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Remember, the first section in 
1 Kings deals with the reign of Solomon. We saw his rise in 
chapters 1 and 2. His reign is recorded in chapters 
3 to 11. And in this particular section, 
Solomon builds the temple in chapters 5, 6, and 7, and then 
dedicates the temple in chapter 8. And then, unfortunately, he 
begins to decline toward the latter part of his reign. I do 
want to read 1 Kings chapter 5, beginning in verse 1. Now 
Hiram, king of Tyre, sent his servants to Solomon, because 
he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father. 
For Hiram had always loved David. Then Solomon sent to Hiram, saying, 
you know how my father David could not build a house for the 
name of the Lord his God, because of the wars which were fought 
against him on every side, until the Lord put his foes under the 
soles of his feet. But now the Lord my God has given 
me rest on every side. There is neither adversary nor 
evil occurrence. And behold, I propose to build 
a house for the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spoke to 
my father David, saying, Your son, whom I will set on your 
throne in your place, he shall build the house for my name. 
Now therefore, command that they cut down cedars for me from Lebanon, 
and my servants will be with your servants, and I will pay 
you wages for your servants according to whatever you say. For you 
know there is none among us who has skill to cut timber like 
the Sidonians. So it was when Hiram heard the 
words of Solomon that he rejoiced greatly and said, Blessed be 
the Lord this day, for he has given David a wise son over this 
great people. Then Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, 
I have considered the message which you sent me, and I will 
do all you desire concerning the cedar and cypress logs. My servants shall bring them 
down from Lebanon to the sea. I will float them in rafts by 
sea to the place you indicate to me and will have them broken 
apart there. Then you can take them away and 
you shall fulfill my desire by giving food for my household. 
Then Hiram gave Solomon cedar and cypress logs according to 
all his desire. And Solomon gave Hiram 20,000 
cores of wheat as food for his household and 20 cores of pressed 
oil. Thus Solomon gave to Hiram year 
by year. So the Lord gave Solomon wisdom 
as he had promised him. And there was peace between Hiram 
and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty together. Then 
King Solomon raised up a labor force out of all Israel, and 
the labor force was 30,000 men. And he sent them to Lebanon, 
10,000 a month in shifts. They were one month in Lebanon 
and two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of the 
labor force. Solomon had 70,000 who carried 
burdens and 80,000 who quarried stone in the mountains, besides 
3,300 from the chiefs of Solomon's 
deputies who supervised the people who labored in the work. and 
the king commanded them to quarry large stones, costly stones, 
and hewn stones to lay the foundation of the temple. So Solomon's builders, 
Hiram's builders, and the Gebelites quarried them, and they prepared 
timber and stones to build the temple." Amen. A couple of the 
commentators point out that what we find in this particular section 
in terms of temple building is similar to what you find in other 
ancient Near Eastern cultures when they built temples or houses 
of worship or shrines to their gods. There was typically a section 
concerning the preparation leading up to it, the collection and 
gathering of supplies, the actual construction of the temple, and 
then the dedication of that temple to the gods. And so what we find 
here, as I say, is consistent with other accounts outside of 
Israel at that particular time. And then in terms of the numbers, 
in terms of the supplies, in terms of the amount of manpower 
and persons involved in such things, again, Israel was not 
unique. These were the sorts of things 
that persons did in these nations when they wanted to pay homage 
to their gods. Well, as we look at this particular 
chapter, it seems, at least from my vantage point going through 
it today, it's not like a Romans 3 or a Matthew 9. There's some things in here that 
just sort of read like a building program, and so it's going to 
take a little effort to try and glean some practical application. But the text is very practical, 
and I think it sets forth for us three lessons. We ought to 
notice in the first place the realization of God's promise 
in verses 1 to 6, secondly the anticipation of God's kingdom 
in verses 7 to 11, and then the manifestation of God's wisdom 
in verses 12 to 18. But note in the first place the 
realization of God's promise. Verse 1, Hiram king of Tyre. Now Tyre was the principal city 
on the Phoenician coast. If you look at a map of Israel 
and you go to the west and you look upwards, you will see Tyre. Jesus refers to Tyre and Sidon 
in his ministry. It was just north of where the 
Philistines were along the coast there of the Mediterranean Sea. 
And so Tyre was this principal city on the Phoenician coast. 
