And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men.
The levy records thirty thousand men drafted out of all Israel to gather material for building the house of the Lord, the temple for God. They were sent to Lebanon in courses of ten thousand a month, so that each served one month in Lebanon and two months at home, with Adoniram placed over the levy. The work went forward under the wisdom given to Solomon and under peace and league with Hiram, by which cedar and fir were supplied in return for wheat and pure oil paid year by year.
Alongside the levy were seventy thousand burden-bearers and eighty thousand hewers in the mountains, with three thousand three hundred officers over the workers, while builders brought great costly hewed stones for the foundation and made ready timber and stones for the house. The workforce labored in harmonious action under acknowledged heads and master workmen set over parts of the work, and though those leaders were not of their nation or religion, all consented to obey them with no strikes, rebellion, or dissatisfaction, so the work went forward peacefully under the control of God. When the parts were brought together they fitted with exactness, not by special miracle but by accurate and skillful labor from workmen who felt the greatness of the work and fashioned every stone to match its place.
The levy also reveals a degeneration from wise and merciful, conscientious and compassionate guardianship of the people into cruel and oppressive exaction, with pride, ambition, prodigality, and indulgence bearing fruit in cruelty. Driven by a passion for extravagant display, lavish expenditures for the court exceeded even enormous revenues, leading to great burdens imposed through repeated taxation to support luxury. The result was murmuring and complaint, as the respect and admiration the people once held turned into disaffection and abhorrence. Building a house for God is a privilege requiring cautious movement in faith, deep heart interest, and united action in which all take part, with old and young bringing gifts and showing greater interest than in building their own houses, weighing personal conveniences against poor provision for God's service, refusing to let trying times for means hinder the work, seeking God's blessing, and leaving none behind, for their own good and the glory of God.
The levy records thirty thousand men drafted out of all Israel to gather material for building the house of the Lord, the temple for God. They were sent to Lebanon in courses of ten thousand a month, so that each served one month in Lebanon and two months at home, with Adoniram placed over the levy. The work went forward under the wisdom given to Solomon and under peace and league with Hiram, by which cedar and fir were supplied in return for wheat and pure oil paid year by year.
Alongside the levy were seventy thousand burden-bearers and eighty thousand hewers in the mountains, with three thousand three hundred officers over the workers, while builders brought great costly hewed stones for the foundation and made ready timber and stones for the house. The workforce labored in harmonious action under acknowledged heads and master workmen set over parts of the work, and though those leaders were not of their nation or religion, all consented to obey them with no strikes, rebellion, or dissatisfaction, so the work went forward peacefully under the control of God. When the parts were brought together they fitted with exactness, not by special miracle but by accurate and skillful labor from workmen who felt the greatness of the work and fashioned every stone to match its place.
The levy also reveals a degeneration from wise and merciful, conscientious and compassionate guardianship of the people into cruel and oppressive exaction, with pride, ambition, prodigality, and indulgence bearing fruit in cruelty. Driven by a passion for extravagant display, lavish expenditures for the court exceeded even enormous revenues, leading to great burdens imposed through repeated taxation to support luxury. The result was murmuring and complaint, as the respect and admiration the people once held turned into disaffection and abhorrence. Building a house for God is a privilege requiring cautious movement in faith, deep heart interest, and united action in which all take part, with old and young bringing gifts and showing greater interest than in building their own houses, weighing personal conveniences against poor provision for God's service, refusing to let trying times for means hinder the work, seeking God's blessing, and leaving none behind, for their own good and the glory of God.