Hiram Offers Skill and Resources to Solomon

In 2 Sam. 5:11 and 1 Chron. 14:1 Hiram is mentioned as having sent workmen and materials to David for the building of his house. According to Josephus the Temple was built in the 11th (Antiquities viii. 3. 1) or the 12th (Against Apion 1. 18) year of Hiram. Since the founding of the Temple took place in the fourth year of Solomon (1 Kings 6:1), the reign of Hiram must have overlapped that of David by some seven or eight years. After having given a general description of Solomon's government, 1 Kings 5 proceeds with an account of the great undertaking of his reign, the building of the Temple. A parallel account of this important enterprise is found in 2 Chron. 2 to 4. It explain why David did not build the temple.

It was not that David was so occupied with wars during his reign that he did not find time or opportunity to build the Temple, but that the Lord did not permit him to do this because of his having been so much a man of war (1 Chron. 22:8). It was not the Lord's purpose that Israel should be in constant war against her neighbors. During the reign of David war was necessary for the establishment of the throne. But God had promised David a son who would be a "man of rest," and that He would "give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days" (1 Chron. 22:9). The name Solomon means "peaceable." Solomon recognized the fact that the rest he enjoyed had come to him as a blessing from God.

There is given in 1 Kings 5 an abbreviated form a portion of Solomon's message to Hiram, which is given much more fully in 2 Chron. 2:3—10. The request was not only for cedar trees but also for almug (2 Chron. 2:8) and fir trees (1 Kings 5:8, 10), and also for "a man cunning to work in gold," silver, brass, and iron (2 Chron. 2:7). In return for the timber, Solomon undertook to provide Hiram with provisions of wheat, barley, wine, and oil (2 Chron. 2:10 cf. 1 Kings 5:11). The specific purpose of the building of the Temple is presented in much fuller detail in 2 Chron. 2:4—6. There appears to have been a formal, written agreement between Solomon and Hiram (2 Chron. 2:11). Solomon set forth the terms of the contract, and they were promptly accepted by Hiram. Hiram agreed to deliver the timber desired by Solomon in harmony with the stipulations agreed upon.

The arrangement entered into between Solomon and Hiram was mutually advantageous. Solomon needed timber of which he had little and Hiram had much. Hiram needed foodstuffs of which Phoenicia produced little and of which Israel may have had an oversupply. Both gave of what they had and received what they needed, and both were benefited as a result. Both were happy in this arrangement that promoted prosperity as well as peace.