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I. THE PROJECT CONCEIVED. (Ver. 1.) A project:

1. Not new, but old. Not taken up by Solomon for the first time, but one his father David had years before meditated, though not permitted to execute it, because he had been "a man of war, and had shed blood '(1 Chronicles 28:3).

2. Not self-devised, but delegated, Not assumed out of vanity or from purely political motives, but handed down to him in circumstances of great solemnity by his royal sire (1 Chronicles 28:1-10).

3. Not sinful, but approved. Not "proceeding from the sight of the temple service of the Phoenicians and Philistines and of their ostentatious cultus" (Duncker), but commanded by Jehovah, who indicated his wish that it should be carried forward to completion by David's son (2 Samuel 7:13)

4. Not subordinate, but principal. Not after he had built a palace for himself, a house for his kingdom," but before, so giving God and religion the chief and foremost place in the thoughts of his mind and the activities of his reign. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God," etc. (Matthew 6:33).

II. THE PROJECT ANNOUNCED. (Ver. 4.)

1. The person informed. Huram, Hiram (1 Kings 5:1), Hirom (1 Kings 7:40) - probably the original (Schrader), Αἵρωμος (Josephus, Contra Apion, 1:17), Hirummu (Assyrian), Chirom (Phoenician). The name, probably equivalent to Achirom, signifies "Brother or Friend of the highness" (s.c. of Baal). Whether this was David's friend (1 Chronicles 14:1), who had negotiations with him prior to the building of his palace (2 Samuel 5:11), and therefore before the birth of Solomon (2 Samuel 11:2), is disputed, chiefly on the ground that he must then have reigned considerably over forty years, whereas Menander (Josephus, 'Contra Apion,' 1:18) assigns to Solomon's friend a reign of thirty-four years. But a reign of fifty years was not impossible either then (Uzziah, 2 Chronicles 26:3; Manasseh, 2 Chronicles 33:1) or now (George III., Queen Victoria). The proposal to regard Solomon's friend as the son of David's (Thenius, Bertheau) is exposed to the difficulty that the father of Solomon's friend was Abibaal (Josephus) - a difficulty which may be removed by supposing that Abibaal was a surname of the first Hiram, or that the first Hiram was the father of Abibaal. There is, however, no sufficient ground for challenging the identity of the two Hirams; and upon the whole it is as likely that Menander and Josephus have erred as to the length of Hiram's reign, as it is that the Hebrew writers have confounded father and son.

2. The communication made. "I build an house," etc. Ancient kings were wont to erect temples to their tutelar divinities. Urukh of Chaldea founded temples - of the moon at Ur, of the sun at Larsa, of Venus at Erech ('Records,' 3:9); while the magnificent shrines of Memphis, Thebes (Karnack), and Edfou were constructed by Egyptian Pharaohs "for the houses of the gods whose existence is for endless years" (Brugsch, 'Egypt under the Pharaohs,' 1:322). These may be used to illustrate the nature of Solomon's project.

III. THE PROJECT EXPLAINED. (Vers. 5, 6.) Solomon's temple was to be "great," "exceeding magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries" (1 Chronicles 22:5). A resplendent edifice, designed:

1. For a lofty purpose. For the honour of a great God.

(1) An absolutely supreme God: "Great is our God above all gods" (Deuteronomy 4:39; 1 Kings 8:23).

(2) An infinitely exalted God: "The heaven of heavens cannot contain him" (1 Kings 8:27; Jeremiah 23:24).

(3) A personally accepted God. Solomon called him "the Lord my God" (Exodus 20:3). Theoretical theism is valueless; theism like David's (Psalm 63:1) alone profitable.

(4) A profoundly revered God: "Who is able to build him a house?" "Who am I, that I should build him a house?" God should be feared by all who approach him (Deuteronomy 28:58; Joshua 24:14; 2 Kings 17:36; Psalm 33:8; Matthew 10:28; 2 Corinthians 7:1; Hebrews 12:28). Man never knows his own littleness till he examines himself in the light of God's greatness.

(5) A truly national God: "The Lord our God." Solomon conjoined his people with himself. Christ taught his disciples to pray, "Our Father" (Matthew 6:9).

2. For a noble use. Not to contain this immeasurably great and glorious Divinity (2 Chronicles 6:18), seeing that Jehovah dwelleth not in temples made with hands (Isaiah 66:1; Acts 7:47), but inhabiteth eternity (Isaiah 57:15), and filleth heaven and earth with his presence (Jeremiah 23:24); but to be a visible centre for his worship, to be dedicated to him for the burning before him of sweet incense, etc. Hitherto the people had sacrificed in local sanctuaries (1 Kings 3:2), Solomon himself being no exception (2 Chronicles 1:3; 1 Kings 3:4); henceforth the nation's sacrificial worship was to be concentrated in the capital and to circulate round the temple. The different parts of that worship here mentioned are those specified by Moses in connection with the tabernacle.