Now, we need to remember the particular context that we're 
in. In chapter 4 at verse 21, it says that Solomon reigned 
over all the kingdoms from the river to the land of the Philistines 
as far as the border of Egypt. They brought tribute and served 
Solomon all the days of his life. So when we get to chapter 5, 
some ask the question, was Hiram an equal or was Hiram a vassal? Basically, a vassal was a king 
that was subject to another king that would bring tribute, that 
would bring those sorts of gifts. Well, when we read chapter 5, 
it almost appears that Hiram is on equal footing with Solomon, 
but as we read it a little bit more closely, we see that Solomon 
is showing savvy and political expediency and kindness and love 
even to Hiram because Hiram had a relationship with David, but 
Solomon remains in charge of this particular exchange. Not 
that Hiram's getting ripped off or anything like that, but Solomon 
certainly is over this situation. In chapter 9, in verse 19, it 
indicates the extent of Solomon's reign as well. all the storage 
cities that Solomon had, cities for his chariots, and cities 
for his cavalry, and whatever Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, 
in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion." So he is the 
ruler over this area. Hiram, king of Tyre, sends his 
servants to Solomon. But there's a closer connection 
even in chapter 4, verse 34. Remember, as chapter 4 is celebrating 
the wisdom of Solomon, it highlights his intellectual ability, his 
wisdom, and then in verse 34 it says, And men of all nations, 
from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, 
came to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Now we go right into chapter 
5 and verse 1, and Hiram sends his servants to make contact 
with Solomon. In fact, if we look at the whole 
context, chapter 5 is yet a further display of the wisdom granted 
to Solomon by God. That's something that is conspicuous 
in the passage, specifically in verse 12 of chapter 5. So 
the Lord gave Solomon wisdom as He had promised him. Chapter 
3, God asks Solomon to ask God for something, and Solomon asks 
for wisdom, and God is pleased with that request. God gives 
him that wisdom, and then that wisdom is displayed first in 
a judicial matter at the end of chapter 3 with the two harlots 
who had the son who had died, the one living and the one dead. 
Chapter 4, Solomon builds or amasses his administration, his 
cabinet, his governors, all those who will indeed supervise and 
orchestrate the kingdom or administrate the kingdom. And then at the 
end of chapter 4, the intellectual ability of Solomon. Chapter 5 
shows his political savvy and his ability with reference to 
negotiations with Hiram, king of Tyre, and as well laying the 
foundation for the temple. So Hiram sends these servants, 
and then notice in verse 1, "...because he heard that they had anointed 
him king in place of his father, for Hiram had always loved David." 
So this was a congratulatory sort of a thing. Hiram got wind 
that Solomon had become king, so Hiram sends his servants to 
congratulate him because he had had a relationship with David. 
You're going to turn back to 2 Samuel chapter 5 to see that 
relationship. And it really does make a lot 
of sense in terms of David's conquest. Remember that David 
defeated the Philistines. Now the Philistines lived along 
the Mediterranean Sea south of the Phoenicians. Certainly there 
would be some competition between these two peoples in terms of 
trade, in terms of the waterway, and all that sort of thing. So 
when David defeats the Philistines and deflates them of their power, 
the Phoenicians are in a better position. So it's not hard to 
see why there would be this relationship forged between David and Hiram. But notice in 2 Samuel 5.11, 
Then Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar 
trees, and carpenters, and masons, and they built David a house. 
So David knew that the Lord had established him as king over 
Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his 
people Israel. So we find in 1 Kings 5 that 
old relationship that Hiram had forged with David was the occasion 
for which Solomon is now able to procure the wood that he needs 
in order to build the temple. We see the providence of God 
at work, obviously. Now note the response of Solomon 
in verses 2 to 6. It says, Then Solomon sent to 
Hiram, saying, You know how my father David could not build 
a house for the name of the Lord his God, because of the wars 
which were fought against him on every side. David had that 
desire. Go back again, I'm sorry, to 
2 Samuel. It's interesting that it's on that occasion, after 
he builds his house, having been furnished the supplies by Hiram, 
in 2 Samuel 7, David had a desire to build a house for the Lord. 
2 Samuel 7, verse 1, Now it came to pass, when the king was dwelling 
in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies 
all around, that the king said to Nathan the prophet, see now, 
I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells inside 
tent curtains. David wanted to build a house 
for the Lord God. In fact, in 1 Chronicles, chapters 
22 and 28, you'll see David's role in doing a bit of preparation 
in terms of temple building. He charges Solomon to build the 
temple and then he gathers some supplies in order for Solomon 
to do so. So when Solomon is sent word 
back to Hiram, he rehearses the fact that David had desired to 
build the house of God. But he indicates as well this 
limitation. He wasn't able to because of 
the wars which were fought against him on every side. It's hard 
to build a house for the Lord It's hard to build a temple. 
It's hard to work on infrastructure. It's hard to build roads. It's 
hard to have all the things that a nation is known for when you're 
constantly battling. And David constantly battled. 
After that section in 2 Samuel chapter 7, we see more warfare. David was battling all over. 
He had battles on the outside, but as well he had internal strife. 
He had persons in his own kingdom rise up against him, persons 
in his own family, in terms of his own son, rise up against 
him. So David was not in a position 
to be able to build a house for the Lord God Most High, and this 
is what Solomon rehearses here. Then he highlights the blessing 
of God upon David. The end of verse three, until 
the Lord put his foes under the soles of his feet. Now this obviously 
paves the way for temple building under Solomon. You see, because 
David did the spade work of dealing with Philistines and Hivites 
and Hittites and all the different ites that were in the lands at 
the time, because he had done this, note the provision for 
Solomon in verse four. But now the Lord my God has given 
me rest on every side. There is neither adversary nor 
evil occurrence. Solomon was a king who ruled 
at a time of peace. You see the providence of God. 
