In this post, I will unpack our Bible verses of focus to reveal their symbolic meaning. You will be surprised to see that these seemingly unimportant Bible verses have to do with the ministering of holy angels to humanity.

Our Bible verses of focus are: “Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants: and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can [have] skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians.” 1 Kings 5:6. “So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees according to all his desire.” 1 Kings 5:10.

(Note that “1 Kings 5:6” is a reference to the Bible, which is a collection of books. In the Bible, each book consists of one or more chapters, and each chapter has numbered sections called verses. The quotation above referred to as “1 Kings 5:6” is taken from the book of 1 Kings in the Bible, the 5^th chapter, and the 6^th verse.)

The Literal Meaning

Of course, the Bible verses under consideration have a literal meaning. What is it? To find out let us read the Bible account regarding king Solomon of ancient Israel, who was the son of king David of Israel.

“And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of [in place of] his father: for Hiram was ever a lover of David.” 1 Kings 5:1.

“And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying, Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house unto the name of the LORD his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until the LORD put them under the soles of his feet. But now the LORD my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent [present].” 1 Kings 5:2-4.

“And, behold, I purpose to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room [place], he shall build an house unto my name. Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants: and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can [have] skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians.” 1 Kings 5:5, 6.

“And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed be the LORD this day, which hath given unto David a wise son over this great people. And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things which thou sentest to me for: and I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir.” 1 Kings 5:7, 8.

“My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon unto the sea: and I will convey them by sea in floats [rafts] unto the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be discharged there, and thou shalt receive them: and thou shalt accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household. So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees according to all his desire.” 1 Kings 5:9, 10.

So, we see that the literal meaning of the Bible story from which our Bible verses of focus are taken relates to the acquisition of timber by king Solomon from Hiram, king of Tyre, to build the house of God, the Temple.

The Symbolic Meaning

Christ, when He was on earth, “said…The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.” Luke 10:2.

What Christ meant was that there were many people, many souls, ready to be gathered into the kingdom of God as a great harvest, but there were few disciples of Christ to work for these people’s conversion to Christ.

In view of this, we can consider our Bible verses, 1 Kings 5:6 and 1 Kings 5:10, to symbolically be a prayer to God from a disciple of Christ, a Christian, for God’s help in raising up labourers to work in His harvest.

God’s Commands

The beginning of the prayer is: “Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon…” 1 Kings 5:6. This is a petition from the disciple of Christ to God, asking God to command the angels to raise up new disciples of Christ.

How do we come to this conclusion? It is of note that God commands the Christian to “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.” 2 Timothy 4:2. That is, the Christian is to preach from God’s word, the Bible, to his fellow human beings.

The Christian then is a part of God’s army working against Satan and his “evil angels” (Psalm 78:49) to convert persons to Christ and, hence, save them from eternal death. But there is another part of God’s army, “the elect angels” (1 Timothy 5:21), who are the holy angels. For God says of the holy angels, “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” Hebrews 1:14.

No human being can command the holy angels to work, only God can, hence the prayer of the Christian to God.

So, what is meant by “cedar trees”? 1 Kings 5:6. God says, “The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.” Psalm 92:12. Cedar trees then represent the righteous among humanity. Therefore, to “hew me cedar trees” (1 Kings 5:6) means that angels work with the Christian in the Christian’s efforts to win souls to Christ.

My Servants and Your Servants

Next in the prayer of the Christian is the statement: “And my servants shall be with thy servants.” 1 Kings 5:6.

Consider what a Christian leader named Paul wrote: “Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus.” Romans 16:3. “Whether any do enquire of Titus, he is my partner and fellowhelper concerning you: or our brethren be enquired of, they are the messengers of the churches, and the glory of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 8:23.

These persons were Paul’s helpers, or figuratively speaking, his servants, in the work of God. Now in the prayer to God, the holy angels are referred as the servants of God. Thus, the Christian and his fellow workers, his servants, cooperate with the holy angels, the servants of God, in the work of God.

Speaking of the holy angels, God says, “Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening [being obedient] unto the voice of his word. Bless ye the LORD, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.” Psalm 103:20, 21.

Hire

Next in the prayer is the statement: “And unto thee will I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint.” 1 Kings 5:6. Here the Christian promises to give God hire, that is, wages, for the help of the holy angels.

The Bible makes it clear that as human beings we cannot give God payment for anything. Why? The reason is that “The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD [God] of hosts.” Haggai 2:8. “The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” Psalm 24:1. God owns everything and humanity are merely stewards of God’s property.

What then does the prayer mean? God says, “Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High [God].” Psalm 50:14. A vow can be “freewill offerings” (Leviticus 22:18) of money donated to the cause of God on earth, but it also refers to consecration of the Christian to God. It is this wholehearted consecration to God that the Christian promises to give to God as hire, that is, as wages, for the help of holy angels.

Thus, God says to all humanity, “Choose you this day whom ye will serve.” Joshua 24:15. We can choose to serve God or Satan. There is no middle ground, either we serve one or the other.

Now “The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.” Psalm 34:7. Those who fear God have reverence and awe for Him and they consider all God’s counsel to be right. “The Lord [God] gave the word: great was the company of those that published it.” Psalm 68:11.

We see then that God especially appoints angels to help those who have consecrated themselves to God to serve Him. Such persons need protection from God from Satan’s unsleeping malice.

God Knows

In the prayer, the next statement is: “For thou knowest.” 1 Kings 5:6. There is much meaning in these few words as it relates to God.

“Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.” Psalm 147:5. “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” Romans 11:33.

“Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.” Hebrews 4:13. We see then that God is all-knowing, in other words, God is omniscient.

Humanity: Winning Souls to Christ

In the prayer, the next statement is: “There is not among us any that can [have] skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians.” 1 Kings 5:6.

As human beings, God says, I should pray, “that utterance [words] may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel.” Ephesians 6:19.

The gospel is God’s plan for saving humanity from eternal death for their evil and wrongdoing, for their sins. But we human beings cannot read the hearts of persons and so we do not have the wisdom to know what words to speak that will convert persons to Christ.

Moreover, as human beings, we also need to be “praying…that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ.” Colossians 4:3. This door of utterance is the opportunity that God gives the Christian to come in contact with persons with hearts receptive to the gospel. Such persons will hear and be converted.

Human beings then are entirely dependent on God for the success of their work to convert souls to Christ. They do not have the skill to win souls that angels have. Figuratively, in all humanity, “There is not among us any that can [have] skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians” (1 Kings 5:6), like the holy angels.

Holy Angels: Winning Souls to Christ

Christ called Satan “the prince of this world.” John 12:31. Thus, Satan and his evil angels are all known as “princes” or demons.

Now let us look at the case of a man named Daniel who prayed and fasted and God sent an angel to Daniel in answer to his prayer. The angel said to him, “Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince [demon] of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael [Christ], one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.” Daniel 10:12, 13.

“Then said he…now will I return to fight with the prince [demon] of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince [demon] of Grecia [Greece] shall come.” Daniel 10:20.

The battle between Christ and Satan is a battle for the minds of all humanity. God’s desire is that all people will choose to walk in His ways of righteousness instead of Satan’s ways of wickedness. So, God says to mankind, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 2:5.

Thus, the angel was in a warfare with a demon, “the prince of the kingdom of Persia” (Daniel 10:13) in an effort to turn the mind of the king of Persia to doing God’s will just like Christ does.

This shows that holy angels are far superior to human beings in winning souls to Christ because of their greater skill. God did not need human beings to work in His cause on earth, but He chose to use people “for their [own] good.” Jeremiah 24:5.

God Answers the Prayer

God’s answer to the Christian’s prayer is given as: “So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees according to all his desire.” 1 Kings 5:10.

Such then will always be God’s answer to the prayer and faithful work of the consecrated Christian: “The Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” Acts 2:47. “And believers [in God] were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.” Acts 5:14. The Christian will be rewarded by God with a bountiful harvest of souls for their prayers and their efforts.

Conclusion

As we have seen, the literal meaning of our Bible verses of focus, 1 Kings 5:6 and 1 Kings 5:10, is that king Solomon is asking Hiram, the king of Tyre, for his help in providing timber to build the house of God, the Temple. In response, Hiram sends an abundant supply of timber to Solomon.

Symbolically though, the Bible verse, 1 Kings 5:6, represents a prayer from a Christian to God. It is a prayer that God would command his holy angels to work for the saving from eternal death of those persons whom the Christian seeks to win to Christ. The Bible verse, 1 Kings 5:10, represents God’s answer to the prayer.

The answer is favourable as God sends His holy angels to work with the Christian. As a result, the Christian reaps a great harvest of souls as a reward for the Christian’s prayers and efforts.

How This Blog Teaches Bible Study

My blog posts take one or more Bible verses and unpack what is often the hidden meaning in them, to help you to gain in your understanding of the Bible, and to receive insights into how to study it. For God says, “Study [the Bible] to shew [show] thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing [interpreting] the word of truth [the Bible].” 2 Timothy 2:15. There are new blog posts every two weeks on a Monday at 12:01 a.m. in timezone UTC-5 (GMT-5).

Further Reading

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