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.
Introduction
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
Realization of God's Promise
note in the first place the realization of God's promise. Verse 1,
Hiram and Solomon's Context
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
Solomon's Response to Hiram
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,
Providence Prepares the Way for Promise
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.
Anticipation of God's Kingdom
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 Participation Foreshadows the Kingdom
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,
Hiram's Compliance and the Exchange
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 Importance of Preparation
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
Manifestation of God's Wisdom
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,
Wisdom Behind the Labour Force
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.
Conclusion
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.
Closing Prayer
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.