Hopefully, we appreciate that. The Lord is behind the scenes. 
He's working out his plan. It was this particular time in 
redemptive history when God would have the temple built. It wasn't 
under David. It would be under Solomon. He 
already announced this back in 2 Samuel chapter 7. The presence 
of peace with reference to Solomon's reign was no encouragement for 
laziness. Solomon wasn't the sort of king 
that had peace and had sort of this good administration and 
said, well, we'll just kick back and enjoy the way things are. 
No, he wants to build a house for God. Now's the time. We've 
got to strike while the iron's hot. Well, we're not having to 
face the Philistines and the various enemies that the land 
has against us. We're going to build this house. 
Notice his theological rationale. Verse 5, And behold, I propose 
to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord 
spoke to my father David, saying, Your son, whom I will set on 
your throne in your place, he shall build the house for my 
name. Now this is very, very important 
that we understand what Solomon is doing here in verse 5. Certainly 
the house of God or the temple would be a good political move 
for Solomon. It would evidence political savvy. 
Remember when David consolidates power in 2 Samuel chapter 4? Well, in chapters 5 and 6, he 
consolidates that power. He brings the Ark of the Covenant 
to Jerusalem. He makes Jerusalem the political 
capital. So what we have when we look 
at the map is Jerusalem centrally located between Dan and Beersheba. 
And it's now become the hub. It's become the place where David 
reigns politically and where the worship of God is centralized. 
It was a good political move. And certainly for Solomon to 
build this temple for the Lord would be a good political move. 
As well, it would be good social policy. Now, when we look at 
the conscripted labor that he uses at the end of verses from 
13 to 17, probably a lot of those were Canaanites that remained 
in the land, but some of them were Israelites and it was not 
slave labor. They were given jobs. This was 
a work program. So it was good social policy. 
But the primary emphasis is grounded in a theological motivation. 
He says, I propose to build a house for the name of the Lord my God 
as the Lord spoke to my father David. This is 2 Samuel 7. So why we look at this section 
and call it the realization of God's promise is because it's 
the faithfulness of a covenant God that is what is conspicuous 
in this particular section. The time has come, it has been 
realized, what God promised to David in 2 Samuel 7 has come 
to fruition under David's son, just like God promised, remember? David wants to build a house 
for the Lord. The Lord says, you're not going 
to build a house for me. I'm going to build a house for 
you. What he meant by that was a dynasty, a dynasty of kings. There would be a succession of 
kings that would come from David. And it would be through David's 
son that this house would be built. Now, ultimately, we see 
that Solomon failed. Solomon does not end well. This 
ultimately points to the house builder, the Lord Jesus Christ, 
who builds the temple of God. But in this particular aspect, 
in terms of the national fulfillment of the temple or a building structure 
for God, this is the realization and the promise. As the Lord 
spoke to my father David saying, your son whom I will set on your 
throne in your place, he shall build the house for my name. So this is the theological rationale 
for the temple building project that Solomon is undertaking. 
Now notice, the latter part of his message to Hiram is the practical 
request. Now therefore command that they 
cut down cedars for me from Lebanon, and my servants will be with 
your servants, and I will pay you wages for your servants according 
to whatever you say. For you know there is none among 
us who has skill to cut timber like the Sidonians. So you see, 
the theological rationale provides the basis for the practical request. And Ralph Davis makes this comment, 
linking verses 5 and 6 together. He says, Yahweh's providence 
has prepared the way for his promise. This is the focus, and 
this is what I hope you'll understand. Again, this is a chapter that's 
probably not as easy to glean from as a Matthew 9 or a Matthew 
5 or a Matthew 6 or 7. But when we see verses 5 and 
6, I think Davis is right on. Yahweh's providence has prepared 
the way for his promise. Yahweh gave military victory 
to David, verse 3. He has provided political security 
for Solomon, verse 4. These conditions Solomon says 
give him the green light to execute what Yahweh had promised David 
in verse 5. So cut cedars, verse 6. Davis says Yahweh's promise then 
drives Solomon's project. It is important to see this. 
The real foundation of the temple does not consist of huge blocks 
of stone. The temple rests upon the promise 
of God. And that is crucial to get when 
we consider this brief message sent by Solomon to Hiram. because God promised in 2 Samuel 
7, because God was with David through every adversity and enabled 
David to lower his feet upon the throats of his enemies, and 
because of that Solomon would enjoy a time of political stability, 
he would enjoy a time of foreign a policy that was blessed and 
enriched, he would know no internal strife in terms of his own kingdom, 
because all these things converge together in the providence of 
God. It is the Lord's promise upon which this temple is built. 
