Hiram king of Tyre sent ambassadors to Solomon when he heard that he had been crowned king in David’s place. Hiram had loved David his whole life. Solomon responded, saying, “You know that David my father was not able to build a temple in honor of God because of the wars he had to fight on all sides, until God finally put them down. But now God has provided peace all around—no one against us, nothing at odds with us.

“Now here is what I want to do: Build a temple in honor of God, my God, following the promise that God gave to David my father, namely, ‘Your son whom I will provide to succeed you as king, he will build a house in my honor.’ And here is how you can help: Give orders for cedars to be cut from the Lebanon forest; my loggers will work alongside yours and I’ll pay your men whatever wage you set. We both know that there is no one like you Sidonians for cutting timber.”

When Hiram got Solomon’s message, he was delighted, exclaiming, “Blessed be God for giving David such a wise son to rule this flourishing people!” (1 Kings 5:1-7)

Solomon wrote that “a friend loves at all times.” (Proverbs 17:17) David loved God, and despite all his faults, his loyalty to God was absolute. He wanted to serve God with everything he had. He was completed devoted to him. One day, after he had built his palace, he felt bad that the place for worshiping God was merely a tent. He decided that he needed to do something to change that. God told him that he appreciated the thought, but it was really not necessary. More than that, God explained that although a permanent Temple was a good thing to want, it was not something that God would let him do. Instead, the task of building a Temple would be left to his son Solomon, who would reign in his place.

David let Solomon know what he desired for God. And David made plans, gathering materials and even purchasing the land for the Temple. But David wound up having to trust his son to do what he had set in his heart on. It was not an ill placed trust. Solomon fulfilled the promise he made to his father and built the Temple. And he got David’s friend Hiram, the king of Tyre, who had loved him his whole life, to help.

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