(1) The burning of sweet incense (Exodus 25:6), which Aaron was directed to do every morning and evening in the holy place (Exodus 30:7);

(2) the presentation of the shewbread (Exodus 25:30); and

(3) the offering day by day continually of the burnt offering (Exodus 29:39). The first symbolized the adorations presented to Jehovah by his worshippers (Revelation 5:18); the second, the spiritual sustenance Jehovah provided for his servants (Psalm 132:15); the third, the self-consecration expected by Jehovah of all whose sins were covered by sacrificial blood (Romans 12:1). The assertion that in the first temple the evening offering was purely cereal (Robertson Smith, 'The Old Testament in the Jewish Church,' p. 421) is without foundation (Thenius, on 2 Kings 16:15).

IV. THE PROJECT PREPARED FOR. (Vers. 2, 18.)

1. The furnishing of workmen. (Vers. 2, 18.)

(1) Their number: 70,000 burden-bearers or labourers, 80,000 timber-hewers or skilled woodmen, 3600 overseers or superintendents, in all 153,600, quite an army of workmen. The discrepancy between 1 Kings 5:16 and this account vanishes by observing that to the 3300 overseers in Kings falls to be added 550 chief officers (1 Kings 9:53), while the 3600 of Chronicles require to be supplemented by 250 chief officers (2 Chronicles 8:10), thus making both totals equal 3850. A gang of 100,000 men, changed every three months, laboured for ten years in building a causeway along which to convey the stones for Cheops' pyramid; and seven millions more men were needed to build the pyramid itself (Birch, 'Egypt,' p. 35; Budge, 'The Dwellers on the Nile,' p. 58).

(2) Their orders - labourers, wood-cutters, overseers, chief officers. So society on a larger scale is organized. The principle of division of labour is of endless application.

"So work the honey bees;
Creatures that by a rule in nature teach
The act of order to a peopled kingdom."

(King Henry V.,' act 1. sc. 2.)

(3) Their station: "strangers in the land" (ver. 17); i.e. descendants of the unexter-minated Canaanites (2 Chronicles 8:7, 8; 1 Kings 9:20-22). These had David also appointed to be stone-cutters (1 Chronicles 22:2).

2. The securing of materials. In addition to the stores gathered and given by his lately deceased father - gold, silver, brass, iron, wood, precious stones (1 Chronicles 29:2-5) - Solomon required cedar, fir, and algum trees out of Lebanon. Found nowhere in Palestine except Lebanon, the cedar was a rapidly growing, high-reaching, widespreading, and long-living tree, whose beautiful white wood was much prized for architectural purposes (2 Chronicles 3:5; 1 Kings 6:15; Jeremiah 22:14). The fir, often mentioned in connection with the cedar (Isaiah 14:8; Isaiah 37:24), was a "choice" and "goodly" tree, whose wood was used for building ships (Ezekiel 7:5) and making musical instruments (2 Samuel 6:5), and was now to be employed for flooring, ceiling, and doors in the temple (1 Kings 6:15, 34). The algum, probably the red sandalwood, fetched along with gold and precious stones from Ophir (2 Chronicles 9:10, 11; 1 Kings 10:11) by Solomon's and Hiram's fleets, and here inaccurately said to have grown in Lebanon, was used by Solomon for making pillars for the temple and the palace, as well as harps and psalteries for singers. These different sorts of timber accordingly Solomon sent for from Hiram, his father's friend and his own (ver. 3).

3. The obtaining of a skilled artificer. This also he courteously solicited from Hiram, whose subjects were the "artists" of the day (see homily on 'The two Hirams'). Both requests were accompanied with a promise of generous support to the workmen and the artist (ver. 10), and both were frankly honoured. Learn:

1. The highest glory of a king (or private person) is to seek the glory of God (John 8:50).

2. Great undertakings, especially in religion and the Church, should be gone about with deliberation, and only after due preparation (Luke 14:28).

3. The meanest service in connection with God's house is honourable (Psalm 84:10).

4. The value of friendship (Proverbs 27:10).

5. Humble thoughts of self the best preparation for acceptable service of God (2 Corinthians 3:5).

6. The talents of unbelievers may be legitimately employed in the service of the Church, seeing that "gifts" are from God, no less than "graces" (Job 32:8).

7. The Church should honourably requite those who aid in her undertakings, since "the labourer is worthy of his hire" (Luke 10:7; 1 Timothy 5:18). - W.

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KJV: And Solomon determined to build an house for the name of the LORD, and an house for his kingdom.

WEB: Now Solomon purposed to build a house for the name of Yahweh, and a house for his kingdom.