And for the altar of incense refined gold by weight; and gold for the pattern of {i} the chariot of the cherubims, that spread out their wings, and covered the ark of the covenant of the LORD.

(i) Meaning, of the mercy seat that covered the ark, which was called the chariot, because the Lord declared himself there.

Wesley's Notes

28:18 Refined gold - Purer than any of the rest. For that was typical of the intercession of Christ, than which nothing can be more pure and perfect. The cherubim - Which Solomon was to make, (for those which were fastened to the mercy - seat were made by Moses long before) which he fitly compares to a chariot, because within them God is said to sit and to dwell. And because a chariot is made to carry a person from place to place, this expression may be used to intimate that God was not so fixed to them by the building of this temple, but that he would remove from them if they forsook him. Covered - Not above it, for that was done by Moses's cherubim, but before it, to keep it from the eyes of the high - priest, when he entered into the most holy place.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

18, 19. the chariot of the cherubim-The expanded wings of the cherubim formed what was figuratively styled the throne of God, and as they were emblematical of rapid motion, the throne or seat was spoken of as a chariot (Ps 18:10; 99:1). It is quite clear that in all these directions David was not guided by his own taste, or by a desire for taking any existing model of architecture, but solely by a regard to the express revelation of the divine will. In a vision, or trance, the whole edifice, with its appurtenances, had been placed before his eyes so vividly and permanently, that he had been able to take a sketch of them in the models delivered to Solomon.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

28:11-21 The temple must be a sacred thing, and a type of Christ; it must be framed by Divine teaching. Christ is the true temple, the church is the gospel temple, and heaven the everlasting temple; all are framed according to the Divine counsels, and the plan laid in the Divine wisdom, ordained before the world, for God's glory and our good. David gave this pattern to Solomon, that he might go by rule. Materials were provided for the most costly utensils of the temple. Directions were given which way to look for help in this great undertaking. Be not dismayed; God will help thee, and thou must look up to him in the first place. We may be sure that God, who owned our fathers, and carried them through the services of their day, will, in like manner, never leave us, while he has any work to do in us, or by us. Good work is likely to go on, when all concerned are hearty in furthering it. Let us hope in God's mercy; if we seek him, he will be found of us.