Topic : LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP
Text: 1 Kings 9:10-28
9:10 Now it happened at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the Lord and the king’s house
9:11 (Hiram the king of Tyre had supplied Solomon with cedar and cypress and gold, as much as he desired), that King Solomon then gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.
9:12 Then Hiram went from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him, but they did not please him.
9:13 So he said, “What kind of cities are these which you have given me, my brother?” And he called them the land of [a]Cabul, as they are to this day.
9:14 Then Hiram sent the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold
9:15 And this is the reason for the labor force which King Solomon raised: to build the house of the Lord, his own house, [b]the Millo, the wall of Jerusalem, Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer.
9:16 (Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and taken Gezer and burned it with fire, had killed the Canaanites who dwelt in the city, and had given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.)
9:17 And Solomon built Gezer, Lower Beth Horon,
9:18 Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land of Judah,
9:19 all the storage cities that Solomon had, cities for his chariots and cities for his cavalry, and whatever Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.
9:20 All the people who were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not of the children of Israel—
9;21 that is, their descendants who were left in the land after them, whom the children of Israel had not been able to destroy completely—from these Solomon raised forced labor, as it is to this day.
9:22 But of the children of Israel Solomon made no forced laborers, because they were men of war and his servants: his officers, his captains, commanders of his chariots, and his cavalry.
9:23 Others were chiefs of the officials who were over Solomon’s work: five hundred and fifty, who ruled over the people who did the work.
9:24 “ But Pharaoh’s daughter came up from the City of David to her house which [c]Solomon had built for her. Then he built the Millo.
9:25 Now three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar which he had built for the Lord, and he burned incense with them on the altar that was before the Lord. So he finished the temple.
9:26King Solomon also built a fleet of ships at Ezion Geber, which is near [d]Elath on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom.
9:27 Then Hiram sent his servants with the fleet, seamen who knew the sea, to work with the servants of Solomon.
9:28 And they went to Ophir, and acquired four hundred and twenty talents of gold from there, and brought it to King Solomon.
STUDY:
When Solomon finished building the Lord’s temple and his royal palace, he gave 20 cities in the land of Galilee to Hiram, the King of Tyre, for the cedar and cypress timber and gold that Solomon had requested for the buildings. When the king of Tyre went to see the cities Solomon gave him, he was not pleased at all with them. It was better if he had negotiated, agreed on the number and nature of cities to be given to him for a specific quantity of timber and gold, and also inspected the cities to be given in exchange, before supplying timber to Solomon since they were doing the exchange of goods and materials as business. In business, it’s proper to be specific on the terms and conditions governing the business, and read and inspect the materials involved to avoid displeasure and misunderstanding after the business has begun. Seek the services of lawyers, accountants, quantity surveyors, valuers and other professionals in a large scale business that may require their services to avoid “had I known” at the end.
At verse 13, when Hiram was not pleased with the cities Solomon gave to him, he spoke to Solomon with soft words asking, “What kind of cities are these which you have given me, my brother?” Hiram still went on and paid Solomon 120 talents of gold. Even when your business partner or any other person offends you, don’t rain curses on them. Rather, be firm and polite in your complaint and expression of displeasure, so as to maintain peaceful relationship when the problem may have been solved. Remember that a soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh answer steers up anger.
Prayer:
Father, help me not to do sinful actions, and not to speak angry words since I belong to Jesus.
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