Biblical Forestry

Liz Henderson--Program Team Assistant

Scott Eppler continued his theme of Old Testament Greatest Hits during staff devotions and he shared about an obscure character who cooperated with King Solomon to help build the temple: Hiram King of Tyre (1 Kings 5).  Scott is a trained forester and he really enjoys this passage for a variety of reasons including the fact that it is the longest and most descriptive passage about forestry in the Bible.  

Hiram King of Tyre and King Solomon reached an agreement for the temple building plan, and their men all worked together because Hiram's men were extremely skilled at cutting down the cedars of Lebanon.  In exchange, King Solomon provided them with food.  (It is noteworthy that the men cut the trees and floated them in the sea to transport them, much the same way that only 60 or 70 years ago forestry was done in the Northwoods of Wisconsin by cutting timber and floating it down the Wisconsin River to the mills.)

150,000 men worked together to cut down trees and quarry stones.  It was an enormous undertaking, but they shared a common goal and had a purpose to their work.  In the same way, we here at HoneyRock work to build cabins and cabinets and all kinds of things with a shared vision and goal.  Sometimes we tell stories, laugh, and sing while we are working, and we can't help but wonder if Solomon and Hiram's men did the same.