It would be far too easy to say, wow, they had great trees in 
Lebanon. It would be far too easy to say, well, conscripted 
labor is a great way to get building projects done. Well, brethren, 
unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who attempt 
to do so. And this is precisely what we 
find in terms of the temple building. It is prophesied or promised 
by God. It is put into practice by God 
through His servant Solomon. Now note the anticipation of 
God's kingdom in verses 7 to 11. Hiram responds. He gives praise to Yahweh. Now, 
I doubt Hiram is a born-again Christian. I doubt Hiram, you 
know, sacrificed everything entire and went and joined the covenant 
community. He got circumcised. He started to observe Sabbath 
and not eat pork or anything like that. I don't think that's 
the emphasis of the text. I think it is, however, the reality 
that the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. So 
it was when Hiram heard the words of Solomon that he rejoiced greatly, 
and he said, Blessed be the Lord this day, for he has given David 
a wise son over this great people. It is intriguing that the covenant 
people use the pagan timber. Right? There's often this idea 
that we as Christians can only do business with Christians. 
Now, certainly we ought, as we're able, to do business with Christians. 
But we're not condemned for buying lumber or timber from a pagan. Solomon builds the temple using 
timber that comes from a pagan nation. Why is that? Because 
the earth is Yahweh's in the fullness thereof. It's not the 
case that these cedars of Lebanon are pagan in and of themselves. They are creature. God made them. 
And if the people of God co-opt them for holy uses, now, this 
could be abused. We could engage in all sorts 
of absurdities here. But just a bare observation. When Solomon needs timber for 
the temple, he has no problem having truck with a pagan, with 
a heathen, with a Gentile. But as we look at this, this 
Gentile rejoiced in the covenantal faithfulness of God. It says 
he rejoiced greatly and said, Blessed be Yahweh this day. Again, 
I don't think he's owning God as his own, but he recognizes 
Yahweh as the God of Israel. And he blesses him, he speaks 
well of him, he eulogizes this good God. The Gentile blessed 
him, he rejoices greatly in him, and then the Gentile recognizes 
the God-given wisdom of Solomon. For he has given David a wise 
son over this great people. It's a pretty great thing, isn't 
it? When this pagan king recognizes this in this man, Solomon. And 
then notice, this is a bit of an anticipation of the kingdom. 
Now, it's an anticipation that we have to search for, that we 
have to look for, but it is there. Because you see here, participation 
by Gentiles in the building of the kingdom. This foreshadows 
what's going to come under Messiah. This foreshadows what's going 
to come under King Jesus Christ. It is consistent with the promise 
made to Abraham that in him all the nations of the earth would 
be blessed. So this Gentile was probably not saved, nor did he 
come into the covenant community, but he does point forward to 
the reality that God's kingdom will include Jews and Gentiles 
under the Messiah. John Gill goes so far when we 
get to the end of the chapter when he says Solomon's builders, 
Hiram's builders, the Gebelites quarried them. He says the fact 
that probably Solomon used more Gentiles, and he says that foreshadows 
or could indicate that there's more Gentiles in the Gospel State 
Church under the new covenant of our Lord Jesus Christ. Whenever 
you see Gentiles in the Old Testament participating in the covenant 
communities expansion programs, you've got to think New Covenant. 
When you see Ruth the Moabitess brought into the covenant community, 
when you see Rahab the harlot brought into the covenant community, 
think Abraham. Think in Christ. All the nations, 
all the families of the earth will be blessed. Think about 
what it will look like in terms of Revelation 5, 9. Every tribe, 
tongue, people, and nation. One man says this concerning 
this instance. He says, so that even heathen 
nations, whether friendly or conquered, took part in the building 
of the house for the God of Israel, and so contributed indirectly 
to the glorifying of God. It was a setting forth in act 
of the word, the earth is the Lord's and all that therein is. 
For the kingdom is the Lord's, and He is governor among the 
nations, and all the heathen shall serve Him." This was Psalm 
24 1, Psalm 28, and Psalm 72 11. You see this all throughout 
the Old Testament. And the careful reader ought 
to appreciate these are glimpses of the kingdom under Messiah. You've got Gentiles participating 
in temple building. You've got Gentiles participating 
in building the house for God. Well, that is precisely what 
happens in the New Covenant. You've got Jew and Gentiles who 
are the spiritual stones, the living stones that make up the 
very temple of God Most High. Now, notice his compliance with 
Solomon's request. Verse 8, I have considered the 
message which you sent me, and I will do all you desire concerning 
the cedar and cypress logs. Go back for just a moment to 
verse six. He says, command that they cut down cedars for me from 
Lebanon and my servants will be with your servants and I will 
pay you wages for your servants according to whatever you say. 
