After having described the internal order of Solomon’s kingdom and all the wisdom that governed there, the Holy Spirit conducts us to that which, above all, was to characterize this reign: to the temple of the Lord. David was unable to build this house, for peace must be established (1 Kings 5:33Thou 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. (1 Kings 5:3)) for the Lord to be able to make His abiding dwelling in the midst of His people. As long as they had wandered in the desert the Lord had associated Himself with them in their condition of pilgrim and traveler by the tabernacle. Then followed the wars of Canaan under Joshua and the judges; these had not ceased until the reign of David. God cannot dwell in rest where there is war. The first condition of His abiding dwelling with His people in Canaan is that peace be made. It is the same, spiritually, for the Church. When the “good news of peace” is announced, the house of God, the holy temple in the Lord, is built up, and this work continues until the full rest of glory.
Under Solomon this peace was outward, material, so to speak. The Lord had given him rest on every side (1 Kings 5:44But now the Lord my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent. (1 Kings 5:4)). The blessings that filled his reign had the same material character. All the desirable things of earth were brought to him, and he made them contribute to the glory of the Lord who had firmly established his throne.
The king of Tyre is the first one mentioned as coming to bring his services to the newly founded kingdom. In the Word Tyre is a type of the world with all its riches and desirable things. In Ezekiel 27 we see what Tire, whose commerce spread over all the earth and to which the resources of the whole world flowed from every direction, was in antiquity. Precious woods which the Sidonians excelled in working, ivory and ebony, fine linen, white wool, embroidered work, blue and purple, silver, iron, tin, lead, brass, carbuncles, coral, rubies and every precious stone, gold in great abundance, spices, oil and wheat, flocks innumerable; to say nothing of warriors to defend her, sailors to guide her fleets, wise men to direct her and to make use of her resources such was, in very few words, the wealth of Tire. All that the human heart could desire upon earth could be procured there.
In Solomon’s time Tyre had not yet taken on that character of pride denounced by Isaiah and especially by Ezekiel, and which went so far as to deify the intelligence of man. Hiram, the friend of David, still ruled over this people. Of his own free will he had come to offer his services to Solomon’s father, and his carpenters had built him a house (2 Sam. 5:1111And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters, and masons: and they built David an house. (2 Samuel 5:11)). The same willing spirit led him to send his servants to David’s son because he had always loved his father (1 Kings 5:11And Hiram 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. (1 Kings 5:1)). How could he fail to be welcomed by the king of glory when he had always loved the king of grace?
Solomon tells Hiram of his plans, plans that in no way were the fruit of his own will. He had resolved to build the house of the Lord because God had so decreed, communicating His will beforehand to David (1 Kings 5:55And, behold, I purpose 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. (1 Kings 5:5)). Such is the true character of the decision of faith. Faith decides because God has determined. This point is important. Often we know the will of God beforehand and instead of saying, “I have determined” to do it, we seek excuses and good reasons to avoid it or at least to avoid putting our whole heart into it. At other times our resolutions have no motive behind them other than our own self-will, and lead us to bitter disappointments.
Solomon’s rule is characterized, as we have said, by an earthly glory to which all the natural resources the whole world can furnish contribute. But this glory was to be to the glory of God and to give Him, in the midst of His people a temple which would exalt His holiness and His greatness. So it will be in the glorious reign of the Messiah.
We shall see later that Solomon, as responsible king, was not content with that which the Lord bestowed upon him, but later sought to augment this by and for himself and had to bear the consequences of this.
Hiram rejoiced greatly when he heard the words of Solomon. He considered himself honored to be able by his service to contribute to the glory of the God of Israel. This Gentile king said, “Blessed be the Lord this day” (1 Kings 5:77And 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. (1 Kings 5:7)). He looks upon the Lord, the God of Solomon, as his God, and thanks Him for giving David a son to reign over His people. Affection for David, the rejected king, leads his soul to appreciate the king of glory, to appreciate God Himself, and to appreciate the people of God.
The fruit of a rejoicing heart is entire devotion to the service of Christ. “I will do all thy desire” (1 Kings 5:88And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things which thou sentest to me for: and I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir. (1 Kings 5:8)). And after all, what is Hiram’s service in comparison to that which Solomon does for him? Sometimes that which we do for the Lord looks like something. The cedars of Lebanon and all the effort to transport them were no little thing, but Solomon uses many other materials also to construct the temple besides Hiram’s cedars and cypresses: the great costly stones and the gold which overlaid everything were more important for the foundation and the glory of the building than the products of Lebanon. Nevertheless Solomon accomplishes the desire of Hiram because the latter accomplishes that of Solomon (1 Kings 5:9-109My 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 appoint 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. 10So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees according to all his desire. (1 Kings 5:9‑10)), and the desire of Hiram is the feeding of his house. The Lord could do without us, but He does not want to do so; He well knows that to use us in His service gives joy to and blesses our hearts—but we cannot do without Him. It is He who gives life, nourishment, strength, and growth. The food of Hiram’s country, the wheat in which his merchants trafficked, came from Palestine (Ezek. 27:1717Judah, and the land of Israel, they were thy merchants: they traded in thy market wheat of Minnith, and Pannag, and honey, and oil, and balm. (Ezekiel 27:17)). It is the Lord’s land which furnishes those things needful for our existence. Thus Hiram depended upon Solomon for this: “giving food for my household” (1 Kings 5:99My 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 appoint 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. (1 Kings 5:9)). And what abundance reigns among the servants of the king of Tire thereafter! four million eight hundred thousand liters of wheat annually! One might own cedar trees and cypresses and yet die of hunger. Certainly one doesn’t die of hunger when one places them into the service of Solomon!
“And the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as He promised him” (1 Kings 5:1212And the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him: and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league together. (1 Kings 5:12)). He had received wisdom (1 Kings 2:66Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace. (1 Kings 2:6)) in order to purify his kingdom by judgment; then (1 Kings 3:1212Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. (1 Kings 3:12)) in order to discern aright in view of governing his people; then (1 Kings 4:2929And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. (1 Kings 4:29)) in view of leading and instructing the nations, the peoples, and the kings of the earth; finally, he received wisdom in view of building the temple, the great work which was to characterize his glorious reign.
In 1 Kings 5:13-1813And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men. 14And 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. 15And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens, and fourscore thousand hewers in the mountains; 16Beside 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. 17And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house. 18And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders did hew them, and the stonesquarers: so they prepared timber and stones to build the house. (1 Kings 5:13‑18) we witness the organization of the preparatory work on the temple. Each is employed according to his own ability. The wisdom of Solomon directs everything. His workers come to assist Hiram’s for the wood with which to build, carrying burdens, cutting stones out of the mountain. The men of Gebal have their part in the work. Ezekiel 27:99The ancients of Gebal and the wise men thereof were in thee thy calkers: all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in thee to occupy thy merchandise. (Ezekiel 27:9) mentions them as skilled to repair the breaches of Tyre, which is there represented by the form of a magnificent vessel sailing the seas.
The first act of Solomon is to transport “great stones, costly stones, and hewn stones, to lay the foundation of the house.” It was of prime importance to lay a costly foundation, one whose solidity would be proof against every test, as the base of the temple of God. This is what God has done for His spiritual house as well. The foundation is Christ, the Chief Cornerstone; the foundations are the truths touching Christ and His work as He has presented them by His apostles and prophets. These are the great stones, the costly stones. It is impossible to remove one without compromising or shaking the whole building. This is what Solomon’s wisdom had well understood in preparing the hewn stones on which the house of God was to be built.