Exposition:

As a result of his determination to build the temple for the LORD, King Solomon selects and sets aside 70,000 men as carriers and 80,000 as stonecutters in the hills and 3,600 as foremen over them. These were going to be the workforce for the building of the temple. I believe that in choosing these men, Solomon as wise as he was, might have adopted a very systematic process to get men with the required skills and competence for this task. This becomes more apparent in the verses 3 to 17 of our first reading, where we see Solomon requests from Hiram, King of Tyre, for extra hands that will bring additional sets of skills on board. Solomon realized the essence of every skill in completing the task before him. All hands on deck!

Just like Solomon’s workforce, God has called each and every one of us into His ministry and service in one way or the other. Knowing this, we have a responsibility to ensure that we use the skills we have been endowed with to contribute effectively to the kingdom work. The Apostle Paul explains this with the metaphor of the human body and its parts in Romans 12:4-5 (NLT). “Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.”

In what ways are you willing to contribute to the kingdom work? What kind of skills do you possess that could contribute to this? Definitely, there is something you have. Let us all come on board to build a Church that is capable of possessing the nations for the Lord. In the days ahead, we shall be dedicating some time to looking at some of the ministry space we can carve for ourselves in the Church and how that can contribute to the overall growth of God’s Church. It is my prayer that through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you will be led to do more for the Lord.