Hiram finished the Job

                                                                        1 Kings 7:38-51

 

May 2, 2021

 

And he made ten basins of bronze. Each basin held forty baths, each basin measured four cubits, and there was a basin for each of the ten stands.   And he set the stands, five on the south side of the house, and five on the north side of the house. And he set the sea at the southeast corner of the house.

Hiram also made the pots, the shovels, and the basins. So Hiram finished all the work that he did for King Solomon on the house of the Lord:  the two pillars, the two bowls of the capitals that were on the tops of the pillars, and the two latticework’s to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the tops of the pillars;  and the four hundred pomegranates for the two latticework’s, two rows of pomegranates for each latticework, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the pillars;  the ten stands, and the ten basins on the stands;  and the one sea, and the twelve oxen underneath the sea.

Now the pots, the shovels, and the basins, all these vessels in the house of the Lord, which Hiram made for King Solomon, were of burnished bronze.   In the plain of the Jordan, the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan.  And Solomon left all the vessels unweighted because there were so many of them; the weight of the bronze was not ascertained.

 So Solomon made all the vessels that were in the house of the Lord: the golden altar, the golden table for the bread of the Presence,  the lampstands of pure gold, five on the south side and five on the north, before the inner sanctuary; the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs, of gold;  the cups, snuffers, basins, dishes for incense, and firepans, of pure gold; and the sockets of gold, for the doors of the innermost part of the house, the Most Holy Place, and for the doors of the nave of the temple.

Thus, all the work that King Solomon did on the house of the Lord was finished. And Solomon brought in the things that David his father had dedicated, the silver, the gold, and the vessels, and stored them in the treasuries of the house of the Lord.

It is hard for my small pea-picking mind to grasp the magnitude of what Hiram has done, under the orders of Solomon.  Without a doubt, it had to be the greatest task Hiram ever was part of and yet the Scripture gives us only a small understanding of the man. 

 

But give us great insight into the character of Solomon, who was the wisest man born of an earthly father to live on planet earth.  He delegated authority to others who had wisdom and skill in building and acted more as the architect who builds the design given to him.  I’ve always thought it sad to see a man with no skill set in an area refuse the help of someone with skills in that area, Solomon was very wise in seeking out special men to do these very important jobs.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice