Week 84, Day 4: The Labor

Today’s Reading:  1 Kings 5:1-18

Some thoughts from today’s reading…

We are told about the alliance that Solomon made with the king of Tyre.  This alliance allowed for Solomon to gain access to the timbers needed for buiding the temple and he received aid in the form of skilled builders.  We are also told about how many men were involved in this building project.  It is hard for many of us to appreciate how massive a project it was for Solomon to build the temple until you see how many people were involved in the building process.  And this listing does not include everyone that is needed.  It details for us the laborers of Solomon to supply material.  We are not told how many men Hiram had or how many builders there were. 

Solomon had 30,000 men who went in cycles to Lebanon to cut and prepare the timbers, 70,000 men to transport materials and 80,000 men to cut the stone needed.  Wow!  That is a massive project.  This should help us to understand the grandeur of the temple Solomon built and how impressive this place would have been to the people of the day.  Remember that most of the people of Israel dwelt in very simple homes.  Such large and grand structures were not what they were used to. 

Question:  Was it important for the temple to be a grand structure?  What do you think the grand and majestic nature of the structure indicates about the people of Israel?

Popularity: 2% [?]