In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of the Lord laid, in the month Zif:/And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it.
Fourth year marks the laying of the foundation, which indicates that the preparation was in full steam. In the preceding chapter we read that,”And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house(5:17)”. Stones were cut and were brought to the site. “And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building(6:7)”. Compare this with this Messianic verse from Isaiah,”Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.(28:16)” This stone carries several tags. It is tried. it is precious stone. It is a corner stone meaning that it secures two walls of the Gentiles and Israel to be hold fast. It is a precious stone since it refers to the Son. He was the rock of stumbling but it has become precious corner stone. He was tried or tempted, as written here, ‘but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin(He.4:15)’. He is the foundation on which the house of God shall be raised. To this the foundation work of king Solomon anticipates.
The time lapse is very much in evidence where the fourth year does not mean stones were instantly found ready to us. From the creation account to the inauguration of New Jerusalem work has been going both in heaven and on the earth. Four is a command number to indicate universal aspect of Salvation Plan. A clear illustration of number four is found here. “And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree(Re.7:1). The angels following divine Will set about a cataclysmic event. From their standpoint 4 denotes their action is with regards to the earth. . The same 4 explains the four living creatures in the inaugural vision of Prophet Ezekiel. They enforce the divine commandments on the earth, which in the Book of Zechariah also inform likewise.
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