King Hiram of Tyre had always been a loyal friend of David. When Hiram learned that David’s son Solomon was the new king of Israel, he sent ambassadors to congratulate him. Then Solomon sent this message back to Hiram: “You know that my father, David, was not able to build a Temple to honor the name of the Lord his God because of the many wars waged against him by surrounding nations. He could not build until the Lord gave him victory over all his enemies. But now the Lord my God has given me peace on every side; I have no enemies, and all is well. So I am planning to build a Temple to honor the name of the Lord my God, just as he had instructed my father, David. For the Lord told him, ‘Your son, whom I will place on your throne, will build the Temple to honor my name.’ “Therefore, please command that cedars from Lebanon be cut for me. Let my men work alongside yours, and I will pay your men whatever wages you ask. As you know, there is no one among us who can cut timber like you Sidonians!” When Hiram received Solomon’s message, he was very pleased and said, “Praise the Lord today for giving David a wise son to be king of the great nation of Israel.” Then he sent this reply to Solomon: “I have received your message, and I will supply all the cedar and cypress timber you need. My servants will bring the logs from the Lebanon mountains to the Mediterranean Sea and make them into rafts and float them along the coast to whatever place you choose. Then we will break the rafts apart so you can carry the logs away. You can pay me by supplying me with food for my household.” So Hiram supplied as much cedar and cypress timber as Solomon desired. In return, Solomon sent him an annual payment of 100,000 bushels of wheat for his household and 110,000 gallons of pure olive oil. So the Lord gave wisdom to Solomon, just as he had promised. And Hiram and Solomon made a formal alliance of peace. Then King Solomon conscripted a labor force of 30,000 men from all Israel. He sent them to Lebanon in shifts, 10,000 every month, so that each man would be one month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of this labor force. Solomon also had 70,000 common laborers, 80,000 quarry workers in the hill country, and 3,600 foremen to supervise the work. At the king’s command, they quarried large blocks of high-quality stone and shaped them to make the foundation of the Temple. Men from the city of Gebal helped Solomon’s and Hiram’s builders prepare the timber and stone for the Temple.
1 Kings 5

Dear God, this isn’t what I want to get into today, but when I read this chapter this morning I thought of Samuel’s words to the Israelites when they asked for a king 60-ish years before:

“This is how a king will reign over you,” Samuel said. “The king will draft your sons and assign them to his chariots and his charioteers, making them run before his chariots. Some will be generals and captains in his army, some will be forced to plow in his fields and harvest his crops, and some will make his weapons and chariot equipment. The king will take your daughters from you and force them to cook and bake and make perfumes for him. He will take away the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his own officials. He will take a tenth of your grain and your grape harvest and distribute it among his officers and attendants. He will take your male and female slaves and demand the finest of your cattle and donkeys for his own use. He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you will be his slaves.”
1 Samuel 8:11-17

What would things have been like if David had been Israel’s next judge instead of king? We will never know, but it’s an interesting thought. I’m not even convinced you wanted a temple for yourself. When David wanted to build you one you made it pretty clear it was his idea and not yours before saying it should be his son to build it and not David (2 Samuel 7).

But skipping forward, I like seeing the alliances that Solomon set up. These last few chapters have shown how this wise king was able to have beneficial relationships with other kings. And they found it beneficial to have relationships with him.

And this temple would ultimately be a place for the people to gather and worship you. It would give them something visual to see and a specific place to gather with other worshippers of you. Having a temple for there God made the Israelites more like the other nations who had temples to their gods.

Father, I’m not sure what you have for me here except maybe to question my assumptions about what is necessary and what isn’t. Was this temple necessary? I’m not sure, but I’m doubtful. Are there things in my life that I think are necessary, but you see them as a distraction? Probably. Please reveal them to me so that all of my energy might be focused on the road you have laid before me.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen