1 Kings 5:8

Hiram rejoiced greatly when he heard the words of Solomon. He counted it an honour that his service could add to the glory of the God of Israel. This Gentile king said, "Blessed be the LORD this day" (v. 7). He regards the Lord, the God of Solomon, as his God, and thanks Him for giving David a son to reign over His people. Love for David, the rejected king, leads him to value the king of glory, to value God Himself, and to value the people of God.

The fruit of a rejoicing heart is complete devotion to the service of Christ. "I am ready to do all you desire" (v. 8). And after all, what is Hiram's service next to what Solomon does for him? Sometimes what we do for the Lord looks like something. The cedars of Lebanon and all the work of moving them were no small thing. But Solomon uses many other materials to build the temple besides Hiram's cedars and cypresses. The great costly stones and the gold that covered everything mattered more to the foundation and the glory of the building than the products of Lebanon. Still, Solomon grants Hiram's desire because Hiram grants Solomon's (vv. 9, 10), and Hiram's desire is food for his household. 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.

berosh. People think it is one of the conifers, but no one knows which species it means. It came from Lebanon, and people used it to build houses and to make musical instruments. 2 Sam. 6:5; 1 Kings 5:8, 10; 1 Kings 6:15, 34; 2 Chr. 2:8; 2 Chr. 3:5. In the millennium it will grow in place of the thorn, and Israel, when she returns in blessing, will say, "I am like an evergreen cypress" (older versions: "a green fir tree"). Isa. 55:13; Hosea 14:8.

Cedar does not decay, so it is an emblem of the incorruptible resurrection body. No one has ever seen a piece of worm-eaten cedar. The sap of the cedar is death to the worm; instead of the worm destroying the cedar, the cedar destroys the worm. Fir, or cypress, served where strength and durability were needed, and it pictures resurrection strength.

There were no snags at all in this arrangement. Everything went ahead in full agreement. Hiram answered Solomon's request gladly, willing to provide cedar and cypress logs for him. His servants would cut them down, then float them along the sea-coast in rafts to the port in Israel closest to Jerusalem. From there the logs went by land up to Jerusalem (vs. 8-9).

In 1 Kings 5 we see Solomon act with the Gentiles — not by marriage ties, but by alliance. They become the servants of his purposes. We can even say they serve God's purposes for the earth, so far as Solomon himself served those purposes.

Solomon's rule is marked, as we have said, by an earthly glory. Every natural resource the whole world can supply feeds into it. But this glory was meant for the glory of God. It was to give Him, among His people, a temple that would lift up His holiness and His greatness. So it will be in the glorious reign of the Messiah.