Notice that Solomon wants his servants there. Verse 8, Hiram 
says, I'm sorry, verse 9, my servants shall bring them down 
from Lebanon to the sea. So when they're at the cutting 
site, it sounds like Hiram doesn't want Solomon's servants there. 
But when you get to the narrative, Solomon's servants are there. 
That's what I mean. They are not equal. Solomon gets 
his wish. Hiram wanted, or Solomon offered 
to pay the actual workers themselves. Hiram says, no, give it to my 
household. Again, the household doesn't 
mean wife, three kids, and dog. It means everybody connected 
to the royal family, just like it did with reference to Solomon. 
That abundance of supplies wasn't going to Solomon, his wife, his 
kids, and their donkey. It was to everybody connected 
with the royal household. And so there are some things 
going on here. Hiram is negotiating. You need 
to remember, there is respect, there's political savvy going 
on, but Hiram doesn't want to get gypped, and Solomon doesn't 
want to gyp him, but nevertheless, Solomon's going to make sure 
things are done the way Solomon wants it done. Now when it says, 
I will float them in rafts by sea to the place you indicate 
to me, probably tied these logs together, floated them down from 
Tyre to Joppa. Joppa is about 35 to 40 miles 
from Jerusalem. So then the heavy lifting would 
have come to get them over to Jerusalem. Remember, they didn't 
have semi trucks back then or trains. probably some advanced 
system to do it on their own, but this is the process. My servants 
shall bring them down from Lebanon to the sea. I will float them 
in rafts by sea to the place you indicate to me, and will 
have them broken apart there. Then you can take them away, 
and you shall fulfill my desire by giving food for my household. 
Now, something that I think we ought to appreciate here is the 
great preparation that goes into something like this. And I think 
if I was a builder today, I don't know what I would do, because 
I'm not. So it's outside of my skill set. But I think I'd make 
phone calls. I'd probably be on my iPhone. 
I'd be contacting a lumber guy. I'd be contacting transport guys. I'd be contacting people to get 
the logs from point A to point B. And I pretty much suspect 
that they would do it by truck. But see, when we go back here, 
they didn't have that. They didn't have iPhones, and 
they didn't have email, and they didn't have purchase orders, 
and they didn't have contacts, and that sort of thing. It was 
this thing between Hiram and Solomon. Hiram says, OK, I'll 
float the logs down from Tyre to Joppa. Get them over there 
to Jerusalem. But the preparation. I was thinking 
about this. Chapter 5 is all about preparation. That's why I think it's somewhat 
difficult to try and treat in a real practical manner, but 
I think practically we ought to appreciate with the idea of 
preparation. The amount of preparation that 
goes into something is directly connected to the value of the 
something itself. In other words, the temple as 
it stood was a valuable place. Not because God lived there, 
but it was the visible representation that God dwelt among his people. 
It wasn't voodoo, it wasn't witchcraft, it wasn't as if, you know, as 
long as the temple was there or as long as the tabernacle 
was there, God was there. We see in other places, we've 
gone through narrative where that's just not the case. But 
the temple was the visible representation that God would be with His people. 
So there's a glory attached to the standing of the temple. There's 
a glory attached to the standing of the temple as it pointed forward 
to the greater temple, which would be the Lord Jesus Christ. 
But the preparation involved. Now, forgive me for being autobiographical 
here, but one of the only things I could connect to in a real 
practical way in terms of preparation was the party that the church 
threw for me for my 50th anniversary, for my 50th birthday. When I 
came around that corner, I saw everybody. It was amazing. I 
really genuinely, there was not one iota of thought that this 
was happening. Now, if I had been a bit keener, 
I could have put something together because when I went home, I went 
by Josh's house and Jeff Lemke's car was in the driveway. Didn't 
notice the Washington plate, didn't think Jeff Lemke at all, 
just thought maybe Katie had a visitor. But when I got to 
that party and I saw all that stuff, but then I started asking 
questions, there was a lot of preparation that went into that. 
There was a ton of preparation. It was humbling, brethren. It 
made me feel really happy and really just amazed that that 
much effort went into that production. That's chapter five. God is glorious. You don't just throw together 
a house and call it God's. There's a lot of labor involved. 
