1 Kings 5:13-18: a reflection

13King Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men. 14He sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses: for a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home; and Adoniram was over the men subject to forced labor. 15Solomon had seventy thousand who bore burdens, and eighty thousand who were stone cutters in the mountains, 16besides Solomon’s chief officers who were over the work: three thousand three hundred who ruled over the people who labored in the work. 17The king commanded, and they cut out large stones, costly stones, to lay the foundation of the house with worked stone. 18Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders and the Gebalites cut them, and prepared the timber and the stones to build the house.

Before the temple could rise in its glory, an immense amount of hidden, laborious work had to be done. Solomon raised a huge workforce: tens of thousands to bear burdens, tens of thousands to cut stone in the mountains, quarrying great, costly stones for the foundation, preparing the timber and stone. This was the unglamorous, hidden labor, the burden-bearing and stone-cutting, that made the visible glory of the temple possible. The foundation work, unseen, underlay all that would later be admired.

Notice the immense hidden labor behind the temple's glory. Before the beautiful temple could stand, there was the unglamorous work of quarrying stone, bearing burdens, cutting and preparing materials, done by tens of thousands of laborers whose names we do not know. This hidden, laborious work, the foundation-laying and material-preparing, was essential; the visible glory of the temple rested on it. Without the hidden labor, there would have been no glorious temple.

That is worth remembering, for behind much that is visible and admired lies hidden, unglamorous labor that makes it possible. We tend to see and admire the finished, visible glory, and overlook the hidden work, the foundation-laying and burden-bearing, that underlies it. But the hidden labor is essential; the visible glory rests on it. Do not despise the hidden, unglamorous labor, your own or others', that underlies visible results; it is essential, and the visible glory rests on it. And do not resent it if your own labor is hidden, unseen, foundational rather than visible; the quarrying and burden-bearing that no one admired made the temple possible. Honor the hidden labor that underlies visible glory, and be faithful in your own hidden work, knowing that the foundation-laying and burden-bearing, though unseen, is essential, and that visible glory rests on hidden labor, as the glory of the temple rested on the quarrying and burden-bearing of the unnamed thousands.

Lord, before the temple could rise in its glory, an immense amount of hidden, laborious work had to be done: tens of thousands bearing burdens and cutting stone, quarrying great stones for the foundation, the unglamorous labor that made the visible glory possible. Help me remember that behind much that is visible and admired lies hidden, unglamorous labor that makes it possible. I tend to see and admire the finished, visible glory, and overlook the hidden work, the foundation-laying and burden-bearing, that underlies it. But the hidden labor is essential; the visible glory rests on it. Keep me from despising the hidden, unglamorous labor, my own or others', that underlies visible results; it is essential. And keep me from resenting it if my own labor is hidden, unseen, foundational rather than visible; the quarrying and burden-bearing that no one admired made the temple possible. Help me honor the hidden labor that underlies visible glory, and be faithful in my own hidden work, knowing that the foundation-laying and burden-bearing, though unseen, is essential, and that visible glory rests on hidden labor, Lord, as the glory of the temple rested on the labor of the unnamed thousands. Help me be faithful in the hidden work.