{"id":2040,"date":"2014-08-24T12:25:46","date_gmt":"2014-08-24T12:25:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/?p=2040"},"modified":"2014-08-24T12:25:46","modified_gmt":"2014-08-24T12:25:46","slug":"good-king-hiram-the-pagan-who-helped-build-the-temple","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/good-king-hiram-the-pagan-who-helped-build-the-temple\/","title":{"rendered":"Good King Hiram: The Pagan Who Helped Build the Temple"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Tom Brennan
\n\"TEMPLE\"<\/a>
\nTo the north of Israel lies Lebanon, ancient Phoenicia. In David\u2019s time the Phoenicians were renowned merchants, sailors and explorers, true masters of the waves. These adventurous and savvy traders are rumored to have reached even North America and left behind Ogham language inscriptions on rocks and boulders. When David ascended the throne after the civil war, the King of Tyre\/ Phoenicia recognized that David was the best man to deal with after Saul. He made a treaty with him and a mutually beneficial friendship with what looked like a very stable kingdom to his south was secured. King Hiram knew that peace is good for commerce.<\/p>\n

The Almighty listed the things which the Temple would have and how it would be decorated. The interpretation was seen through Phoenician eyes. The uses of ivory, gold, rich embroidery, the huge bronze pillars, were seen through the art and imagery of humans. The Israelites had not developed a unique cultural style at this time and later strict interpretations of the prohibitions against graven images and the Temple- centered society have left much to the imagination. Murals and decorative items that have been excavated tend to follow the dominant Phoenician style. Their image of cherubim seems to dominate although the sphinx and Babylonian and Assyrian cherubim have definite national cultural features and similarities.<\/p>\n

The cherubim are a puzzle to some. We are commanded to make no graven image, but cherubim seem to be just that. The best explanation might be that in His instructions given for the Ark of the Covenant, the Mercy Seat has two cherubim with wings in an obedient stance mounted on the top. The cherubim are representations of angels, bowing in obedience and worshiping the presence of the Almighty. Since the craftsmen who constructed the Ark were commanded to place the golden figures on it, they are excluded from being graven images that would become idols. The furnishings of the Temple were already available in form and design from the days of the Tabernacle. The metals used were available from Phoenician craftsmen and the Israelites who worked with them.<\/p>\n

By the time that Solomon, a diplomat and statesman but not a man with blood on his hands, becomes king, the friendship with Hiram proves even more beneficial. Hiram is glad to make a treaty with Solomon. This secures his southern border against possible Egyptian invasions. It also engages commerce since Solomon is becoming an excellent consumer and trader in many goods. First and foremost the Phoenicians were merchants and many dealt in luxury goods. Solomon\u2019s growing wealth was one of the positive results of his organizational skills: David made war and a kingdom, Solomon made money.<\/p>\n

There is a downside to this friendship. The acceptance and inclusion of Baal in the life of Israel is a factor in the over reach of Solomon. With any cultural exchanges some unwelcome elements come in through the back door. Solomon fit the description of what the Israelites wanted as a king: a rich, capable man able to demand the respect of the older empires that bordered the kingdom. Egypt, their ancient nemesis was a this time thousands of years old with legions of dead Pharaohs, and to the north kingdoms with roots in Ur and other ancient nations already considered them to be peers. It was a heady experience for the upstarts. From herdsmen and farmers governed by Judges to a rich and mighty kingdom was quite a promotion.<\/p>\n

One of the customs of kings and emperors was the harem. A wife of an ally was a part of any treaty or alliance and Solomon gladly went along with it. The Almighty has never sanctioned polygamy yet He seems to let some Biblical figures engage in it. Usually the results are very negative. Abraham and Hagar resulted in the troublesome Ishmaelites. David and Bathsheba were a pair after David and Mikal and Abigail. Solomon made treaties and took wives and concubines. For the wives he built temples so they could worship their gods. To show respect for Hiram he allowed the imported craftsmen and traders to bring theirs too.<\/p>\n

The finished Temple was a unique structure, a temple dedicated to the G-d of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, its design essentially set by the Almighty as His place with His people, funded by a warrior king and built by pagans. We often are puzzled by the many seemingly contradictory things in the Bible, but a deeper reading can open many doors of understanding.<\/p>\n

Phoenicia became today\u2019s Lebanon. Until the late 20th century Lebanon was the Near East\u2019s only Christian nation. Muslim uprisings and revolutions changed that nation into what it is today, a nation hostile to Israel\u2019s existence. So much of Israel\u2019s past is still beneath the surface. As excavations continue we will learn more about the complexities of Solomon\u2019s kingdom and perhaps yearn for the days of the Judges. Time can only tell.<\/p>\n

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By Tom Brennan To the north of Israel lies Lebanon, ancient Phoenicia. In David\u2019s time the Phoenicians were renowned merchants, sailors and explorers, true masters of the waves. These adventurous and savvy traders are rumored to have reached even North America and left behind Ogham language inscriptions on rocks and boulders. When David ascended the more \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2041,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2040","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-biblical-spiritual","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2040","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2040"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2040\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2042,"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2040\/revisions\/2042"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}