“So give orders that cedars of Lebanon be cut for me. My men will work with yours, and I will pay you for your men whatever wages you set. You know that we have no one so skilled in felling timber as the Sidonians.” – 1 Kings 5:6

Today’s Scripture Reading (September 5, 2019): 1 Kings 5

Charlie Maffei, or Charlie the Matchmaker, relates this story in a HuffPost article released on February 2, 2016:

I was riding as a passenger in a friend’s car recently and was shocked to find that she beeped and honked and literally yelled out loud to every person or car that got in front of her. When I asked her why she did this, she snapped, “I am sick and tired of stupid people getting in my way when I am simply trying to get from point A to point B.” She stopped talking when I asked her, “Did you ever think that some of the people beeping and honking around you are thinking the same thing of you?” Our friends in the backseat actually thanked me later for calling her on it. That is a lot of negative energy being spewed for no reason.

Too often, we see our lives from the lens of what it is that we need to get accomplished. Our goals are sacred – and everybody else is just “in our way.” Maybe it is a too seldom moment when we understand that everyone has goals and everyone is going someplace. I know that as I approach a construction site, which there are always too many of in my part of the world at this time of year, getting through the process is a lot better if we work together, rather than trying to beat everyone else to that narrow open spot that continues the journey down the road. No one likes to be stuck in traffic. Everyone is trying to get from A to B, even if the two points just relate to the two ends of the construction zone.

Solomon has a goal. He is going to build the Temple that was his Father’s dream. Solomon can bulldoze through the process, taking what he wants and kicking out everyone who gets in his way. Or he can enlist help from those around him, inviting them into his journey and in the process helping them with theirs. Part of Solomon’s wisdom is that he decides to choose the latter way. He writes to the King of Tyre and compliments his people on the work for which they are known around the world. Russell Dilday writes this about the Sidonians (Sidon is a city just to the North of Tyre);    

The Sidonians were noted as timber craftsmen in the ancient world, a fact substantiated on the famous Palmero Stone. Its inscription from 2200 b.c. tells us about timber-carrying ships that sailed from Byblos to Egypt about four hundred years previously. The skill of the Sidonians was expressed in their ability to pick the most suitable trees, know the right time to cut them, fell them with care, and then properly treat the logs.

Solomon invites Hiram into his journey. He gives honor to Hiram, noting that there are things he can do that Solomon cannot accomplish. The two kings might be on separate journeys, but here they are traveling the same road and can be a help to the other. By inviting Hiram into the process, he gets the best wood and the best workers for the construction of the Temple. And a relationship between the kings is strengthened in the process.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 6