Charles Spurgeon Commentary 1 Kings 5

And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in his father's place: for Hiram was ever a lover of David. And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying, You know how David my father could not build a 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. But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent. And, behold, I purpose to build a house unto the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD spoke to David my father, saying, Your son, whom I will set upon your throne in your place, he shall build a house unto my name.

When God intends a man to do any special work for him, he will find him all the helpers he needs. Sometimes those helpers may seem to be very unlikely persons; but—"Remember that omnipotence has servants everywhere." See, dear friends, when the Lord had given rest to Solomon, he proceeded with the building of the temple which David had planned. Whenever God blesses you, show your gratitude to him by undertaking some special service for him. Now that you are out of your recent trouble, bring your sacrifice of thanksgiving, and do all that you can for your Lord; your time of rest may not last so long as you could wish, therefore use it while you have it to God's glory.

It is not every man who has every gift. Hiram and his Sidonians could hew timber more skillfully than Solomon and his Israelites.

God can always find the right sort of men to do his work. Do not be dispirited because you cannot do everything; why should you?

Should not somebody else have a share, and also be permitted to have the honour of serving his God? It is well that you cannot do all that has to be done, and that somebody else can do something better than you can.

And 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. And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things which thou sentest to me for:

It is always a good thing, before you agree to do anything, to consider it, to look at it from all points of view. I wish that, in giving money to the service of God, there was more consideration as to the object for which it is given. Some give simply because others do, some because they are asked; but he gives best who considers the matter, and looks all round, and then says, "Yes, this is a just claim upon me as a servant of God, and therefore I will respond to it." So, 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. My 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. So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees according to all his desire.

And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat for food to his household, and twenty measures of pure oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year.

Is it not a very pleasing thought that both Jews and Gentiles built the temple of Solomon, putting the big stones together and cutting the cedar and fir trees into the proper shape, yet they were Hiram's fir trees and Hiram's cedar trees, and he floated them by sea to the place where they were landed, and from where they were dragged to Jerusalem, and God will let his people of every race and nation have a share in the building of his great spiritual house?

That was an excellent rule: "a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home." You who work for God must have your month at work, but you also need two months at home to attend to your own personal matters. There are some people who always stay in Lebanon, always at work; but there is spiritual work to be done at home as well: getting your heart ready for service, sharpening your tools, looking after your own flocks and herds, and so on.

There was hard work to be done, and if it was to be done well, the workers needed their strength and fitness to be in good order. So, the rule was "a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home." This means one prayer offered publicly and two prayers at home; one hour of teaching the lesson, with twice as much time taken in thoroughly studying and preparing it.