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Solomon's Message to Huram
v. 1. And Solomon determined to build an house for the name of the Lord, he made arrangements to carry out the last wishes of his father, and an house for his kingdom, a royal palace to display all his wealth and power.
v. 2. Arid Solomon told out, raised by conscription, threescore and ten thousand men to bear burdens, in the actual erection of the Temple, and fourscore thousand to hew in the mountain, in preparing the stones and the lumber, and three thousand and six hundred to oversee them. This preliminary note indicates at once the magnitude of the undertaking.
v. 3. And Solomon sent to Huram (or Hiram), the king of Tyre, saying, As thou didst deal with David, my father, and didst send him cedars to build him an house to dwell therein, 1Ch_14:1, even so deal with me, he was anxious to have the friendly relationship with all that it implied continue.
v. 4. Behold, I build an house to the name of the Lord, my God, to dedicate it to Him, set it aside for His worship, and to burn before Him sweet incense, literally, "to perfume before His face sweet spices," as it was done in the morning and the evening worship, Exo_25:6, and for the continual showbread, which was always placed on the special table in the Holy Place, Exo_25:30, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the Sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts of the Lord, our God, Num_28:29; 1Ch_23:31. This is an ordinance forever to Israel, and therefore the Temple he proposed to build must be a solid and permanent building, made of the most durable materials.
v. 5. And. the house which I build is great; for great is our God above all gods; its magnificence should, in away, express the incomparable greatness of the true God.
v. 6. But who is able to build Him an house, that is, one in which He would actually dwell, in which He would be enclosed as the heathen idols were in their shrines, seeing the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain Him? Who am I, then, that I should build Him an house, save only to burn sacrifice before Him? So the purpose of the Temple was merely to be that of serving as a house where Jehovah's worshipers might sacrifice to His honor.
v. 7. Send me now, therefore, a man cunning to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in iron, an artist familiar with the work in all precious metals, and in purple, and crimson, and blue, true purple, scarlet-red, and hyacinth being the three dyes in whose preparation the Tyrians were most skilful, and that can skill to grave with the cunning men that are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David, my father, did provide. This last craft probably included not only engraving in stone, but also wood-carving and even embroidery of figures in needlework. In all these arts the superintendent desired by Solomon should excel.
v. 8. Send me also cedar-trees, fir trees, that is, cypresses, and algum-trees, sandal-wood, out of Lebanon, the last-named, though not growing in the mountains, being procured by Huram as an article of commerce; for I know that thy servants can skill to cut timber in Lebanon, for that was one of the chief industries of the country. And, behold, my servants shall be with thy servants,
v. 9. even to prepare me timber in abundance; for the house which I am about to build shall be wonderful great, literally, "great and wonderful. "
v. 10. And, behold, I will give to thy servants, the hewers that cut timber, twenty thousand measures (about one hundred and sixty thousand bushels) of beaten wheat, roasted grain in this form being a staple article of food in the Orient, and twenty thousand measures of barley, and twenty thousand baths (about 1,300,000 gallons) of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil. The reference here is not to the yearly contribution which Solomon sent to Tyre during the construction of the Temple, 1Ki_5:18, but to the food for the laborers in the mountains. Solomon, as a wise king, counted the cost first before he began the work of construction, but he also went forward with all energy after being assured on this point.