1 Kings 5:1

Of his own free will he had come to offer his services to Solomon's father, and his carpenters built him a house (2 Samuel 5:11). The same willing spirit led him to send his servants to David's son because he had always loved his father (v. 1). How could the king of glory fail to welcome him, when he had always loved the king of grace?

King of Tyre, who loved David and was a friend of Solomon. By his servants he supplied both timber and stone for the temple and the palaces of Solomon. Their fleets also worked together to bring in goods from other lands. Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee, but Hiram was not pleased with them. In Aramaic he called them CABUL, meaning 'displeasing or dirty'. In the end the cities came back to Solomon.

In Scripture Tyre is a picture of the world with all its riches and desirable things… Fine woods, ivory and ebony, linen, embroidered work, silver, iron, tin, lead and brass… gold in great abundance, spices, oil and wheat, and countless flocks… All that the human heart could desire on earth could be found there.

In 1 Kings 5 we see Solomon acting with the nations outside Israel — not by marriage, but by alliance. We see how they become the servants of his purposes. Indeed, we can say they serve God's purposes for the earth, as far as Solomon himself was the servant of those purposes.

Later under Solomon this same Hiram works on the construction of the temple. In this history he plays an important role as representative of the friendly nations who will come willingly to submit to Messiah's reign.

Hiram king of Tyre, who had been friendly with David, sent his servants to show the same friendliness to Solomon (v.1). This encouraged Solomon to send word to Hiram. He reminded him that God had not allowed David to build a house for the name of the Lord, because David was always at war (vs.2-3). But now the Lord had given Solomon rest, so that his kingdom was at peace (v.4).

A rejoicing heart bears this fruit: full devotion to the service of Christ. "I will do all you desire" (v. 8)… The Lord could do without us, but He does not want to. He knows well that using us in His service brings joy and blessing to our hearts — but we cannot do without Him. It is He who gives life, nourishment, strength, and growth.

By his works and his words Hiram shows a well balanced love… We show true love when we acknowledge that the Lord Jesus has supreme authority over us, and do the things He tells us to do… Hiram used his servants and his goods to supply David with a palace. Our true love shows in the way we love the Lord's people, and in the way we use our homes, our time and ourselves for Him. In this context it is not our speaking that is important, it is our doing.