CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.—
1 Kings 9:10. At the end of twenty years—Seven and a-half years spent in erecting temple, twelve and a-half upon his own house. This verse takes up again the suspended narrative (1 Kings 9:1, supra). After Solomon, with the aid of Hiram, had completed his work, the king gave Hiram twenty cities, &c.
1 Kings 9:11. Cities in the land of Galilee—Adjacent to Tyre (Josephus), until then unconquered, and occupied by the Canaanites.
1 Kings 9:12-13. They pleased him not … he called them Cabul—Gesenius regards Cabul as a name of contempt; Keil considers the word to be a contraction from כְּהַבּוּל as a vacuity, a desolate region.
HOMILETICS OF 1 Kings 9:10-14
QUESTIONABLE GENEROSITY
I. It is questionable generosity when a gift is tardily rendered. “And it came to pass at the end of twenty years—that then King Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities”—one city for every year of building. The charm of generosity is its promptness. That is well done that is done quickly. To give slowly is to give grudgingly. The Arabians are said to be remarkably lavish in their generosity. Gibbon relates that a dispute had arisen who, among the citizens of Mecca, was entitled to the prize of generosity, and a successive application was made to the three who were deemed most worthy of the trial. Abdallah, the son of Abbas, had undertaken a distant journey, and his foot was in the stirrup when he heard the voice of a suppliant, “O son of the uncle of the Apostle of God, I am a traveller, and in distress!” He instantly dismounted to present the pilgrim with his camel, her rich caparison, and a purse of four thousand pieces of gold, excepting only the sword, either for its intrinsic value, or as the gift of an honoured kinsman. The servant of Kais informed the second suppliant that his master was asleep; but he immediately added, “Here is a purse of seven thousand pieces of gold—it is all we have in the house—and here is an order that will entitle you to a camel and a slave.” The master, as soon as he awoke, praised and enfranchised his faithful steward, with a gentle reproof that by respecting his slumbers he had stinted his bounty. The third of these heroes, the blind Arabah, at the hour of prayer, was supporting his steps on the shoulders of two slaves—“Alas!” he replied, “My coffers are empty; but these you may sell: if you refuse, I renounce them.” At these words, pushing away the youthful slaves, he groped along the wall with his staff. There is a generosity that is questionable in its excess; when it surpasses the limits of discretion. A true generosity is regulated by justice.
II. It is questionable generosity where the right of disposal is doubtful. According to the law, Solomon had no right to give away these cities, or any part of the inheritance of Israel (Leviticus 25:23). But this was not the first nor last instance in which this great king stepped aside from the law of Moses. Already, contrary to the express commands of the law, he had multiplied horses and chariots. In the case before ns the appearance of transgression is somewhat modified when we remember that these cities, when given to Hiram, were not peopled by Israelites, but by heathens. Solomon may have regarded it as a prudent policy to hand over the government of these heathen cities, which were evidently of no great worth, to his friendly neighbour who had rendered him so much service in building the Lord’s house. It is worse than a questionable generosity, it is a positive injustice, for a man to give away in charity what ought to be paid in discharge of his just debts. It is easy for a man to be lavish with money that is not his own, but which in all fairness belongs to his creditors. It is the impulse of benevolence blinding the sense of justice.
III. It is questionable generosity where the gift creates disappointment rather than pleasure. “And Hiram came out of Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him; and they pleased him not” (1 Kings 9:12). It is not always that a generous spirit meets with the appreciation and gratitude it merits; but it strives so to administer its gifts as to meet the wants and promote the happiness of the recipient. There is a way of bestowing benefits in which the giver makes himself appear as the obliged party. On the other hand, a gift may be so inadequate in comparison with the resources of the donor and the merits of the recipient as to produce chagrin and displeasure. Hiram might naturally have coveted some of Solomon’s coast towns—perhaps had cast his eyes on the noble bay of Acco or Ptolemais—and was therefore dissatisfied with the gift of a comparatively useless inland region. It would be well for us to have as light an esteem of all things temporal as Hiram had of these twenty cities!
IV. An act of questionable generosity need not interfere with a long-tried friendship. “And Hiram sent to the king six score talents of gold” (1 Kings 9:14). Apparently to show that, although disappointed, he was rob offended. The sum sent was very large—above a million and a quarter of on money, according to Mr. Poole’s estimate of the weight of the Hebrew gold talent, or about £720,000 according to the estimate preferred by Mr. S. Clarke. At any rate, it was more than equal to a sixth part of Solomon’s regular revenue (chap. 1 Kings 10:14). The cities despised by Hiram were restored to Solomon, who rebuilt and colonized them with Israelities (2 Chronicles 8:2). No doubt Solomon compensated Hiram in some other way. Their friendship was not sacrificed by what might have been thought an act of parsimoniousness on the one hand, or an act of ungrateful contemptuousness on the other. In the dearest friendships, anomalies will occur which are difficult to reconcile. The conduct of a friend may seem questionable and blameworthy. Then is the time to exercise patience and forbearance, to put the best construction on the most unfavourable appearances, and wait calmly the issue of events. Many a valuable friendship has been wrecked by a single injudicious act; and a wound inflicted which has rankled in the heart for years. It is a bitter experience when the soul realizes for the first time the heartless infidelity of a long trusted friend!
Is all the counsel that we two have shared,
The sisters’ vows, the hours that we have spent
When we have chid the hasty-footed time
For parting us—O! is all forgot?
All school-days’ friendship, childhood innocence?
—And will you rend our ancient love asunder
To join with men in scorning your poor friend?
Midsummer Night’s Dream.
LESSONS:—
1. It requires great wisdom to be truly generous.
2. Generosity is often abused, both in the donor and in the recipient.
3. A genuine friendship is too valuable to be forfeited by trifles.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
1 Kings 9:10. The demeanor of Solomon and Hiram towards each other. I. Friends and neighbours should be of one mind, and mutually ready to help each other. II. Let not him who has kindly aided thee with his substance be long awaiting the proofs of thy gratitude, and render to him more rather than less, even if he need it not. III. Regard not so much the gift which thou receivest, as the disposition of the giver, remembering always, it is more blessed to give than to receive.
1 Kings 9:10. A generous spirit.
1. Is careful in estimating.
2. Liberal in providing.
3. Prompt in giving.
4. Is one of the noblest fruits of Christianity.
1 Kings 9:13. These twenty cities were mere villages, of course, and it is a genuine Eastern trick to dignify a small present with a pompous name. And so the remonstrance of Hiram with Solomon is very natural: “What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother?” and then he fastens upon the gift a name of contempt—Cabul, vile or displeasing—a mode of expressing and of perpetuating dissatisfaction eminently Oriental.—The Land and the Book.
—From the heathen Hiram, many Christians may learn, even where real cause for dissatisfaction and just claims exist, to state the disproportion between gifts and recompenses with friendly words and in a kindly manner.
1 Kings 9:14. Friends who through long years have aided each other must not be estranged, even when one thinks himself injured by the other, but must strive to come to a thorough understanding and agreement.—Lange.