At the beginning of chapter 2, Boaz is introduced. We will encounter him often, because in Ruth, his name is mentioned no fewer than twenty times. There is no other person named Boaz in the Bible, yet we encounter the name even more often.
2 Chronicles 3
17 He set up the pillars at the front of the temple, one on the right side and one on the left. He named the one on the right Jachin, and the one on the left Boaz.
Pomegranates
This is about Solomon, who built the temple and named one of the bronze pillars Boaz (1 Kings 7:15). These two pillars at the entrance to the temple were like pomegranate trees, beautifully shaped (1 Kings 7:18,20) and adorned with four hundred fruits (1 Kings 7:20). Pomegranates symbolize fertility because of their many seeds. Seed is that which produces new life and represents the word of God (1 Peter 1:23).
Earlier in this series, we discussed the Jordan River. The place where the pillars were built was the same place where Israel crossed the Jordan (1 Kings 7:26): a symbol of death and resurrection.
Humiliation and Exaltation
The left pillar was called Boaz. Left represents humiliation. The term “left” still has this meaning in our language: for example, we speak of left-wing politics that generally cares about those who are disadvantaged in society.
Right, on the other hand, represents exaltation. This also resonates in our language: right has priority, and you can be someone’s right hand. In His position of exaltation, Christ is seated at God’s right hand.
North and South
The entrance to the temple was on the east side. Boaz marks the south, and Jachin the north. Like left, the south, which is below, speaks of humiliation. This is how we know the Southern Cross in the starry sky. North is above and represents exaltation. We also know a constellation for this: the Northern Crown.
Boaz means: in Him is strength. It speaks of Him who came as a human being in humiliation, suffered, died, and was raised from the dead by God: in Him is power: resurrection power! Jachin means: He will establish. It speaks of Christ, who in the future will establish His Kingdom worldwide (Isaiah 62:7).
Entering and Exiting
Thus, these two pillars speak of the humiliation and exaltation of Christ. And of the entering and exiting of the sanctuary. Each time the high priest entered the temple between these pillars, it was a picture of Christ entering the true sanctuary: heaven. The exit speaks of the future, when He will descend from heaven to appear in glory. Between His humiliation and exaltation, He is in the true sanctuary, heaven itself (Heb. 9:24).