38 lines
2.6 KiB
Markdown
38 lines
2.6 KiB
Markdown
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title = "2 Chronicles 2:1–18"
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date = "2024-09-07"
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### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/2Chronicles2.1-18)
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While Solomon built the temple to the Lord and his own palace at the same time, the emphasis here is squarely on the temple.
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The building project was so grand and expansive that many thousands of workers had a hand in the construction.
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Most, if not all, of these would be non-Israelites living in the land.
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These would be the descendants of the Gibeonites, who decieved Joshua into a peace treaty, or remnants of other Canaanites, or possibly other folks from farther off who migrated to Israel at some point.
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The bulk of the chapter details the agreement made between Solomon and King Hiram of Tyre.
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Solomon's father David had a previous agreement with Hiram where Tyre would provide building materials for the future temple.
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Now, Solomon is setting up his own agreement with Hiram that follows the same lines as the previous one.
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Tyre provides a master builder or architect and timber of various kinds.
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In return, Israel provides foodstuffs for the men who harvest and deliver the timber: wheat, barley, wine, and oil.
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Hiram agrees to the arrangement and appoints a skilled man who is part Tyran and part Israelite.
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He even includes shipping details that indicate where the timber will be delivered.
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Those are the straight facts, but what is more interesting is the way Hiram and Solomon word their communications.
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In _v. 5_, Solomon declares that the Lord is greater than all gods.
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While that's true and all, it's kind of undiplomatic when dealing with a foreign country, isn't it?
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But then Hiram says in _v. 12_, "Blessed be the <span style="font-variant-caps: small-caps">Lord</span> God of Israel, who made heaven and earth…"
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Hiram acknowledges the supremacy of Yahweh and believes that He granted Solomon his wisdom and the desire to build the temple.
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In light of that, Solomon's use of "our God" in _vv. 4–5_ take on a new meaning.
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He wasn't just talking about "us Israelites", but "you and me", that is, Hiram and Solomon.
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Hiram, king of Tyre, was a believer in Yahweh.
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As Church-era Christians, we often get stuck thinking that only the Israelites knew about the Lord during the Old Testament times.
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But our God has been God of the whole earth for all of history.
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Several Gentiles came to know the Lord before Jesus was born: Melchizedek, Rahab, Ruth, Naaman, Nebuchadnezzar, Darius, a whole generation of Ninevites…
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God's promise to Abraham that his descendants would be a blessing to the whole world was certainly fulfilled in Jesus, but blessings had been given before then, too.
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* * *
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Let us recognize Your goodness throughout all of history.
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