²Solomon spoke to the whole community of Israel. He spoke to the commanders of thousands of men and commanders of hundreds. He spoke to the judges and all of the leaders in Israel. He spoke to the leaders of Israel’s families. ³Solomon and the whole community went to the high place at Gibeon. That’s because God’s Tent of Meeting was there. The Lord’s servant Moses had made the tent in the desert.

⁴David had brought the ark of God up from Kiriath Jearim. He had brought it to the place he had prepared for it. He had set up a tent for it in Jerusalem.

⁵But the bronze altar that Bezalel had made was in Gibeon. Bezalel was the son of Uri. Uri was the son of Hur. The altar was in front of the Lord’s holy tent. So Solomon and the whole community asked the Lord for advice there.

⁶Solomon went up to the bronze altar in front of the Lord at the Tent of Meeting. Solomon sacrificed 1,000 burnt offerings on the altar.

⁷That night God appeared to Solomon. He said to him, “Ask for anything you want me to give you.”

⁸Solomon answered God, “You were very kind to my father David. Now you have made me king in his place. ⁹Lord God, let the promise you gave to my father David come true. You have made me king. My people are like the dust of the earth. They can’t be counted. ¹⁰Give me wisdom and knowledge. Then I’ll be able to lead these people. Without your help, who would be able to rule this great nation of yours?”

¹¹God said to Solomon, “I am glad that those are the things you really want. You have not asked for wealth, riches or honor. You have not even asked to have your enemies killed. You have not asked to live for a long time. Instead, you have asked for wisdom and knowledge. You want to be able to rule my people wisely. I have made you king over them.

¹²“So wisdom and knowledge will be given to you. I will also give you wealth, riches and honor. You will have more than any king before you ever had. And no king after you will have as much.”

¹³Then Solomon left the high place at Gibeon. He went from the Tent of Meeting there to Jerusalem. And he ruled over Israel.

¹⁴Solomon had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses. He kept some of them in the chariot cities. He kept others with him in Jerusalem.

¹⁵The king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stones. He made cedar wood as common there as sycamore-fig trees in the western hills.

¹⁶Solomon got horses from Egypt and Kue. The king’s buyers purchased them from Kue. ¹⁷They could get a chariot from Egypt for 15 pounds of silver. They could get a horse for less than four pounds of silver. They sold horses and chariots to all of the Hittite and Aramean kings.

Solomon Asks Hiram to Help Build the Temple

2Solomon gave orders to build a temple. That’s where the Lord would put his Name. Solomon also gave orders to build a royal palace for himself. ²He chose 70,000 men to carry things. He chose 80,000 to cut stones in the hills. He put 3,600 men in charge of them.

³Solomon sent a message to Hiram. Hiram was king of Tyre. The message said,

“Send me cedar logs, just as you did for my father David. You sent him cedar to build a palace to live in. ⁴Now I’m about to build a temple. The Name of the Lord my God will be there. I’ll set the temple apart for him.

“Sweet-smelling incense will be burned in front of him there. The holy bread will be set out at regular times. Burnt offerings will be sacrificed there every morning and evening. They will be sacrificed every Sabbath day. They will be sacrificed at every New Moon Feast. And they will be sacrificed at every yearly appointed feast of the Lord our God. That’s a law for Israel that will last for all time to come.

⁵“The temple I’m going to build will be beautiful. That’s because our God is greater than all other gods. ⁶So who is able to build a temple for him? After all, the heavens can’t hold him. In fact, not even the highest heavens can hold him. So who am I to build a temple for him? It will only be a place to burn sacrifices to him.

⁷“Send me someone who is skilled at working with gold, silver, bronze and iron. He must also be able to work with purple, blue and bright red yarn. He must be skilled in the art of carving. Send him to work in Judah and Jerusalem with my skilled workers. My father David provided them to help me.

⁸“Also send me cedar, pine and algum logs from Lebanon. I know that your men are skilled in cutting wood there. My men will work with yours. ⁹They’ll provide me with plenty of lumber. That’s because the temple I’m building must be large and beautiful.

¹⁰“I’ll pay your servants. They will cut the wood. I’ll pay them 125,000 bushels of wheat that has been ground up. I’ll pay them 125,000 bushels of barley. I’ll also pay them 115,000 gallons of wine and 115,000 gallons of olive oil.”

¹¹King Hiram of Tyre replied to Solomon. He wrote a letter to him. It said,

“The Lord loves his people. That’s why he has made you their king.”

¹²Hiram continued,

“I praise the Lord. He is the God of Israel. He made heaven and earth. He has given King David a wise son. You have good sense. You understand what is right. You will build a temple for the Lord. You will also build a palace for yourself.

¹³“I’m sending Huram-Abi to you. He is very skillful. ¹⁴His mother was from Dan. His father was from Tyre. He is trained to work with gold, silver, bronze and iron. He knows how to work with stone and wood. He can also work with purple, blue and bright red yarn and fine linen. He’s skilled in all kinds of carving. He can follow any pattern you give him. He’ll work with your skilled workers. He’ll also work with those of your father David. David was my master.

¹⁵“Now please send us what you promised. Send us the wheat, barley, olive oil and wine. ¹⁶And we’ll cut all of the logs from Lebanon you need. We’ll make rafts out of them. We’ll float them by sea down to Joppa. Then you can take them up to Jerusalem.”

¹⁷Solomon counted all of the outsiders who were living in Israel. He did it after his father David had counted them. There were 153,600 of them. ¹⁸He chose 70,000 to carry things. He chose 80,000 to cut stones in the hills. He put 3,600 men in charge of the people to keep them working.

Read in Logos