Read 2 Chronicles 2
Preparations for Building the Temple
2 Solomon gave orders to build a temple for the Name of the Lord and a royal palace for himself. 2 He conscripted 70,000 men as carriers and 80,000 as stonecutters in the hills and 3,600 as foremen over them.
3 Solomon sent this message to Hiram king of Tyre:
“Send me cedar logs as you did for my father David when you sent him cedar to build a palace to live in. 4 Now I am about to build a temple for the Name of the Lord my God and to dedicate it to him for burning fragrant incense before him, for setting out the consecrated bread regularly, and for making burnt offerings every morning and evening and on the Sabbaths, at the New Moons and at the appointed festivals of the Lordour God. This is a lasting ordinance for Israel.
5 “The temple I am going to build will be great, because our God is greater than all other gods. 6 But who is able to build a temple for him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain him? Who then am I to build a temple for him, except as a place to burn sacrifices before him?
7 “Send me, therefore, a man skilled to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, and in purple, crimson and blue yarn, and experienced in the art of engraving, to work in Judah and Jerusalem with my skilled workers, whom my father David provided.
8 “Send me also cedar, juniper and algum logs from Lebanon, for I know that your servants are skilled in cutting timber there. My servants will work with yours 9 to provide me with plenty of lumber, because the temple I build must be large and magnificent. 10 I will give your servants, the woodsmen who cut the timber, twenty thousand cors of ground wheat, twenty thousand cors of barley, twenty thousand baths of wine and twenty thousand baths of olive oil.”
11 Hiram king of Tyre replied by letter to Solomon:
“Because the Lord loves his people, he has made you their king.”
12 And Hiram added:
“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who made heaven and earth! He has given King David a wise son, endowed with intelligence and discernment, who will build a temple for the Lord and a palace for himself.
13 “I am sending you Huram-Abi, a man of great skill, 14 whose mother was from Dan and whose father was from Tyre. He is trained to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, and with purple and blue and crimson yarn and fine linen. He is experienced in all kinds of engraving and can execute any design given to him. He will work with your skilled workers and with those of my lord, David your father.
15 “Now let my lord send his servants the wheat and barley and the olive oil and wine he promised, 16 and we will cut all the logs from Lebanon that you need and will float them as rafts by sea down to Joppa. You can then take them up to Jerusalem.”
17 Solomon took a census of all the foreigners residing in Israel, after the census his father David had taken; and they were found to be 153,600. 18 He assigned 70,000 of them to be carriers and 80,000 to be stonecutters in the hills, with 3,600 foremen over them to keep the people working.
Go Deeper
In 1 Chronicles, we read about the anointing of David and his reign in Israel. We ended with David passing the torch down to his son Solomon. In the previous chapter, Solomon, who is young and inexperienced, asked the Lord for wisdom and knowledge to lead the people. This wisdom was granted to him. King David’s dream of building a temple for the Lord is now the task of King Solomon. The chapter begins telling us that “Solomon gave orders to build a temple for the Name of the Lord and a royal palace for himself” (v. 1).
This temple was going to be built in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah. This place is significant for many reasons. It is where God called Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac back in Genesis 22. Now about a thousand years later, God is calling Solomon to build the First Temple there. Solomon then selected “70,000 men as carriers and 80,000 as stonecutters in the hills and 3,600 as foremen over them” (v. 2). This is a lot of people! The assignment at hand was large, and Solomon needed a big team to complete this project. Solomon then reaches out to the King of Tyre named Hiram. Tyre was a port city on the Mediterranean Sea just north of Israel. We are first introduced to King Hiram back in 2 Samuel 5 after David had conquered the city of Jerusalem and established his capital there. Hiram had always been a friend and ally with David and was now partnering with Solomon in this project.
Solomon makes a request to Hiram, seeking help with the Temple. He says, “Send me, therefore, a man skilled to work in gold and silver, bronze, and iron, and in purple, crimson and blue yarn, and experienced in the art of engraving, to work in Judah and Jerusalem with my skilled workers, whom my father David provided. Send me also cedar, juniper, and algum logs from Lebanon, for I know that your servants are skilled in cutting timber there” (v. 7-8). King Hiram sent silver, gold, craftsmen, and more! This was an opportunity for both kingdoms to mutually benefit, as they formed a trading alliance.
What can we learn from this partnership? It is notable that a pagan king, one who did not follow the God of Israel, was a large part of why the construction of the Temple was possible. Hiram praised the God of Israel because of the great wisdom He had given Solomon, but there is no evidence that he was a believer himself. The descendants of Abraham, or the Israelites, were God’s chosen people, and those who were not a part of the nation of Israel were considered Gentiles. However, the Old Testament is filled with references of God’s heart for all nations and all people, not just the Israelites.
We see this displayed in 1 Kings 8 where Solomon is praying to dedicate the temple to the Lord. Solomon prays to God saying, “As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name— for they will hear of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm—when they come and pray toward this temple, then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name” (1 Kings 8:41-43). This temple would be a means for Gentiles to be introduced to the God of Israel. Solomon’s partnership with Hiram was an example of how God uses all people and desires all people of all nations to be in relationship with Him.
Questions
- For Solomon to build the temple, he needed to recruit people with different talents. What unique gifts or abilities has the Lord given you? How can you use them for His glory?
- Why do you think God used a pagan king to be a part of building His Temple? What does this teach you about the heart of God?
- What are other examples in the Old Testament where you can see God’s intent to redeem, not just the Israelites, but all people to Himself?
Keep Digging
Interested in learning more about King Hiram? Check out this article from GotQuestions.org!
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3 thoughts on “2 Chronicles 2”
Solomon wastes no time in setting the plan in motion for the construction of the temple. Recall his father, King David, had bought the land, gathered materials and even given of his own treasures of silver and gold for the great task. We see Solomon’s wisdom begin to play out in this process:
•His posture before God was humility when he easily could have let pride creep in. “This will be a magnificent Temple, because our God is an awesome God, greater than any other. But who can really build him a worthy home? Not even the highest heavens can contain him. So who am I to consider building a Temple for him, except as a place to burn sacrifices to him?” (V5-6)
•Solomon assessed the skill needed to build the Temple and masterfully negotiated with King Hiram for supplies and workers. Historically the Israelites were knowledgeable about agriculture but not metalworking. Solomon secured experts, for nothing but the best would do for the construction of the Temple. He didn’t cut corners! Solomon took care of the workers well in generously exchanging food for labor and supplies.
We can learn much from Solomon’s example before any great undertaking.
Yet no one can really build a temple for God, because even all the vastness of heaven cannot contain him. How then can I build a temple that would be anything more than a place to burn incense to God? 2 Chronicles 2:6 GNB. WOW!! God is so much bigger. Isaiah 40:12 ESV Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? I do not think the temple was the point, truly. I think the convent that God had with David and the details from which all came about that our God is able to do all He says if we believe. They, in the old testament, had to have a actually building to worship God. We have our temple within, Holy Spirit. Even though, as men of old, did not obey, God’s love (HESED and AGAPE ) still chases after us. He wants and desires a relationship with us, and we are to be His hands and feet.
God thank You that You love me so much that You show up and protect me and my family so often. Thank You for allowing me to have Holy Spirit. Thank You for me trying to do and be Your hands and feet for such a time as this in Jesus name amen
WOOHOO!!!!
God’s work can be moved forward when the older generation paves the way for the younger generation. What gifts / talents has God given us that we are not putting into to use to build His kingdom?