When Hiram king of Tyre heard that Solomon had been anointed king to succeed his father David, he sent his envoys to Solomon, because he had always been on friendly terms with David. – 1 Kings 5:1

Today's Scripture Reading (October 14, 2022): 1 Kings 5

I live in a very individualistic culture. Whatever is going to happen, it will be because of me. We don't need anyone else; life is up to me. But that is a horrible way to live; it is not how we are created. I keep on going back to a statement contained within the creation story found in the first chapter of Genesis. "Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground" (Genesis 1:26). I love the pluralness of the statement. It isn't God deciding, "I am going to make humans in my image." It is "we will make humans in our image." God, who exists in the essential community consisting of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, created us in the image of that community. The fact that we need each other goes back to how we are made. Is it possible that if we refuse to live in community with each other, then we are not following the path for which we were created?

And that carries over to nations as well. We are not supposed to be self-sufficient. The idea of being able to go it alone is a lie. We are supposed to exist both in need of assistance and willing to help those around us. We live as if the answer to Cain's question in Genesis 4, "Am I my brother's keeper," is no. But it is supposed to be yes. We are responsible for ourselves and each other, whether we want to be or not.

David was known as a warring King. He had taken control of his area of the world. Those nations who were a threat to Israel had to deal with the army of David, the famous warrior who had killed Goliath and then led the armies of Israel as their General until he fell out of favor with Saul. And even then, David was a military genius as he ran from Saul and yet still found ways to fight against the enemies of his home.

As King, David seemed to be continually going to war with someone. Even late in his life, he went out and fought against the enemies of Israel. During his reign, he not only cleared Israel of any enemies of the state, but he also created a series of vassal nations. David took countries that had once fought against Israel and transformed them into vassal states creating a buffer zone between the enemies of Israel and Israel herself.

But David didn't fight against everyone. He had friends and allies. Even David, living in what was essentially the Golden Age of Israel, needed people who were on his side. And one of those people was Hiram. The NIV says that Hiram was on friendly terms with David, but the truth is that the statement could easily be translated as "Hiram always loved David." And that relationship likely went both ways. David loved Hiram. And they had chosen to stand together against the hostile forces of this world. And Hiram hoped that David's son, Solomon, would follow the same path that his father had chosen to follow.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 6