Hiram, a Master Craftsman
First Kings 7:13-14 and Second Chronicles 4:11
Hiram, a master craftsman DIG: Who was Hiram? Why was he an ideal worker for this project? Who else does he sound like in the Bible? What does that say about the Ruach Ha’Kodesh?
REFLECT: What is your spiritual gift? How are you currently using it? How do you feel when exercising your gift? Has God given you any “heavenly assignments lately? Are you willing?
Solomon sent for Hiram and brought him from Tyre.
The people of Tyre were famous for their skill in working with metal. The most famous of them all was Hiram – not the king, but a different man of the same name. Strangely enough, although Hiram was from Tyre, his mother was Jewish. He was the son of a widow who was of the daughters of Dan (Second Chronicles 2:13), but her deceased first husband was from the tribe of Naftali, but he had remarried and his father-in-law was from Tyre. This detail may have been provided to reassure us that Hiram was not simply a Gentile with no Israelite roots. The fact that his mother was a widow, indeed, leaves open the possibility that he was a child of her first marriage, and therefore completely Jewish. But the most important thing to know about him is not his ethnic background, or his family connection to the people of God, but his gift as a master craftsman who designed the furniture in Solomon’s Temple. Solomon sent for Hiram and brought him from Tyre.133
He was a bronze-worker filled with wisdom, understanding and skill for all kinds of bronze craftsmanship. Second Chronicles 2:14 adds that he was likewise skilled in working with gold, silver, iron, wood and various dyes of fine linen. He came to King Solomon and did all his bronze work (First Kings 7:13-14). Notice that Solomon not only utilized the finest materials, but he also spared no expense in hiring the finest workmen, and Hiram’s craftsmanship was a God-given talent.134
The language that First Kings uses to describe his artistic gift is virtually identical to the language Exodus uses to describe two other famous artisans: Bezalel and Oholiab, who were the leading architects and interior designers for the Tabernacle that Moses built in the wilderness. Bezalel and Oholiab were filled with the Spirit of God, with the ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft (Exodus 31:3-5). The author wanted his readers to know that a man of similar skill was now on the job.
Hiram made a bronze altar thirty feet square and fifteen feet high (Second Chronicles 4:11). As you approached the Temple from the east, you came to the entrance to the courtyard of the priests. It was to this entrance, at the Nicanor Gate, that the people brought their sacrifices and offerings to be presented to the LORD. On the right, toward the north, stood the bronze altar, where the fire was kept burning and the priests offered the sacrifices (First Kings 8:64 and 9:25; Exodus 27:1-8).135 As the population of the nation grew, so did the size of the bronze altar. In the Tabernacle, the bronze altar was only seven-and-a-half feet square and four-and-a-half-feet high (Exodus 27:1). But the time Herod’s Temple was built the bronze altar had grown to an incredible fifty-two-and-a-half feet square and sixteen-and-a-half feet high. This was necessary because of the sheer volume of sacrifices and offerings being made daily by the whole nation.
Dear Heavenly Father, Wow! The bronze altar of sacrifice was thirty feet square – the size of some homes! When planning the layout of a building – if something is important – it is given much space. You guided Solomon in the Temple design. You placed much emphasis on being clean from sins by making the altar so huge. People could smell the burning of the sacrificial animals in the Temple Court. It would have left a big impression on the mind as to how awful sin is and that only thru the shedding of blood could it be forgiven. It clearly showed that no one may approach a holy God without their sins covered by a sacrifice. He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, so that it will be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf (Leviticus 1:4).
Too often today, people do not respect Your Holiness and Almighty power. They think they can talk to You as if You are just one of us. They forget how powerful You are and that You are King of Kings (Revelation 19:16). Your ways are so far above our thoughts and understandings (Isaiah 55:9). You are perfectly Holy, All-knowing, All-Wise and an All-Caring God! I bow in wonder and in awe of You!
How grateful we are that You choose to make Yourself the lamb of sacrifice to take the punishment for our sins. The next day, John sees Yeshua coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29)! What great love You have to give me Yeshua’s righteousness so that I could come to live with You in Your holy home in heaven! He made the One who knew no sin to become a sin offering on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (Second Corinthians 5:21). I love You and delight to follow and obey You. In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen
Whenever it was time to build a house for God, be it the Tabernacle or the Temple, ADONAI gave certain people the gift and calling to do the job. Today, the Ruach Ha’Kodesh gives each believer at least one spiritual gift when we are saved. Usually it ends up being one strong gift and a lesser secondary gift (see the commentary on First Corinthians, to see link click Ci – The Source and Purpose of Spiritual Gifts). You know you are operating within the giftedness of the Spirit by the joy it brings you and the fruit it produces.
Hiram fulfilled his God-given calling as an artist by making beautiful furniture for Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem. We do not know enough about him to be certain whether he had saving faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But what we do know is that everything Hiram made testified to the goodness of ADONAI and can help us understand how the Spirit of God wants to furnish our souls with His grace.136
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