You've got to bring logs from Tyre. You've got to float them 
down the Mediterranean to Joppa. You've got to conscript thousands 
and thousands and thousands of able-bodied men You've got to 
rotate those men in, you know, two months on the field, a month 
back home. You've got to manage these resources 
effectively before anything is even ready for persons to walk 
into to meet with their God. The preparation involved in 1 
Kings 5 speaks to how great and glorious and wondrous our God 
is. And if we can get real practical, it ought to speak to us in our 
new covenant situation as well. We ought to prepare when we go 
to meet with our God. If the Lord's day, if the Sabbath 
day is the day when God is pleased to dwell in a particular way 
with His people, then it wouldn't kill us on a Saturday to get 
a few things ready so that we're not running out of the house 
on Sunday night late for church. We're not late for work. We wouldn't 
be late to meet Justin Trudeau. We wouldn't fall asleep if we 
had audience with an earthly monarch. And yet we do this with 
reference to the church of the living God. There ought to be 
preparation consistent with and commensurate to how glorious 
our God is. This whole chapter is about preparation. So he complies, he negotiates, 
and then notice the verbs in verses 10 and 11. Gave. A lot 
of giving back and forth. Then Hiram gave Solomon cedar 
and cypress logs according to all his desire. Solomon gave 
Hiram 20,000 cores of wheat as food for his household and 20 
cores of pressed oil. Thus Solomon gave to Hiram year 
by year. I'd hope Josh would be here tonight 
to do the math to tell us how much wheat and oil this was, 
but as far as I can tell, it was a lot. There's a lot of wheat 
and oil. And it makes sense, because in Israel, they had a 
lot of wheat and oil. They didn't have that in these 
regions of Tyre and Sidon. They didn't have these in Lebanon. 
And so Hiram knows the score. I'm giving you prime lumber. 
I want wheat and oil, because we need wheat and oil in order 
to sustain our lives. So there's an amicable situation 
going on in this particular, in this transaction. And again, 
I believe that Hiram is subject to Solomon. Hiram is lower than 
Solomon, but you have to appreciate Solomon's disposition. You have 
to appreciate his international affairs. He doesn't just run 
roughshod over Hiram. Again, there's a lasting relationship 
between Hiram and David. Solomon respects that, and Solomon 
deals equitably and fairly and charitably with him. Solomon 
gives him a lot for the wood that he gets. He's not shorting 
him, he's not jipping him, he's not ripping him off. He is being 
very beneficent to him. in his dealing. So we ought to 
appreciate when heads of state actually deal with other heads 
of state as human beings and as adults and with wisdom and 
savvy and the ability to negotiate, not the art of the deal and all 
that sort of thing. I'm just suggesting that some 
foreign policy that is driven by wisdom is a very appreciable 
thing. Wisdom is a glorious thing when 
it's in the minds and hearts of people in high places. So 
that's the anticipation of God's kingdom. And then thirdly, and 
finally, notice the manifestation of God's wisdom. We have this 
Hiram giving Solomon, we have Solomon giving Hiram, Solomon 
giving Hiram, and then in verse 12, the God-given wisdom of Solomon. So the Lord gave Solomon wisdom 
as he had promised him. This was according to chapter 
3, verses 10 to 14. After Solomon's prayer, God answers. And it's manifested here in foreign 
relations as they negotiate a deal with reference to lumber so that 
they can build the house of God most high. And then note the 
practical arena for the exercise of God-given wisdom. the practical 
arena for the exercise of God-given wisdom. God-given wisdom certainly 
ought to affect you in your church life. God-given wisdom ought 
to affect you in your family life. But God-given wisdom ought 
to affect your work life. It ought to affect every area 
of your being. It's not the case that God-given 
wisdom is isolated to spiritual matters. I think we think that 
sometimes, don't we? Remember when they built the 
tabernacle in the book of Exodus, the two craftsmen, those artisans? It says the Spirit of the Lord 
was upon them. You don't typically look at a 
carpenter and say, man, that guy is blessed by God. But he is. If a man can plumb, 
he's been blessed by God. If a man engages in wise political 
dealings, he's been blessed by God. There's not sort of this 
knowledge out there that originates who knows where. If we have the 
ability to do something, it's because God has given it to us. And you see this arena as Solomon 
here conscripts a labor force. Again, when the text says in 
verse 13, a labor force out of all Israel, when you get to chapter 
9, you will learn that it wasn't any of Israel. And some have 
seen a contradiction between chapters 5 and chapter 9. In 
chapter 9, it says none of the Israelites served in this labor 
force. Well, I think there's ways not 
around it, but ways to explain it. What we find again in chapter 
5 is probably a lot of remaining Canaanites in the land. Remember, 
under Joshua and under the judges, they didn't dispossess the land 
of all the Canaanites. So guess who Solomon conscripted 
when it came time to carry lumber and stones. He would call those 
Canaanites that were remaining in the land and he would force 
them into servitude. Now, he used Israelites as well, 
and no doubt some of these are Israelites, but they were not 
slaves. And even if that were the case, 
as Davis points out, Solomon was running a monarchy. He was 
not engaged in some, you know, democracy where everybody had 
a share in what was happening. Now, it wasn't some communistic 
totalitarian regime. And when you get to chapter 12, 
remember that the people say that, you know, to Rehoboam, 
your father, you know, burdened us and your father made our labor 
heavy. As Davis points out, you got 
to remember those men were in rebellion. That could have been 
propaganda. There's no evidence in the Solomon 
narratives that his ruler, his reign was uniquely harsh or unkind. But what we have in Chapter 12 
are rebels, and certainly rebels want to make their case known. 
If they can pad the facts and say, he made it so hard on us. 
