“Now I am
sending Huram-abi, a skilled man, endowed with understanding, the son of a
Danite woman and a Tyrian father, who knows how to work in gold, silver,
bronze, iron, stone and wood, and
in purple, violet, linen and crimson fabrics, and who knows how to make all kinds of engravings and to execute any
design which may be assigned to him, to
work with your skilled men and with those of my lord David your father.”
(vv.13-14)
Here in
chapter 2 we see both Jew and Gentile entering into a contract to build the
house of the Lord. King Solomon and no problem negotiating a deal with the
Phoenicians, for they were known as the best architects and construction
workers in the world, and he wanted to build a great house for the LORD his God
(v.5). The king of Tyre (a gentile) then sends his most skilled man to oversee
the building project, Huram-abi, who was interestingly enough born of an
Israelite mother and a Gentile father. What a great picture this represents of
our heavenly Fathers love for all.
Today,
religious differences seem to get in the way of much more than they should. The
best man for the job should still be, the best man for the job, no matter what
his religious beliefs are. Yet that isn’t always the case. Yes I know, in the
world we live in today we need to be cautious, but certainly not prejudicial. Just because someone is not of our political or religious
persuasion, it should not mean he is not the right man for the job.
It
seems clear to me that God wanted to keep His global plan for all nations in
view here. Though Israel was the “chosen nation,” there was no problem with the
involvement of “unchosen people” in building His temple. If God could find not fault in
that, how can we?
The Truth
“For there
is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him.” (Romans 10:12)
