Daily PresenceSample

Obviously, Solomon dedicating the temple to the Lord takes up the main focus of our reading today. Solomon just spent the last twenty years commissioning the building of this temple and he goes all out in wanting to worship the Lord in dedicating it.

However, my attention is drawn to chapter 9 verse 10 where Solomon settles up with Hiram. Hiram was king of Tyre and a faithful servant to Solomon as he was to his father David. Hiram supplied much of the lumber that was required to build the temple and Solomon provided oil for the king’s households in return. Finally, as the temple was dedicated, Solomon gifts Hiram with twenty towns in the land of Galilee. Yet, when Hiram surveys these lands he calls them “Cabul” (or Kabul depending on the translation). This roughly translates to “good-for-nothing land”. I suppose Hiram felt he was entitled to a better gift than what he was given. To me, a gift of twenty towns is a gift of twenty towns, right?

Well, not much more is said about Solomon’s gift to Hiram other than the area is still known today, and as a matter of fact, it is! Although it is not much of an impressive town even today, during ancient times it is said that the city of Kabul, Israel grew the best sugarcane in the area! Now, that may not be the biggest bragging right, but it certainly shows that the land wasn’t “good-for-nothing” as Hiram stated. Over time and with attention from someone, the land produced a product that gained recognition worth writing about.

Sometimes the gifts we are given aren’t seen as blessings at the moment. Sometimes they take time to develop, attention to cultivate, and effort to produce. Reflect on what “good-for-nothing” talent, gift, or object you have been given. How can you cultivate it so that it can produce? How can it be used to honor God and His kingdom?