1 Kings 5:1-18
1 And Hirama 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.
2 And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying,
3 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.
4 But now the LORD my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent.
5 And, behold, I purposeb 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.
6 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:c for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians.
7 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.
8 And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have consideredd the things which thou sentest to me for: and I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir.
9 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 appointe 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.
10 So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees according to all his desire.
11 And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measuresf of wheat for food to his household, and twenty measures of pure oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year.
12 And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him: and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league together.
13 And king Solomon raised a levyg out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men.
14 And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses: a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home: and Adoniram was over the levy.
15 And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens, and fourscore thousand hewers in the mountains;
16 Beside the chief of Solomon's officers which were over the work, three thousand and three hundred, which ruled over the people that wrought in the work.
17 And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house.
18 And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders did hew them, and the stonesquarers: so they prepared timber and stones to build the house.
PREPARATIONS FOR THE TEMPLE
(vs.1-18)
God had told David that Solomon would build a house for Him (2 Samuel 7:12), and David therefore prepared many materials for this. We read now of Solomon making further preparations for this. Hiram king of Tyre, who had been friendly with David, sent his servants to express the same friendliness to Solomon (v.1). Solomon was encouraged by this to send word to Hiram, reminding him that David was not permitted by God to build a house for the name of the Lord because of his being constantly embroiled in warfare (vs.2-3). However, the Lord now had given Solomon rest, so that his kingdom was at peace (v.4).
Therefore, he told Hiram it was his purpose to build a house for the name of the Lord God, in accordance with God's word that David's son should do this work (v.5). He requested of Hiram that he should give orders to his men to cut down cedars in Lebanon to provide timber for building. Solomon would send servants to unite with Hiram's servants in this work, and Solomon would pay the wages of all of these according to the decision of Hiram. He reminded Hiram that it was well known that the Sidonians (who were connected with Tyre) were skillful lumbermen, and Solomon was fully willing to pay wages such as skillful workmen deserved.
There were no snags whatever in this arrangement. All was done in thorough concord. Huram rejoiced greatly at the message of Solomon, showing no envy, but joy in the Lord's having given a wise king to rule over Israel (v.7). He responded favorably to Solomon's request, willing to provide cedar and cypress logs for him. Hiram's servants would cut them down, then float them by the sea-coast in rafts (or what we may call "booms") to the port in Israel closest to Jerusalem, where the logs would be separated for transport by land to Jerusalem (vs.8-9). He accepted Solomon's word too that he would provide food for Hiram's household.
This arrangement proceeded well, with cedar and cypress logs being sent by Hiram and Solomon responding with 20,000 kors of wheat and 20 kors of pressed oil every year (v.11) for seven years (ch.6:37-38).
This friendliness between Solomon and Hiram pictures the peace established between Israel and the Gentile nations in the millennium. Gentiles will come to Israel's light and the wealth of the Gentiles will come to Israel (Isaiah 60:3). God knew how to dispose Hiram favorably toward Solomon, and He knows how to change the hearts of other Gentiles from enmity to friendliness toward Israel, as He will in the latter days. Solomon and Hiram made a treaty together. The labor force that Solomon raised from Israel to send to Lebanon was large indeed, involving 30,000 men. The men labored only for one month out of three, for 10,000 went each month and returned for two months. This was wise consideration for the laborers (vs.13-14).
For the building of the temple, Solomon designated 70,000 workers to carry burdens, which would include the transporting of logs from the sea coast to Jerusalem. Also 80,000 were engaged in quarrying stone in the mountains (v.15). It is understood that the caverns from which the stone was quarried are still in existence in the vicinity of Jerusalem.
There is good spiritual instruction for us in all this organization. God knows how to organize His work today without man's organization involved. The workers in the mountains of Lebanon, using axes to cut down trees, speak of evangelists sent by God to cut down the pride of men and thus save them from their sins, so that they might be fit for use in His house. The logs being then committed to the water picture the exercise of faith that is necessary for every convert. The logs may seem heavy enough to sink, but they do not: they float.
The burden bearers had the important work of carrying the logs up to Jerusalem, symbolizing the work of believers who care for the need of new converts, that they might be brought to realize their place in the house of God.
Those who quarried stone had hard underground work in gradually shaping stones that were then built into the temple with no tools being necessary, and no noise (ch.6:7). Typically this is the work of bringing souls from the darkness of their sins, dealing with them to shape their character so as to be fitted in perfectly with the rest of believers as a holy temple in the Lord. This is God's workmanship, but He uses believers to carry out His work.
There were also 3,300 supervisors of the work, which reminds us that God has provided in the Church today, elder men of experience and dependability to help and encourage His saints in the work God appoints.
Large, costly, hewn stones are specially mentioned in verse 17, used in laying the foundation of the building. These do not speak of Christ Himself, for He is the Rock, the bedrock as the foundation of the Church of God (Matthew 16:18; 1 Corinthians 3:11). He was not "hewn," for He is perfect as He is. The hewn stones therefore picture the work of apostles and prophets at the beginning of the Church's history, as Paul says, believers "have been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets" (Ephesians 2:20). God did a special work with these, as Paul's conversion and after-life illustrate. The hewing speaks of His cutting off what was extraneous to make them fit for the use God had for them. They were "costly," for they were redeemed by the precious blood of Christ (1 Peter 1:18). They were "large," for they were given a place of prime importance in the building of the Church.
As well as Solomon's and Hiram's builders, verse 18 speaks of the Gebalites quarrying stones. There were Gebalites in connection with Edom, Ammon and Moab (Psalms 83:6), but the Gebalites (or Giblites) in our chapter are more likely those spoken of inJoshua 13:4, closer to the Sidonians and to Lebanon.