Daily Dose of the Word of God - 1 Kings 5: 1-5

Rachel Klooster & Billy Heschl

Transcript

Rachel Klooster  0:06  

Welcome to Elmhurst CRC’s Daily Dose of the Word of God. It’s Tuesday, October 21.  This is Billy Heschl reading for Rachel Klooster. As we walk through the Bible this year, we will better see the Big Picture of how God has been and IS STILL at work for good in the world. Today’s reading is 1 Kings 5:1-5

Rachel Klooster 0:30  

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. Solomon sent back this message to Hiram: “You know that because of the wars waged against my father David from all sides, he could not build a temple for the Name of the Lord his God until the Lord put his enemies under his feet. But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side, and there is no adversary or disaster. I intend, therefore, to build a temple for the Name of the Lord my God, as the Lord told my father David, when he said, ‘Your son whom I will put on the throne in your place will build the temple for my Name.’

Rachel Klooster  1:20  

Who in the world is Hiram king of Tyre, and what does he have to do with anything? Hiram king of Tyre was an ally of David and Solomon. He was friendly with Israel and supplied men and materials for David’s house and God’s temple because his country had resources and expertise not found in Israel. He was from up north on the coast of the Mediterranean and had a big shipping business that he used to help Israel secure goods and items, including the quality wood for building.  You might be saying, "I thought God made Israe a seperate nation (don’t intermingle with others, keep my laws that are different than what “outsiders” do, you are a holy and chosen people, etc)." But it appears that God blessed Solomon in unexpected ways - even by so-called outsiders. Israel was a strong kingdom and not only internally focused. Someone from outside the kingdom of Israel was helpful in building the temple.

Rachel Klooster 1:34  

Biblehub.com suggests that this cooperation between Solomon and Hiram shows how God used other nations and leaders to accomplish his purposes. God was not silent in other nations.  It’s good to remember that while reading these Bible stories, that God was at work around the world at the same time, even if we don’t have it all described for us in the Bible. So for us today: Where do we see unexpected help? God uses many things to bless and encourage us and it sometimes comes from a place we wouldn’t expect. Likewise, how can we help others? Even - and especially - those outside our usual circles?

Rachel Klooster 3:13  

 Let's pray. Thank you Lord that your kingdom is larger than we know and your opportunities are more abundant than our small minds can fathom. Open our eyes to unexpected blessings. Help us be an unexpected blessing to someone else. In Jesus name, Amen.