“Shlomo’s and Hiram’s builders, along with the men from G’val, worked the stones and prepared the timber and stones for building the house.”-1 Kings 5:32
One of the most inspiring moments in my life was my first rock concert.
I went to see Def Leppard in Mountain View, California.
They were promoting their new album Slang at the time.
So this was way past their Pyromania days.
But the concert was still awesome.
The lead singer, Joe Elliott, killed it, man!
His vocals soared above the guitar and bass distortion, cutting through the mix like a hot laser through steel.
Now here’s why I found this concert so inspiring.
When the band hit the stage with their opening track, Rock, Rock Till You Drop, I knew I was witnessing five young lads who had made a life-changing decision to bet on themselves because they didn’t wanna end up as factory workers in their hometown, which is what most of the people there ended up doing.
As one music journalist put it:
“This is one band that never thought about quitting, not even in the darkest times.”
These homies from Sheffield wanted something different for their lives.
So they decided to go for it.
And that decision changed the course of their lives forever.
The success they achieved was amazing despite the odds!
What makes their story even more remarkable is they endured tragedies that would’ve been the end for most folks.
The drummer, Rick Allen, lost his arm in a car accident.
Can you imagine a professional drummer losing his arm?!
Yet he continued drumming and remained a key part of the band.
So I knew I was in the presence of greatness and incredible perseverance that night.
Now, why do I bring this up?
Because it’s an amazing story of what happens when people come together in harmony to accomplish something greater than any one person could accomplish alone.
And this ties in exactly with King Solomon and his project to build the temple.
The Temple wasn’t built by one man.
Heck, it wasn’t even built by one nation.
The men of Israel worked alongside Hiram’s craftsmen from Tzor.
And according to verse 32, the men from G’val joined in as well.
G’val is also known as Byblos, which is north of Beirut.
So some men quarried the stones.
Some shaped them.
Some prepared the timber.
Some supervised the work.
Each group played a different role.
Yet together they accomplished one of the most magnificent building projects in Israel’s history.
In fact, we’re told that even the foundation stones were carefully cut and shaped.
Think about that for a sec, man.
These weren’t stones people would ever see.
They’d be buried underground.
Yet countless workers still devoted their time and skill to preparing them.
The Temple stood because many hands worked together toward a common purpose.
And that’s your lesson for today.
Solomon’s temple project is a beautiful example of what happens when Jew and Gentile come together and work in harmony to achieve a goal.
This is such a breath of fresh air when you compare it to all of the ridiculous infighting you see amongst all of these different groups, each claiming to worship the same God.
I’ll leave it at that for today.
See ya all next time.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“For we are God’s fellow workers.
You are God’s farming,
God’s building.
According to the grace of God
which was given to me,
as a wise master builder
I laid a foundation,
and another builds on it.”
— 1 Corinthians 3:9-10
“For just as the body is one,
and has many members,
and all the members of the body,
being many, are one body,
so also is Messiah.
For in one Spirit
we were all immersed into one body,
whether Jews or Greeks,
whether bond or free;
and were all given to drink
into one Spirit.
For the body is not one member,
but many.”
— 1 Corinthians 12:12-14
P.S. For those who are gonna get all bent outta shape because they think me using a rock concert example is ungodly or something, please kindly go jump in a lake. Going to see Def Leppard ain’t inherently ungodly simply because it is a rock concert. Scripture does not condemn a particular style of music, a guitar sound, or attending a live performance.
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