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1 Kings 5 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
There were two key ingredients Solomon needed in order to build the temple. 1) Peace. 2) Wood. This was an amazing time for Israel as they had no threats from their enemies.
“You know my father David was not able to build a temple for the name of Yahweh his God. This was because of the warfare all around him until the LORD put his enemies under his feet. 4 The LORD my God has now given me rest all around; there is no enemy or crisis.
1 Kings 5:3-4 HCSB
Historically, David had maintained a friendly relationship with Hiram. Solomon reached out to this leader from Tyre in order to secure the materials necessary to build the temple. The city of Tyre is in Lebanon along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, just north of Israel. This region is famous for its Lebanese cedar with thick forests that lined the nation’s borders. Solomon would make a deal – olive oil and wheat for lots of lumber.
So Hiram provided Solomon with all the cedar and cypress timber he wanted, 11 and Solomon provided Hiram with 100,000 bushels of wheat as food for his household and 110,000 gallons of oil from crushed olives. Solomon did this for Hiram year after year. 12 The LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as He had promised him. There was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.
1 Kings 5:10-12 HCSB
This wisdom mentioned here at the end of this passage is practical for us today. By the Lord’s wisdom, Solomon was not puffed up with arrogance in trying to build the temple on his own. He took advantage of the faithfulness of his father and reached out to a foreign nation in order to use their resources. These resources would not be used for their own gain, but for glorifying God. Isn’t that the same thing we seek to do every day? No matter what we do, or how resources come to us, our mission is to use them to glorify His name in the end.