Would you like to read James McNaught’s novel Sinking Sand”? click here: Sinking Sand
(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
1 Kings 5:1–9, “And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram was ever a lover of David. And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying, Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house unto the name of the LORD his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until the LORD put them under the soles of his feet. But now the LORD my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent. And, behold, I purpose to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build an house unto my name. Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants: and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians. And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed be the LORD this day, which hath given unto David a wise son over this great people. And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things which thou sentest to me for: and I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir. My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon unto the sea: and I will convey them by sea in floats unto the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be discharged there, and thou shalt receive them: and thou shalt accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household.”
When David came to the throne of Israel he had many enemies in the surrounding nations for, after all, each these nations wanted to be the greatest nation in the region. David was a nighty king, in the Lord’s Name and by His power, and was able to rise to be the top kingdom in his region. Some of the nations fought against David to try and knock him off the top but other nations understood that David fought in the Lord’s Name and they admired him for that. Hiram, king of Tyre, just to the north of Israel on the coast, was one of the men who admired and loved king David. When Hiram heard that Solomon had replaced his father David as king, he sent to Solomon to make peace and establish a good working relationship. Hiram of Tyre had an extremely valuable asset in his kingdom, the cedars of Lebanon. These trees produced beautiful hardwood that was know to last for a long time and would look good in any building. Solomon asked Hiram for timber to build the Temple for that was the best timber of all and the Lord deserved the best available. Solomon explained to Hiram that David hadn’t been able to build the Temple so he was going to do it. He asked Hiram to provided the timber that was required. Hiram’s experts were the best in the world at that time so Solomon asked if they would be involved in preparing the timber for the building and allow Solomon’s men to work alongside them. Hiram said that he would prepare the timber and float the logs down the Mediterranean Coast to Israel so that they could be taken up to Jerusalem. In exchange for the timber Solomon would provide Hiram with food and other provisions for his civil service and army leaders.
No comments:
Post a Comment