A Blessing from a Non-Believer (1 Kings 5.7)

“Blessed be the LORD today, who has given to David a wise son to be over this great people.”

Background

After the last prayer, the writer of First Kings tells his readers some more about Solomon’s reign. The people were happy and prosperous, and their king was wise, discerning, and poetic. Things are going well in Israel. 

Solomon decides it is time to fulfill his father’s dream of building a Temple to God in Jerusalem. God had not allowed David to do so, but He promised that his son would. The importance of the Temple to the Jewish people and Jewish history is shown by how much time the author spends telling us of the process—the beginning, middle, and completion. Prayer plays a significant role at the unveiling of the Temple, as we will see in later prayers, but it also plays a role here, at the beginning. 

The King of Tyre, Hiram I, ruled over a large part of Phoenicia and perhaps other areas, and had ruled during the reign of David, too. Hiram had provided much of the wood and timber used to build David’s palace (2 Sam 5:11). Solomon sent a delegation to Hiram, informing him of his intention to build a Temple. He praised Hiram, telling him that no one knows how to prepare timber like his people. The sense here (and from later historical writings) is that Israel had no tradition of architects or builders. They needed the skills of these foreigners. 

Solomon informs Hiram that he will pay whatever wages the king sets for his servants, and will also send Israelite workers to transport the wood. When Hiram receives the message, he offers a blessing. They negotiate that Solomon will make annual shipments of wheat and oil to Hiram’s court. 

Meaning

The amount that Solomon is sending to Hiram’s court is almost the same as what Solomon’s court uses in a year. Since the people of Israel paid grain to the State as a tax, this doubled the amount they had to send. Imagine that you receive your tax bill one year, and it is twice the previous year because your government had begun a massive project. Though the people were supportive of the new Temple, and times were good, these (and future) tax increases would cause problems for Solomon and the kings after him. 

The prayer-blessing is a typical blessing, pronounced upon God, with the reason for it given after (because He has given a wise son of David to be king over Israel). It is quite brief, as are many blessings.