitype corresponds to type. The dimensions are almost all on a larger scale, to accommodate a more numerous people. Then, too, there is to be no space within the precincts or suburbs of the temple which is not consecrated to the Lord; whereas in the old temple there was a greater latitude as to the suburbs (Ezekiel 41:9; 2 Kings 23:11). Lastly, there is to be no ark of the covenant; for the Lord Yahweh Himself in the full display of the divine glory, shall dwell in His temple as the revealed "messenger of the covenant," the antitype to the former "ark of the covenant" (Malachi 3:1; Jeremiah 3:16-17).
(2) The spiritual lesson to be learned by us from the description here is, that the Church of God, the temple of the Holy Spirit, as it shall hereafter be manifested on earth, shall be on a scale of grandeur such as has never yet been witnessed, and its worship shall be on a corresponding scale of glory, beauty, and blessedness. Not until then shall the Lord be worshipped visibly "in the beauty of holiness" (Psalms 29:2) by the whole congregation of the earth, led on by Israel as the leader of the mighty choir; and the grand center of worship shall be the glorious sanctuary of Jerusalem.
(3) None of the defects which attend our present liturgical worship shall alloy the perfection of the public
(4) There was no ark of the covenant in the second temple, reared after the return from Babylon. Instead of it the Lord Jesus, the living antitypical ark of the covenant, embodying in Himself the fulfillment of the law, as the "Messenger of the covenant" visited the temple and thereby caused the unseen spiritual "glory of the latter house to be greater than that of the former" (Haggai 2:9 ). But still there remains yet to be manifested the full and visible glory of the Messenger of the covenant, recognized as such in His own house by Israel and all nations, which He was not recognized as being at His first advent. Then shall the prophecy of Haggai have its full realization. His glory filling the temple at Jerusalem shall cause the glory of the former house-which seemed to the elders among the returning exiles to be so superior that they shed tears at the sad contrast which the latter house presented (Ezra 3:12 ) - to pale into comparative dimness by reason of the excelling glory. And the ark of the covenant shall be no longer missed or regretted when men shall have Christ Himself in all His antitypical excellence ( Jeremiah 3:16-17 ). And the divine "messenger of the covenant suddenly coming to His temple" shall ravish His people with surprised "delight" when they shall behold the King in His beauty (Malachi 3:1 ; Isaiah 33:17 ).