Israel’s calling was to bring blessing to other nations (Genesis 12:1–3), to be a “kingdom of priests” who would be a living embodiment of God’s glory (Exodus 19:6). That is what we see in today’s text: Hiram of Tyre, struck by the splendour of Solomon’s reign, acknowledges the greatness of Israel’s God.

Solomon is now king. God blesses his reign as he blessed David’s (2 Chronicles 1:1). Today’s text stresses the continuity between David’s and Solomon’s reigns (e.g., 1:8; 2:3, 12): the Chronicler sees the two reigns as parts of a larger whole. In particular, Solomon brings to completion the temple that David planned for.

Solomon’s first step on becoming king is to seek God (1:5), as David often did. God appears to him in a dream, and tells him: “Ask for whatever you want me to give you” (v. 7). God seems to be testing Solomon: What is in his heart? What kind of ruler does he want to be?

Solomon asks for wisdom and knowledge to rule Israel well (vv. 9–10), and God is clearly pleased with this answer. He grants Solomon’s request, and also promises him the riches, possessions, and honour that he did not ask for (vv. 11–12). The Chronicler notes that Solomon did indeed become extremely wealthy (vv. 14–17).

2 Chronicles 2 describes further preparations for the temple. Solomon sends word to Hiram of Tyre (vv. 3–10): he requests skilled craftsmen who will help him build a temple worthy of the Lord, and timber cut as only Hiram’s men could cut it. The temple must be “large and magnificent” (v. 9). In return, the workers will be well fed (v. 10).

Just as God provided Moses with skilled craftsmen to construct the original Tent of Meeting (Exodus 35:30–35), so now He moves Hiram to send the equally-skilled Huram-Abi to Solomon (2 Chronicles 2:13–14). A repeated theme in chapters 1–5 is that Solomon’s temple will be all that the Tent of Meeting was, and much more.

There is a lot of theology in Solomon’s message to Hiram: he describes how Israel’s God is worshipped and declares that “our God is greater than all other gods” (2 Chronicles 2:5). No temple could contain the Lord; Solomon’s temple will simply be a place for offering sacrifices to this God (v. 6).

Strikingly, Hiram seems to agree (vv. 11–12): the Lord is the maker of heaven and earth; praise to Him for giving Israel a king as wise as Solomon! Hiram promises to give Solomon what he has requested. Are Hiram’s words a confession of faith in Israel’s God, or is he simply being diplomatic? In any case, his words point to the day when people from all nations will indeed worship the Lord.

See also 1 Kings 3–5; 10:26–29.