With the kingdom established and at peace, it was time for Solomon to begin Project No. 1.
It was David’s lifelong desire to build an earthly dwelling for the Lord. Now his son contacted his counterpart to the north, “Hiram king of Tyre,” who had already sent him a congratulatory note on his ascension, “for Hiram had always loved David” (1 Ki 5:1). One thing is sure: Solomon knew his trees! “He spoke of trees, from the cedar tree of Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall” (4:33). His request was for the favorite of woodcarvers in the ancient world, the Lebanese cedar (Cedrus libani). He also wanted cypress (Cupressus sempervirens) for the temple’s floorboards. At that time, both of these trees were plentiful in Lebanon. “I propose to build a house for the name of the Lord my God,” wrote the king, “as the Lord spoke to my father David…Now therefore, command that they cut down cedars for me from Lebanon; and my servants will be with your servants, and I will pay you wages for your servants according to whatever you say. For you know there is none among us who has skill to cut timber like the Sidonians” (5:5-6). “Then Hiram gave Solomon cedar and cypress logs according to all his desire” (v 10). The king gave instruction “to quarry large stones, costly stones, and hewn stones, to lay the foundation of the temple. So Solomon’s builders, Hiram’s builders, and the Gebalites [meaning “stone-squarers”] quarried them; and they prepared timber and stones to build the temple” (vv 17-18). Imagine! Jewish stones and Gentile timbers built together as a “house of prayer for all nations” (Isa 56:7). Was this a model for something even more glorious? Yes, Ephesians 2:19-22 describes it. Psalm 92:12-13 say, “The righteous shall…grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.”