Cedars of Lebanon

“And so I [Solomon] intend to build a house for the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD said to David my father, 'Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, shall build the house for my name.' 6 Now therefore command that cedars of Lebanon be cut for me…”
ESV 1 Kings 5:5-6

At the death of King David, Solomon (his son) begins the task of building a sanctuary for the Lord. The time seems right; God has granted Solomon a time of peace on all fronts and the Bible tells us that the nation was dealing with “neither adversary nor misfortune.” Times were good and the door for a building project was wide open.

So Solomon announces his building project and makes plans to hew timbers from the “cedars of Lebanon” for the project. Now, the cedars of Lebanon are mentioned several times in the Bible and each reference alludes to their majesty. Quite simply, these trees must have produced the choicest timbers in the world. For Solomon, only the best would suffice for his Lord’s house. These choice timbers, properly selected, hewn and set, would be the backbone of God’s house. And truly, scripture bears witness to the Temple’s final grandeur.

But the “church” is more than a building. In the broadest sense of the word, the church includes everyone who worships the One True God of the Bible. And according the Acts 1:8, the church “will be my [Christ’s] witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Now, in order to carry out this charge, the church must be in a continual, ongoing building mode.

To support this never ending building program, the church must continually raise, nurture, harvest and hew choice timbers and set them in their proper place in God’s church for the task of being Christ’s witness in all of the earth. Of course, I’m talking about people now. Those people called by God to teach and preach His word. And not just at home, but throughout our nation and our world.

Unlike the timely example of Solomon’s building project, the timing hardly ever seems right when it comes to sending out friends or family members to be witnesses for Christ. The objections and reasons for hesitation flow freely at such times. But those people called by God for the task, somehow always seem to muster the faith and determination to answer the call – the call to be choice cedars of Lebanon – and gladly accept their role and take their place as Christ’s witness in God’s true church.

How’s your church doing? Are you raising folks up, sending them out and supporting them in their calling?

Ken worships at Tharptown Baptist Church in Russellville where he leads an adult Bible study. Comments are welcome and may be sent to kenaskew@charter.net.