1 Kings 5

He wants to work with you

Then Hiram gave Solomon cedar and cypress logs according to all his desire. ~ 1 Kings 5:10

Have you ever had a dream that felt so big that you immediately started wondering, “How in the world am I going to pay for this?” Maybe it was a ministry idea, a business opportunity, a home project, a new responsibility, or something God put on your heart that seemed much bigger than your current resources. Sometimes the first thing we see is what we don’t have.

But 1 Kings 5 reminds us that when God gives an assignment, He can also provide resources, relationships, wisdom, and opportunities we never could have arranged on our own. Solomon was preparing to build the temple David had dreamed about. This wasn’t a small construction project. It required enormous amounts of timber, stone, workers, planning, and organization. Solomon knew he couldn’t accomplish it by himself, so he reached out to Hiram, king of Tyre, and God provided a partnership that would help make the assignment possible.

There is something important for us to notice. Solomon didn’t sit back and say, “Well, if God wants this done, He’ll just make it happen.” He prayed, planned, negotiated, organized, worked, and partnered with others. Faith doesn’t mean we sit on the couch waiting for God to drop the finished project in our lap. Sometimes faith looks like picking up the phone and making the call.

Her are three important truths in this chapter about recognizing God’s provision, embracing partnership, and being faithful with the assignment He’s placed in our hands.

1. God can provide through people you never expected.

Solomon needed timber for the temple, and God provided it through Hiram. Hiram wasn’t an Israelite, yet God used him as part of the provision for something that was important to God’s people.

That should encourage us because sometimes we limit the ways we think God can help us. We may think provision has to come from one specific person, one specific source, or one specific opportunity. But God isn’t limited by our expectations.

Maybe you’re praying for a job, and the opportunity comes through someone you never expected to meet. Maybe you’re trying to launch a ministry, and someone offers exactly what you need. Maybe you’re working on a project and suddenly God connects you with someone who has the skill, resource, or experience you’ve been missing.

Pay attention to the relationships God brings into your life. That doesn’t mean we automatically say yes to every person or every opportunity. We still need wisdom and discernment. But don’t become so focused on how you think God should provide that you miss the provision He is already putting in front of you. Sometimes God’s answer comes through a person you didn’t even know to ask.

2. Don’t confuse faith with doing everything yourself.

Solomon understood that he couldn’t build the temple alone. He needed skilled workers. He needed materials. He needed Hiram. He needed thousands of people to help with the work.

There is true for all of us. God didn’t design us to do everything by ourselves. Sometimes we wear exhaustion like it’s a spiritual gift. We say things like, “I’ll just do it myself. It’s easier that way.” And maybe it is easier for about ten minutes. Then we’re exhausted, frustrated, overwhelmed, and wondering why nobody helped us.

God often works through partnership. Maybe there’s something God has called you to do, but you’re trying to carry the entire responsibility yourself. Ask Him who should be part of the assignment.

In your family, it might mean asking for help. In ministry, it might mean building a team. At work, it might mean delegating instead of trying to control every detail. In your personal life, it might mean allowing someone you trust to walk alongside you. Asking for help isn’t weakness, it’s wisdom.

3. When God gives you an assignment, prepare to work.

Solomon had God’s provision, but he still had to build. This is an important truth because sometimes we can pray for something and then become frustrated when God doesn’t simply drop it into our hands. God provided the timber, but somebody still had to cut it, transport it, organize it, and use it. God provided the workers, but they still had to work. God gave Solomon the assignment, but Solomon still had to lead. Provision doesn’t eliminate participation.

Maybe you’re praying for a stronger marriage, but there are conversations you still need to have. Maybe you’re praying for a new ministry opportunity, but there are preparations you still need to make. Maybe you’re asking God to help you grow spiritually, but you still need to open your Bible, pray, worship, and spend time with Him. Maybe you’re asking God to help you write the book that’s been on your heart, but at some point you have to sit down and actually write.

God can provide the opportunity, but you still have to walk through the door. Faith isn’t passive, it moves. 2 Samuel 5 reminds us that God had established Solomon as king, but 1 Kings 5 shows us what happened when Solomon began preparing to fulfill the assignment God had given him. He recognized what he needed, built relationships, organized people, gathered resources, and got to work. The temple didn’t appear overnight, there was a process and maybe that’s where some of us are today.  Stop waiting for the finished product when God is inviting us to participate in the process.

You may not have everything you need yet. You may not know exactly how everything will come together. But if God has given you the assignment, trust Him to provide what you need along the way while you faithfully do the part He’s placed in your hands.

Today I want to encourage you to stop looking only at what you don’t have and start paying attention to what God has already placed around you. He may be providing through a relationship, an opportunity, a skill, a resource, or even an unexpected connection. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, and don’t assume that faith means doing everything alone. At the same time, don’t wait for God to do what He’s asking you to do. Take the next step. Make the call. Have the conversation. Build the team. Open the Bible. Write the first page. Whatever your next step is, take it. God is faithful to provide, but He also invites us to participate in what He’s doing. You don’t need to see the entire blueprint before you begin building. You simply need to trust the Builder and be faithful with the part He’s placed in your hands.

Today’s scripture reading: 1 Kings 5

1 Now Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, because he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram had always loved David. 

2 Then Solomon sent to Hiram, saying:

3 You know how my father David could not build a house for the name of the Lord his God because of the wars which were fought against him on every side, until the Lord put his foes under the soles of his feet.

4 But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor evil occurrence.

5 And behold, I propose to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spoke to my father David, saying, “Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, he shall build the house for My name.”

6 Now therefore, command that they cut down cedars for me from Lebanon; and my servants will be with your servants, and I will pay you wages for your servants according to whatever you say. For you know there is none among us who has skill to cut timber like the Sidonians.

7 So it was, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly and said,

Blessed be the Lord this day, for He has given David a wise son over this great people!

8 Then Hiram sent to Solomon, saying:

I have considered the message which you sent me, and I will do all you desire concerning the cedar and cypress logs.

9 My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon to the sea; I will float them in rafts by sea to the place you indicate to me, and will have them broken apart there; then you can take them away. And you shall fulfill my desire by giving food for my household.

10 Then Hiram gave Solomon cedar and cypress logs according to all his desire. 

11 And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand kors of wheat as food for his household, and twenty kors of pressed oil. Thus Solomon gave to Hiram year by year.

12 So the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as He had promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty together.

13 Then King Solomon raised up a labor force out of all Israel; and the labor force was thirty thousand men. 

14 And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month in shifts: they were one month in Lebanon and two months at home; Adoniram was in charge of the labor force. 

15 Solomon had seventy thousand who carried burdens, and eighty thousand who quarried stone in the mountains, 

16 besides three thousand three hundred from the chiefs of Solomon’s deputies, who supervised the people who labored in the work. 

17 And the king commanded them to quarry large stones, costly stones, and hewn stones, to lay the foundation of the temple. 

18 So Solomon’s builders, Hiram’s builders, and the Gebalites quarried them; and they prepared timber and stones to build the temple.

Journal:

• What has God placed on my heart that currently feels bigger than my resources?
• Am I looking only at what I don’t have, or am I recognizing the resources and relationships God has already provided?
• Is there something I’m trying to do alone that God may be asking me to share with others?
• What is one practical step I can take this week toward an assignment God has given me?
• Where do I need to trust God for provision while also being willing to do my part?