Today in God's Word—February 2023
East Tallassee Church of Christ
February 12, 2 Chronicles 2
Now Solomon purposed to build a temple for the name of the LORD, and a royal palace for himself. - 2 Chronicles 2:1
I admire people with skills to build and fix things. I'm not jealous, but I do feel inadequate sometimes when I see a friend or professional do something with ease that seems difficult or impossible to me. I've met people who built their own home. I don't think that would be a good idea for me. I lack the skills, tools, experience and confidence in my mechanical ability to do such a thing.
Solomon had a plan for the temple, from dimensions to materials to color scheme. The temple plans and appointments were based on the original design of the tabernacle, applied to a larger scale permanent structure instead of a tent. But I can understand why Solomon needed professional help to make the temple and palace he wanted to build a reality. Perhaps he had a lot of kingly duties to do. Solomon was probably short on time and long on money. So he put 153,000 slaves (and 3,600 slave drivers) to work to quarry the great stones and to transport the materials for the temple and his palace to the building sites.
Solomon’s family had done lumber business with neighboring Tyre for years. So Solomon contracted with Hiram king of Tyre for his expert woodcutters to cut the cedar, cypress and algum timbers he needed for his projects. He offered an immense quantity of agricultural products in payment for the labor and materials he ordered. The king of Tyre agreed to the price Solomon offered, and wanted to be paid in advance for the workers.
Solomon also needed a master artisan with more skill than any of his own people. So he also asked Hiram for an expert in precious metals fabrication, engraving, fabrics and embroidery. Hiram sent Huram-abi (whose mother was an Israelite) to Jerusalem to make the materials and teach Solomon's artists to do
the work. That reminds me of a time when a friend of mine took me to meet a famous folk artist. He was not at home when we arrived, but about a dozen other people were there, painting away, in their boss’s famous style. They signed the artist's name to the work they created in his studio and sold them to collectors across the country as originals.
The wood arrived in the form of giant rafts at the seaport of Joppa, 35 miles west over mountainous terrain from Jerusalem. The burden-bearers had a hard job moving all those large stones from the quarry and the wood from the port to the construction site.
Solomon's preparation for his great building projects brings up two issues. These issues later became factors in Solomon’s failure as a king over God's people and the eventual division of his kingdom. The original forced laborers were all resident aliens, a practice that went all the way back to the treaty with the Gibeonites. This continued through the years as the Israelites disobeyed God’s commands because they wanted more slaves. But as Solomon's building campaign accelerated, he also drafted Israelites into mandatory service, requiring one month of compulsory labor, followed by two months at home for the people to do their own work. By the time Rehoboam succeeded his father Solomon as the king, the people hated the forced labor. They killed the big boss of the slave workers when Rehoboam sent him to bring the disaffiliated tribes back into the nation.
The other dark cloud in this picture of international trade is the common practice of sealing treaties with marriages. Solomon made a lot of treaties and collected a lot of pagan wives from the trading partners. Those women turned Solomon's heart away from the Lord to serve other gods. He built temples for his wives’ gods and went to worship with them.
The letters between Solomon and Hiram show the customary flattery and courteous language common in ancient correspondence between
leaders. You can see vestiges of that practice in place today, when some world leaders appear onstage with their fellow leaders, even if they are bitter enemies. They may shake hands and smile for the cameras, but no one is fooled — they're still enemies.
Please notice one jewel among the flattery in Hiram's reply to Solomon: "Because the LORD loves his people, he set you up over them as king." This isn't really a confession of faith in God from the polytheistic king of Tyre. But it is a great compliment to the character Solomon showed in his early years. Solomon was a blessing to his people in ways that even a pagan could see.
Christians are supposed to be salt and light, influencers to the world around them. Wouldn't it be wonderful if even the pagan neighbors around us could see such godly character in us that they’d say we were a blessing to the people in our families, churches and communities?
Copyright © 2023 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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