Author: Dave Dishman (Page 180 of 458)

Solomon owed a huge debt to King Hiram of Tyre, a neighbor and ally who supplied much of the materials Solomon used to build the temple and his palace. Along with paying vast amounts of olive oil and grain, Solomon gave Hiram land.

King Solomon gave twenty towns in Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre, because Hiram had supplied him with all the cedar and juniper and gold he wanted.

After visiting the towns King Hiram complained, calling them worthless. As a wealthy and powerful collaborator Hiram expected a better gift.

But Hiram’s griping doesn’t interest me as much as Solomon’s willingness to give away part of his nation’s territory—a slice of the promised land. Along with the twenty towns given to Hiram went the inhabitants living there. Solomon gave a number of the Lord’s people to Hiram.

Kings apparently traded territories on the edge of their lands back and forth as part of various treaties and agreements. Better to swap land than go to war and devastate each other. But no war threatened Solomon, and he possessed plenty of material wealth to pay off Hiram. Instead, he choose to dump some lousy land off on his friend.

Shrewd politics, perhaps, but runs counter to a king fully devoted to serving the Lord and his people. No other king of Israel gave away a chunk of the promised land in peacetime. Under duress, yes, but Solomon gave his people and their land away to settle a bill he ran up as part of creating his legacy.

This vignette from Solomon’s life barely registers among his magnificent acts and marvelous failures. But to me it appears as an early example of his playing hard and loose with the sacred responsibilities of an Israeli king.

Solomon’s devotion to the Lord took a downhill turn around this time. One of the first steps in the wrong direction, of habitually shunting aside the ways of the Lord, involved pawning a few insignificant villages off on a neighbor to settle a debt.

1 Kings 9 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Alois Komenda

As I read the Bible through every year, the idea that many ways exist to reach God fades from my thinking. While I believe that every person is born with an inherent sense of something bigger outside of themselves, only one way leads to knowledge of the truth.

Paul wrote to Timothy with clarity on this topic. I’ve reversed the order of his instructions as it helps me gain a better picture of the Lord’s intent:

For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people.

One is the operative thought here. One God, one mediator, one payment for all people. Jesus Christ is the one. Other options simply are not efficacious. If it sounds constraining, it should. A narrow path leads to a narrow gate—the only possibility.

But in this exclusivity don’t miss the Lord’s concern for the every:

God our Savior wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

One opens the door for every. Restricted and yet available. That’s the crazy appeal of the gospel.

Best of all, once you give in to this limited option, a new world blooms and eternity becomes a welcoming place. Unlimited exists on the other side of exclusive.

1 Timothy 2 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Dorrell Tibbs

In the construction of Solomon’s magnificent temple the architect erected pillars, then named two of them specifically:

He erected the pillars at the portico of the temple. The pillar to the south he named Jakin and the one to the north Boaz.

What lies behind the choosing of these names?

Jakin means he will establish, and Boaz means in him is strength. When entering the temple these two columns reminded worshippers of their dependence on Yahweh. The Lord established the nation of Israel, and the Lord held robust force found no where else.

Twin pillars of stability and strength supported the nation of Israel and their house of worship, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

It’s good for me to grasp the meaning behind Jakin and Boaz. Because I easily forget the Lord’s hand in my life, it’s also good for me to recognize that my heart cries out for visible reminders of the Lord’s stability and strength.

1 Kings 7 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Hisham Zayadneh