The Berean Pursuit
Now when Hiram king of Tyre heard that Solomon had been anointed king in his father's place, he sent envoys to Solomon; for Hiram had always been a friend of David.
And Solomon relayed this message to Hiram:
"As you are well aware, due to the wars waged on all sides against my father David, he could not build a house for the Name of the LORD his God until the LORD had put his enemies under his feet. But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side, and there is no adversary or crisis.
So behold, I plan to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God, according to what the LORD said to my father David: 'I will put your son on your throne in your place, and he will build the house for My Name.'
Now therefore, order that cedars of Lebanon be cut down for me. My servants will be with your servants, and I will pay your servants whatever wages you set, for you know that there are none among us as skilled in logging as the Sidonians."
When Hiram received Solomon's message, he rejoiced greatly and said, "Blessed be the LORD this day! He has given David a wise son over this great people!" Then Hiram sent a reply to Solomon, saying:
"I have received your message; I will do all you desire regarding the cedar and cypress timber. My servants will haul the logs from Lebanon to the Sea, and I will float them as rafts by sea to the place you specify. There I will separate the logs, and you can take them away. And in exchange, you can meet my needs by providing my household with food."
So Hiram provided Solomon with all the cedar and cypress timber he wanted, and year after year Solomon would provide Hiram with 20,000 cors of wheat as food for his household, as well as 20,000 baths of pure olive oil.
And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as He had promised him. There was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.
Then King Solomon conscripted a labor force of 30,000 men from all Israel. He sent them to Lebanon in monthly shifts of 10,000 men, so that they would spend one month in Lebanon and two months at home. And Adoniram was in charge of the forced labor.
Solomon had 70,000 porters and 80,000 stonecutters in the mountains, not including his 3,300 foremen who supervised the workers.
And the king commanded them to quarry large, costly stones to lay the foundation of the temple with dressed stones. So Solomon's and Hiram's builders, along with the Gebalites, quarried the stone and prepared the timber and stone for the construction of the temple.
Now Solomon purposed to build a house for the Name of the LORD and a royal palace for himself. So he conscripted 70,000 porters, 80,000 stonecutters in the mountains, and 3,600 supervisors.
Then Solomon sent word to Hiram king of Tyre:
"Do for me as you did for my father David when you sent him cedars to build himself a house to live in. Behold, I am about to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God to dedicate to Him for burning fragrant incense before Him, for displaying the showbread continuously, and for making burnt offerings every morning and evening as well as on the Sabbaths, New Moons, and appointed feasts of the LORD our God. This is ordained for Israel forever.
The house that I am building will be great, for our God is greater than all gods. But who is able to build a house for Him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain Him? Who then am I, that I should build a house for Him, except as a place to burn sacrifices before Him?
Send me, therefore, a craftsman skilled in engraving to work with gold and silver, with bronze and iron, and with purple, crimson, and blue yarn. He will work with my craftsmen in Judah and Jerusalem, whom my father David provided.
Send me also cedar, cypress, and algum logs from Lebanon, for I know that your servants have skill to cut timber there. And indeed, my servants will work with yours to prepare for me timber in abundance, because the temple I am building will be great and wonderful. I will pay your servants, the woodcutters, 20,000 cors of ground wheat, 20,000 cors of barley, 20,000 baths of wine, and 20,000 baths of olive oil."
Then Hiram king of Tyre wrote a letter in reply to Solomon:
"Because the LORD loves His people, He has set you over them as king."
And Hiram added:
"Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who made the heavens and the earth! He has given King David a wise son with insight and understanding, who will build a temple for the LORD and a royal palace for himself.
So now I am sending you Huram-abi, a skillful man endowed with creativity. He is the son of a woman from the daughters of Dan, and his father is a man of Tyre. He is skilled in work with gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, purple, blue, and crimson yarn, and fine linen. He is experienced in every kind of engraving and can execute any design that is given him. He will work with your craftsmen and with those of my lord, your father David.
Now let my lord send to his servants the wheat, barley, olive oil, and wine he promised. We will cut logs from Lebanon, as many as you need, and we will float them to you as rafts by sea down to Joppa. Then you can take them up to Jerusalem."
Solomon numbered all the foreign men in the land of Israel following the census his father David had conducted, and there were found to be 153,600 in all. Solomon made 70,000 of them porters, 80,000 stonecutters in the mountains, and 3,600 supervisors.
Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may spread quickly and be held in honor, just as it was with you. And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men; for not everyone holds to the faith. But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. And we have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do what we command. May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance.
Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from any brother who leads an undisciplined life that is not in keeping with the tradition you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not undisciplined among you, nor did we eat anyone's food without paying for it. Instead, in labor and toil, we worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you. Not that we lack this right, but we wanted to offer ourselves as an example for you to imitate. For even while we were with you, we gave you this command: "If anyone is unwilling to work, he shall not eat."
Yet we hear that some of you are leading undisciplined lives and accomplishing nothing but being busybodies. We command and urge such people by our Lord Jesus Christ to begin working quietly to earn their own living. But as for you, brothers, do not grow weary in well-doing.
Take note of anyone who does not obey the instructions we have given in this letter. Do not associate with him, so that he may be ashamed. Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.
Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.
This greeting is in my own hand-Paul. This is my mark in every letter; it is the way I write.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you.