Now therefore command that cedars of Lebanon be cut for me. And my servants will join your servants, and I will pay you for your servants such wages as you set, for you know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.”
Solomon sends Hiram a work order: cut the cedars, share the labour, name your own price. His reason is an open admission. Israel had no woodcutters to match the Sidonians. So why does the house of God rise partly by foreign hands?
What Solomon Asks
The request has three parts: cutting, shared labour, and pay.
Leslie M. GrantHe asked Hiram to order his men to cut down cedars in Lebanon for building timber. Solomon would send his own servants to work with Hiram's servants. He would pay the wages of them all, and Hiram would set the amount. He reminded Hiram that everyone knew the Sidonians, who were linked with Tyre, were skilled woodcutters. Solomon was willing to pay wages worthy of skilled workmen.
A Decision Already Made by God
Solomon gives his order like a man whose mind is settled. God settled it first.
H. L. RossierSolomon tells Hiram his plans — plans that did not come from his own will at all. He had resolved to build the house of the Lord because God had so decreed, communicating His will beforehand to David (v. 5). Such is the true character of the decision of faith. Faith decides because God has determined. This point is important. Often we know the will of God in advance. Instead of saying, "I have determined" to do it, we look for excuses and good reasons to avoid it — or at least to avoid putting our whole heart into it. At other times our decisions have no motive behind them except our own self-will, and they lead us to bitter disappointment.
Who the Sidonians Were
Solomon names one people in particular. Their skill was the very skill Israel lacked.
Morrish Bible DictionaryThe people of Sidon and the area around it. At times the name covered the Phoenicians in general. They were famous for cutting timber, and as fishermen and sailors… The Sidonians were idolaters. Baal and Ashtoreth were their gods.
Why Cedar
Solomon asks for cedar in particular. That wood would later line the inside of the house.
H. L. RossierCedar wood covered the inner sanctuary and the holy place in front of it. In the Word cedar stands for majesty and height, for lasting strength and firmness. Every part of the inside walls was covered. Nowhere did the stone show. Yet gold covered the cedar wood itself, and even the cypress planks of the floor. In the Word gold always stands for divine righteousness and glory.
Foreign Hands on a Holy House
"My servants will join your servants" puts Israelites and idol-worshipping Phoenicians on the same hillside. Commentators see God's own mind in that, and not just Solomon's convenience. (A Gentile is anyone outside Israel.)
W. W. FeredayNote also that the Temple was to stand on the threshing floor of a Gentile. Hiram, king of Tyre, another Gentile, worked closely with both David and Solomon in the great work (1 Kings 5). So Israel's God had Gentiles in mind, to share the blessing of His presence on earth among His people. "For my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples" (Isa. 56:7). It is an early hint of how wide and worldwide God's grace is in the day of the gospel.
Another writer sees the nations in this chapter serving a purpose bigger than Solomon's building project.
William KellyIn 1 Kings 5 we see Solomon acting with the Gentiles — not by marriage ties, but by alliance — and how they become the servants of his purposes. Indeed we can even say God's purposes for the earth, so far as Solomon was the servant of them.
The Wages Clause
Solomon offers to pay whatever Hiram names. One writer sees a picture in what Solomon later sent.
Leslie M. GrantIn return for this service from Tyre, Solomon promised to give Hiram's servants 20,000 cors of ground wheat, 20,000 of barley, 20,000 baths of wine and 20,000 baths of oil (v. 10). This pictures the Lord's generosity toward those who work for the building of the house of God today as well. He provides everything they need to live on and to enjoy, and much more. The Lord more than repays any work done for Him.
Summary
- Decided — Solomon builds because God had already spoken to David. Faith decides because God has determined.
- Cedar — the wood he asks for stands for majesty, height and lasting firmness. It lined the whole house inside, and gold covered it.
- Sidonians — neighbours famous for cutting timber, who worshipped Baal and Ashtoreth. Solomon admits Israel has no one to match them.
- Joined — Israelite and Gentile servants work the same hillside. Writers see God's mind in it: He draws Gentiles in to share the blessing of His presence, and makes them serve His purposes.
- Paid — Solomon offers wages at Hiram's own price. The Lord likewise more than repays work done for Him.