We’re continuing our story of how two kingdoms, one Jewish and one Gentile, came together to build a house for the Lord.
One thing for sure is that a helluva a lot of sturdy wood was needed.
Where would such a precious commodity come from?
The answer was simple.
It would come from the Cedar forests of Lebanon.
This was one of the few places on Earth where these large trees were located.
But it wasn’t just a matter of willy-nilly chopping down every tree in sight.
Great care was needed to not only harvest the trees but also select the right ones.
The other challenge was that Lebanon was located about a 2-day journey north of Beirut.
That was a long way from Jerusalem.
How in the world would they transport these huge logs all the way from there to the Holy City?
Actually, quite a creative method was used to accomplish this.
First, they transported the logs to the Mediterranean Seashore.
Then, they made huge rafts out of them.
After that, and you guessed it, they simply sailed down the coast to Israel on the rafts they had just built.
Talk about killing two birds with one stone.
They probably set sail from the Jaffa seaport.
Once they arrived, they dismantled the rafts, separated the logs, and then transported the precious wood via oxcarts up to Jerusalem.
So what takeaway can we extract from this?
Simple.
This reminds me of the lesson we learned from the Noah’s Ark story.
I’m talking about how our work for the Lord is more often than not a collaboration with the Almighty.
There are instances when we’ve gotta expend a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, man.
Don’t get me wrong, though.
There are also many times when our cooperation is NOT necessary.
And the Lord does everything for us.
The time when He inflicted Egypt with the 10 plagues was one such instance.
The time when He parted the Red Sea so the Israelites could escape from Pharaoh is another good example.
And of course, we should never forget that our salvation accomplished via Yeshua’s sacrifice on the cross is the ultimate example of the Lord taking on full responsibility to accomplish His divine will.
Having said that, there are times when He wants us humans to cooperate with Him to achieve certain ends.
When that happens, we shouldn’t be lacking in enthusiasm.
But be ready to serve with firm resolve and a smile on our faces.
Ya feel me?
Done.
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