2 Chronicles 2:7-12: a reflection

7“Now therefore send me a man skillful to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, in iron, and in purple, crimson, and blue, and who knows how to engrave engravings, to be with the skillful men who are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my father provided. 8“Send me also cedar trees, cypress trees, and algum trees out of Lebanon, for I know that your servants know how to cut timber in Lebanon. Behold, my servants will be with your servants, 9even to prepare timber in abundance for me; for the house which I am about to build will be great and wonderful. 10Behold, I will give to your servants, the cutters who cut timber, twenty thousand cors of beaten wheat, twenty thousand baths of barley, twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil.” 11Then Huram the king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon, “Because the LORD loves his people, he has made you king over them.” 12Huram continued, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who made heaven and earth, who has given to David the king a wise son, endowed with discretion and understanding, who would build a house for the LORD and a house for his kingdom.

As Solomon prepares to build the temple, a task of enormous scope, he does not attempt it alone. He sends to Huram king of Tyre for a skilled master craftsman, and for cedar and other timber from Lebanon, along with the workers to cut it, promising provisions in return. The great house he is about to build, he says, requires the gathering of many gifts and hands: skilled artisans, timber, laborers, and the cooperation of others. Even the wise king does not build the temple by himself.

Notice how Solomon approaches the great work: by gathering others. He seeks out skilled people whose abilities exceed his own in their crafts, he draws on resources and labor beyond his own, he enters into cooperation with another king. The building of the temple was not a solo achievement but a shared labor, drawing together many gifts and many hands under Solomon's leadership. He was wise enough to know he needed others.

That is a healthy model for any large work we undertake for God. We are prone to think we must do things alone, or reluctant to seek the help and gifts of others, whether from pride or from a false sense that we should be sufficient in ourselves. Solomon, for all his wisdom, gathered skilled people and resources beyond his own, and the temple rose as a shared labor. When you face a work too big for you, do not insist on doing it alone. Seek out the gifts and help of others; God's work is meant to be a shared labor, drawing together many hands and gifts. There is wisdom, not weakness, in gathering others to a work too great to do alone.

Lord, even the wise Solomon did not build your temple alone, but gathered skilled craftsmen, resources, and the help of others to the great work. Teach me that wisdom. Keep me from thinking I must do things alone, or from being too proud or self-sufficient to seek the gifts and help of others. When I face a work too big for me, help me gather others to it, valuing the abilities you have given them, drawing together many hands and gifts. Let me see that your work is meant to be a shared labor, not a solo achievement. Give me the humility to seek help, and to build alongside others what I could never build alone.