2 Chronicles 2:1-18 - Prepared and Ready to Build God’s House?

2 Chronicles 2:1-18

Solomon Prepares to Build the Temple (1 Kings 5:1–18)

1 Then Solomon determined to build a temple for the name of the LORD, and a royal house for himself. 2 Solomon selected seventy thousand men to bear burdens, eighty thousand to quarry stone in the mountains, and three thousand six hundred to oversee them.

3 Then Solomon sent to Hiram king of Tyre, saying:

As you have dealt with David my father, and sent him cedars to build himself a house to dwell in, so deal with me. 4 Behold, I am building a temple for the name of the LORD my God, to dedicate it to Him, to burn before Him sweet incense, for the continual showbread, for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the Sabbaths, on the New Moons, and on the set feasts of the LORD our God. This is an ordinance forever to Israel.

5 And the temple which I build will be great, for our God is greater than all gods. 6 But who is able to build Him a temple, since heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him? Who am I then, that I should build Him a temple, except to burn sacrifice before Him?

7 Therefore send me at once a man skillful to work in gold and silver, in bronze and iron, in purple and crimson and blue, who has skill to engrave with the skillful men who are with me in Judah and Jerusalem, whom David my father provided. 8 Also send me cedar and cypress and algum logs from Lebanon, for I know that your servants have skill to cut timber in Lebanon; and indeed my servants will be with your servants, 9 to prepare timber for me in abundance, for the temple which I am about to build shall be great and wonderful.

10 And indeed I will give to your servants, the woodsmen who cut timber, twenty thousand kors of ground wheat, twenty thousand kors of barley, twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil.

11 Then Hiram king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon:

Because the LORD loves His people, He has made you king over them.

12 Hiram also said:

Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who made heaven and earth, for He has given King David a wise son, endowed with prudence and understanding, who will build a temple for the LORD and a royal house for himself!

13 And now I have sent a skillful man, endowed with understanding, Huram my master craftsman 14 (the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre), skilled to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, purple and blue, fine linen and crimson, and to make any engraving and to accomplish any plan which may be given to him, with your skillful men and with the skillful men of my lord David your father.

15 Now therefore, the wheat, the barley, the oil, and the wine which my lord has spoken of, let him send to his servants. 16 And we will cut wood from Lebanon, as much as you need; we will bring it to you in rafts by sea to Joppa, and you will carry it up to Jerusalem.

17 Then Solomon numbered all the aliens who were in the land of Israel, after the census in which David his father had numbered them; and there were found to be one hundred and fifty-three thousand six hundred. 18 And he made seventy thousand of them bearers of burdens, eighty thousand stonecutters in the mountain, and three thousand six hundred overseers to make the people work.

Solomon as king was prepared by the LORD through his father to step into the moment he was ready to begin building the house of God.  He acknowledged that he was not worthy to do the work, yet accepted the responsibility of the calling to give it all his attention and effort, asking help and further supplies such as the wood and workers from king Hiram of Tyre whom his father knew and no doubt had recommended as he prepared his son for this monumental task.  He paid them all well as is fitting to honor God for their work in builds temple of the LORD which “heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain.”  Hiram acknowledged in response to the praise given him back to Solomon as a wise son with prudence (good sense in wisdom) and understanding (perfect discernment) for this glorious work.  Hiram sent his master craftsman to accomplish the difficult tasks in metal work, stone work, weaving, and engraving as well for honoring the God of Gods in the house built to honor and serve Him in worship of sacrifice.  All in all, there were also at exactly one hundred and fifty-three thousand six hundred foreign workers in the land from that king’s hand of generous support to assist Solomon in the immense task given him by the LORD through his father.  We likewise are given the task of building the house of God not made with hands as a physical temple building, but a spiritual one (1 Corinthians 6:19, 1 Peter 2:4-5) of which we the people under God in Christ are the building blocks (Ephesians 2:21-22, 1 Peter 2:5) and timbers and whose effectual works are as precious metals (1 Corinthians 3:12-13, 16) adorning the building to honor and worship our Lord as living (Romans 12:1) sacrifices offered daily in death to self (Luke 9:23-24, Galatians 2:20) on the cross with him and living for Him as we give Him all our attention and effort under the humility of grace that enables us to serve and honor the Lord in this monumental task of building one another up to a mature man (Ephesians 4:12-13, Colossians 1:28-29) in Christ according to the ministry of His word in this glorious temple we are constructing in one another as His church universal.  Are we prepared and ready to build God’s house?