DEVOTION
1ST KINGS
HONORING ONE ANOTHER
1 Kings 5:1-7
5:1 When Hiram king of Tyre heard
that Solomon had been anointed king to succeed his father David, he sent his
envoys to Solomon, because he had always been on friendly terms with David. 2
Solomon sent back this message to Hiram: 3 "You know that because of the
wars waged against my father David from all sides, he could not build a temple
for the Name of the LORD his God until the LORD put his enemies under his feet.
4 But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side, and there is no
adversary or disaster. 5 I intend, therefore, to build a temple for the Name of
the LORD my God, as the LORD told my father David, when he said, 'Your son whom
I will put on the throne in your place will build the temple for my Name.' 6
"So give orders that cedars of Lebanon be cut for me. My men will work
with yours, and I will pay you for your men whatever wages you set. You know
that we have no one so skilled in felling timber as the Sidonians." 7 When
Hiram heard Solomon's message, he was greatly pleased and said, "Praise be
to the LORD today, for he has given David a wise son to rule over this great
nation."
NIV
And so the beginning of the first
temple to be built in the name of the LORD in the city of Jerusalem. This will
be a magnificent temple that Solomon will build. Although this record indicates
that Solomon contacted the king of Tyre about the Cedars, according to the
record in Chronicles, David had already set aside many cedar logs, gold, silver, stones, and other supplies to build articles of worship for the temple that he
was not allowed to make because he was a man of war, a man of blood. Now Solomon
secures more from Harim the king of Tyre, by first praising him and his men as the
greatest at cutting down the great cedar trees of Lebanon. King Hiram responds
well to the praise he receives, as we believe all people would. Solomon,
gifted with the wisdom of God, knows that he will get a favorable response from
honey, rather than a sword. We should learn that lesson, for that is also the
wisdom of God. The Lord God Almighty does not bring or did not bring us a message
of wrath to get a favorable response from us and accept Jesus as our Lord and
Savior. Instead, the Lord showed us His love, grace, and forgiveness of our
sins, because we responded to his kindness and promise of eternal life. We
need to see this as how he intends us to be with each other. We are told to
love each other, and if we use all the definitions of love given to us in the
letter to the Corinthians, we would be living in peace and harmony, giving
praise for what others can do and are doing for the kingdom of God. Because we
honor each other, being thankful for all they do, the relationship within the
body of Christ will be extraordinarily beneficial to the kingdom. When we honor
each other, the Lord is pleased, and he will bless the church beyond measure.
However, if we cannot abide by love, and we allow ourselves to fall prey to
feelings of unforgiveness, jealousy, envy, gossip, bitterness, or any other ill
feelings toward others, the result within the church will be suffering, lack of
harmony, and love, and without the blessings of the Lord. Let’s learn this
lesson from Solomon, and honor one another, and praise the gifts the Lord has given to others.
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