Charles Spurgeon Commentary 1 Kings 5:12-14

"And Jehovah gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league together. And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men. And 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 men subject to taskwork." — 1 Kings 5:12-14 (ASV)

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.