If we read these things and we compare Scripture with Scripture, 
yes, he used Israelites, but they were not slaves. He conscripted 
the Canaanites that were in the land, but again, I don't think 
he was, you know, cracking the whip on them. They ate, they 
were clothed, they had shelter. They were, you know, given those 
sorts of things. It wasn't a slave labor in the 
sense that they, you know, just got a handful of gruel every 
day. I mean, you need men that are 
well-fed in order to do the sorts of work that they are doing in 
this particular situation. But that's the God-given wisdom. 
Notice, God-given wisdom. He raised up a labor force. He 
sent them to Lebanon, verse 14, 10,000 men a month in shifts. They were one month in Lebanon, 
two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of the 
labor force. I mean, if these were slaves, they had the easiest 
life ever. I mean, talk about slavery. I 
mean, you got a month on and two months at home. Sign me up. 
I'll be that kind of slave. That's not slavery, OK? That's not whatsoever. Adoniram 
was in charge of the labor force. Solomon had 70,000 who carried 
burdens, 80,000 who quarried stone in the mountains, besides 
3,300 from the chiefs of Solomon's deputies who supervised the people 
who labored and the work. You see, this takes God-given 
wisdom. You've got this end goal in view, this temple, this house 
for God. But it's not going to just magically 
appear. It's got to have foundation stones. 
It's got to have timber. In order to have foundation stones 
and timber, you've got to have men. In order to have men who 
labor, you've got to have chiefs over them. You see, Solomon is 
able to do this because of verse 12. The Lord gave Solomon wisdom 
as he had promised him. Davis makes this observation, 
verses 13 to 18 are to be seen in the light of verse 12. The 
administration, organization, and delegation involved in assembling 
and directing the temple labor force, the arrangements for obtaining 
stone and wood, all these flow from the wisdom God had given 
Solomon. Sometimes in the Bible, wisdom 
is the skill to get things done, right? And he says, and so the 
text implies it is important to remember that it is a divine 
gift, not merely a human aptitude. In other words, when you read 
verses 13 to 18, you cannot divorce it from verse 12. Don't just 
say, wow, Solomon was a bright bulb. Solomon learned a few things 
along the way. Solomon knew something about 
time management, about project management, about troop movements, 
and about the way. No, it was God who gave him this 
wisdom. That is a beautiful testimony to the wisdom of God, the practical 
arena of the exercise of God-given wisdom. I fear that we do this, 
God give me wisdom for this aspect of my spiritual life, but I can 
conduct myself like an idiot at work. No, you need wisdom 
at work. You need God's help in the factory. You need God's help in the farm. 
You need God's help in the shop. We need God's help in all things, 
right? We make these sort of compartments. 
God helps me at church. God helps me read my Bible. God 
helps me pray. And he does. But God doesn't 
really help me when I'm over here at Walmart. Yeah, if you 
work at Walmart, you need wisdom to be a good Walmart employee. 
Ask of God who gives to all liberally and without reproach. You see, 
is the Lord God over all, not just over Sunday. And he gave 
this wisdom to Solomon in order to exercise his will. So in conclusion, 
well, note the concerted effort, verse 18, Solomon's builders, 
Hiram's builders, and the Gabalites quarried them, and they prepared 
timber and stones to build the temple. In the passage, we see 
the faithfulness of God. I hope that's conspicuous specifically 
in verse 5, Solomon points to the Davidic covenant as the theological 
rationale for the building of the temple unto the Lord. So 
it's God's faithfulness in terms of his promise to David that 
is being realized here in 1 Kings chapter 5. We see, secondly, 
the wisdom of Solomon. It is a God-given wisdom. He 
prays for it, it's provided to him, and the evidence of that 
wisdom fills up chapters 3 to 5. Judicial matters, administrative 
functions, intellectual abilities, and political skill. God-given 
wisdom is seen in a whole host of ways. In Solomon, we see that 
whole host of ways all embodied in one particular man. I mean, 
brethren, really, when you consider what we see in Solomon, he was 
an incredible man, not because of himself, but because of the 
God who raised him up and made him what he was. Thirdly, we 
ought to appreciate the importance of the temple. This is where 
the narrative in whole has been heading, all the way back not 
to 2 Samuel 7, but to Genesis. You see, what God does in Genesis 
is build a temple. Eden was a temple, brethren. 
Adam's primary function was not a farmer, it was not agriculture. 
Adam's function in the garden was a priest. That is what he 
was tasked with doing. He was tasked with taking that 
garden temple and extending its boundaries so that the created 
order would worship and serve God. It was temple. That's why 
God comes and communes with Adam in the cool of the day. It's 
a temple. It's a dwelling place. So that when that is forfeited, 
when that is ripped away from Adam, we then see in the books 
of Exodus and Leviticus this command to build the tabernacle. 
The tabernacle is a temporary temple. Again, it's where God 
meets with Israel. Isn't that it? Tabernacle simply 
means dwelling place, and it points to the coming temple. 
