PRAISE BE TO THE LORD TODAY

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In Christ, Mark

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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.

Solomon sent back this message to Hiram:

"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. But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side and there is no adversary or disaster. 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.'”

"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."

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."

So Hiram sent word to Solomon:

"I have received the message you sent me and will do all you want in providing the cedar and pine logs. My men will haul them down from Lebanon to the sea and I will float them in rafts by sea to the place you specify. There I will separate them and you can take them away. And you are to grant my wish by providing food for my royal household."

In this way, Hiram kept Solomon supplied with all the cedar and pine logs he wanted and Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand cors of wheat as food for his household, in addition to twenty thousand baths of pressed olive oil. Solomon continued to do this for Hiram year after year. The Lord gave Solomon wisdom, just as He had promised him. There were peaceful relations between Hiram and Solomon and the two of them made a treaty.

1 Kings 5:1-12

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In 1 Kings, chapter 4, we studied how God made good on His promise to grant Solomon - the David’s son and the new king of Israel - wisdom, riches, and honor, elevating him above all other kings.

As we see in the first twelve verses of chapter 5, another blessing from God to Solomon is revealed…the blessing of peace. We know this from Solomon’s own words as he sent the following message to “Hiram, king of Tyre”, who had sent envoys to Solomon because “he had always been on friendly terms with David”:

“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. But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side and there is no adversary or disaster. 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.'“

Indeed, peace had come on Solomon and his kingdom who experienced “rest on every side” and it was in this time of solitude…a time when there was no adversary or disaster…that God’s desire for Israel’s king to build His holy temple could be fulfilled.

And so we read where Solomon gave Hiram, Tyre’s king, the following direction:

"…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."

Well, when Solomon’s message reached Hiram, we see where it was well received. For the scriptures tell us that Hiram was “greatly pleased” and exclaimed this:

“Praise be to the Lord today, for He has given David a wise son to rule over this great nation."

And with that, Hiram sent the following reply to Solomon, sealing their deal:

"I have received the message you sent me and will do all you want in providing the cedar and pine logs. My men will haul them down from Lebanon to the sea and I will float them in rafts by sea to the place you specify. There I will separate them and you can take them away. And you are to grant my wish by providing food for my royal household."

And this is exactly what happened.

Hiram upheld his end of the bargain, keeping “Solomon supplied with all the cedar and pine logs he wanted. For his part, Solomon “gave Hiram twenty thousand cors of wheat as food for his household, in addition to twenty thousand baths of pressed olive oil”, supplies he provided “year after year”. This led to “peaceful relations” existing between Tyre and Israel after the two kings “made a treaty”, largely because the Lord had given “Solomon wisdom just as He had promised”.

At this point, we can see where the nation of Israel was indeed experiencing good times…times which were praiseworthy because of all that God was doing in blessing His people and their king.

My friends, we have just as much reason to praise today as they had nearly 3,000 years ago. For no matter what we might be going through…no matter how difficult our circumstances might become…we know that God is always working things out for our good (Romans 8:28). All we need to do is continue to trust Him with a steadfast faith while seeking His guidance for our lives for when we do, we will find ourselves gain His wisdom, just as Solomon did…wisdom to help us manage good and bad times…wisdom to find solutions when we’re in the midst of complex issues…wisdom that always turns us toward our Lord - and Him alone – for help when its needed, never leaning on our strength or understanding instead (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Every moment gives us an opportunity to reflect on just how good God is as we count the blessings He has provided. When we take advantage of these moments, I believe our words can echo those of King Hiram in today’s passage:

“Praise be to the Lord today.”

Let’s forever give thanks to the One through which all blessings flow (James 1:17).

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.