Solomon and King Hiram of Tyre

1 Kings 9:10-14: “At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built these two buildings—the Lord’s temple and the royal palace—King Hiram of Tyre had supplied Solomon with all the cedar and juniper and gold he wanted. So King Solomon gave Hiram twenty towns in Galilee. But when Hiram went from Tyre to inspect the towns that Solomon had given him, he was not pleased with them. ‘What kind of towns are these you have given me, my brother?’ he asked. And he called them the Land of Cabul, a name they have to this day. Now Hiram had sent the king 120 talents of gold.”

To prepare for the building of the Temple, David had, in his distress, prepared 100,000 talents of gold for the Lord’s Temple (1 Chronicles 22:16). Additionally, he gave from his own treasury 3,000 talents of gold from Ophir (1 Chronicles 29:4), and the people also offered 5,000 talents of gold and 10,000 darics for the use of God’s Temple (1 Chronicles 29:7), totaling 108,000 talents of gold, approximately 3,700 tons, prepared for the Temple. However, Solomon spent thirteen years building his own palace, and his finances were already strained. Therefore, he had to use towns as collateral to King Hiram of Tyre for gold and timber.

When the construction of the Temple first began, the Lord granted Solomon wisdom as He had promised. Hiram and Solomon were on good terms and made a covenant with each other, benefiting both sides. Yet, their last transaction ended unpleasantly, leading Hiram to sarcastically remark to Solomon that, although the royal palace in Jerusalem was splendid, these towns were dilapidated. This shows that Solomon’s prosperity was merely a superficial display, and it did not benefit all the people.

This twenty-year construction process began with Solomon’s determination to build a temple for God’s name and ended with Solomon building his own palace. It began with King Hiram of Tyre praising God and ended with Hiram’s sarcastic remark to Solomon. If those who serve God are not careful and allow their fleshly desires to take over, they too can end up like Solomon, starting strong but finishing poorly.