So the tabernacle, they constructed, it's a dwelling place of God 
at the end of the Book of Exodus. Remember the Shekinah glory comes 
down on that dwelling place of God and not even Moses himself 
could go in. Enter the book of Leviticus. 
Leviticus tells the people how that dwelling place where God 
is amongst them becomes a meeting place. And the meeting place 
comes as a result of the sacrificial system instituted in Leviticus 
chapters 1 to 9. As Morales says, Israel learned 
that the way to God is through a bloody knife and a smoking 
altar. It's through sacrifice. And so 
that tabernacle was where God and his people dwelled together. 
And then after that temporary facility now comes the temple, 
this centralized sanctuary, this in accordance with Deuteronomy 
chapter 12. There would be one place for Israel to worship. Why was that? It was in a sense 
a protective theology, a preventative maintenance. If Israelites worshiped 
wherever Israelites wanted to worship, they would go a whoring 
from God. So God says in Deuteronomy 12, 
have a centralized sanctuary, bring the people together so 
that they will not depart from me. So the role of the temple 
in the covenant community was the visible representation of 
God's presence with his people. It wasn't witchcraft, it wasn't 
voodoo, it wasn't, oh, God lives there, but rather it is the place 
that visibly represents God's presence. When Solomon dedicates 
the temple, he says, this temple cannot contain you. Solomon was 
under no illusions of grandeur that Yahweh now was physically 
located in the temple. It was the visible representation. 
It was sacramental. It was a token. It was an emblem. 
It was a sign. It was a symbol. As well, the 
sacrificial system was conducted in this temple, and that pointed 
the way to the Lord Jesus Christ, and as I've already referred 
to, the practical importance of a central sanctuary in accordance 
with Deuteronomy 12. It's repeated in Deuteronomy 
14, 15, and 16 several times. This is where Israel was heading, 
all the way from Genesis to this particular time. when the temple 
is built. So you see the temple was very 
significant in Israel's religious life. When we jump to Matthew 
24 and Jesus curses and Jesus says that this temple is going 
to be left to you desolate, this was an amazing situation in terms 
of redemptive history. As well, before we leave, we 
ought to appreciate the typical significance in the chapter. 
What types do we find of Christ? What types do we find of the 
kingdom of Christ? In the first place, we ought 
to appreciate the typical significance of David. I hope everybody saw 
that. Did you all see it? The typical 
significance of David? Yeah? Yes? No? Look at the end 
of verse 3. until the Lord put his foes under 
the soles of his feet." That's Psalm 110.1, isn't it? The Lord 
said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies 
your footstool. So in David, we have a foretaste 
of what's coming under Messiah. As well, the typical significance 
of Solomon. John Gill says, in which he, 
Solomon, was a type of Christ, the builder of his temple, the 
church. See Zechariah 6, 12 and 13. Zechariah 
6, 12 and 13 is a prophecy concerning the branch. concerning the son of David who 
would build the temple. And it is Christ that it points 
to. And then as well, the Gentile 
inclusion in the kingdom of God. I referred to Gil earlier, listen 
to what he says on verse 18. Both Solomon's and Hiram's builders 
and the large number of workmen, both Israelites and strangers, 
which latter were an emblem of the Gentiles concerned in the 
building of the spiritual temple, excuse me, the Church of Christ. 
And whereas the number of strangers that wrought for the building 
was far greater than that of the Israelites, it may denote 
the greater number of Gentiles in the gospel church state mentioned 
besides these. So we ought to appreciate in 
this chapter concerning preparation, we see the faithfulness of God, 
we see the wisdom of God, we see an anticipation of the kingdom 
of God. in terms of its New Covenant 
reality. Well, let us pray. Father, we 
thank You for Your Word, and we thank You for the greater 
than Solomon and the New Covenant that we have in our Lord Jesus 
Christ. We thank You that in Him are hid all the treasures 
of wisdom and knowledge, and we thank You, our God, that if 
we are in Him, we have the mind of Christ. And we pray that You 
would supply wisdom to each of us in our daily lives, not just 
in our Sunday lives, not just in our church or spiritual life. 
But God, we need wisdom to conduct ourselves in all areas of life. 
And we see in this account that you grant such wisdom. We see 
in these chapters that you grant such wisdom. And we pray that 
you would do so for us, that we may know how to navigate through 
this world in a way that is pleasing and glorifying unto you. God, 
how we could ever think that we could live the Christian life 
or be in families or be in churches or be in workplaces apart from 
your wisdom is truly amazing. So do supply what we lack, grant 
us grace and help to know the scriptures, and may we seek by 
your grace to obey these things. As well, we appreciate and we 
marvel at your faithfulness over so many years and promises made 
and promises kept and how they all point to the Lord Jesus Christ. 
and how we thank you for our interest in him by your grace 
and for your glory. Go with us now, we pray, and 
we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.