Thought from today’s Bible reading from 1 Kings 5-6; 2 Chronicles 2-3.
When Solomon was about to build the temple, he contacted Hiram (or Huram, depending on the translation), the king of Tyre to receive workers and materials from him that would be necessary for the project. In his message to Hiram, we see four attitudes that Solomon possessed that are important for us to emulate.
“Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, dedicating it to Him, to burn fragrant incense before Him and to set out the showbread continually, and to offer burnt offerings morning and evening, on sabbaths and on new moons and on the appointed feasts of the Lord our God, this being required forever in Israel” (2 Chronicles 2:4).
We first see that Solomon had a desire to worship God according to the pattern He had given to Israel. In building the temple, Solomon was not trying to do things his way, but God’s way.
“The house which I am about to build will be great, for greater is our God than all the gods” (2 Chronicles 2:5).
Next we see that Solomon understood that God was greater than any other god that men served. In fact, he was not afraid to say so to a king he hoped to receive assistance from, for fear that Hiram might become offended and refuse to help. Solomon spoke of the superiority of God anyway.
“But who is able to build a house for Him, for the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain Him? So who am I, that I should build a house for Him, except to burn incense before Him?” (2 Chronicles 2:6).
Solomon also demonstrated humility. Though he was king, he knew that he was insignificant compared to the great God of heaven.
“Now send me a skilled man to work in gold, silver, brass, and iron, and in purple, crimson and violet fabrics, and who knows how to make engravings… Send me also cedar, cypress and algum timber from Lebanon… Now behold, I will give to your servants, the woodsmen who cut the timber, 20,000 kors of crushed wheat and 20,000 kors of barley, and 20,000 baths of wine and 20,000 baths of oil” (2 Chronicles 2:7-10).
Finally, we see Solomon willing to make a fair payment to Hiram for what he would obtain from him. Though he was engaged in a noble work, he did not expect to get something for nothing. He intended to be fair in his dealings with Hiram.
Tomorrow’s reading: 1 Kings 7; 2 Chronicles 4
[I’m using the Chronological reading plan on the Bible Gateway website if you’d like to follow along, too.]
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