Rise and Glory
It was the year 2928 since the creation of the world (832 Before the Common Era). The air of the hills of southern Lebanon was sweet with the scent of the regal cedar trees. The summer birds were flitting about chirping their dusk songs. It was late afternoon of an early summer day and the roayl palace was all astir. The royal city’s gate trumpeters were blaring, and the palace entrance couriers raced into the central structure of the palace complex.
A high ranking King’s Officer, with a full escort of well armed guards, has arrived from the Holy City of The Sons of Israel far to the south at a full gallop.
The court protocol officer runs into the throne room bows deeply and in panting breath announces, "Your Majesty the Royal Highness, master of the hills of Cedars and shining sun and protector of your nation, the captain of the guard of King David has arrived with an urgent message for your Exalted Royal Highness! He wishes to relay his message even before a rest from the long ride."
"Let him in and bring refreshments for him immediately. See to the needs of his troops and steeds. Serin, bring the prince's chair here before me for the captain of my precious friend King David."
The tall burly captain, covered with the dust of the roads and obviously exhausted from the long yet hurried ride, entered accompanied by two of his men and a royal escort of the King of Lebanon.
"Your regal being, the honored and majestic King Hi…"
"Oh, come on, you of all people, the captain and personal friend of my dearest friend King David may dispense with the extra honorifics and glorious titles please. Rest your tired bones and muscles in the seat we set here for you, take a few breaths from your ride and a drink of water, and relay what you need to say. Tell me, Avner is my old friend your king well? Was your ride without any troubles on the way?"
"Thank you for your graciousness your highness. Blessed God sped and guarded our way. Yet I am verily grieved to tell that his majesty our beloved King David has returned his high holy soul to its creator and master and passed from this world to the world of eternal life and left us here bereft of his righteous glory."
"Oh great God in Heaven! ’How are the mighty fallen.' What a hard grievous tiding indeed. The sun has set in midday. Indridar go send criers throughout the city and to all of our major towns to announce a fortnight of mourning for my late revered and beloved friend the Holy King David.
"Ragi when we have finished our discussion, bring me a quill, ink and parchment. I wish to personally write a letter of condolences to the queen and his successor.
"Tell me dear Avner, was it of illness, age, or God forbid an untimely …."
"Your majesty, our king of blessed and holy memory returned his pure soul to his maker The Holy Creator of all, in peace on his own bed in the royal palace due to his old age alone."
"Ah, that at least is a bit of comfort. Who has succeeded him, that young genius Solomon? Ah here is your refreshment, eat drink, my young friend. The fruits are from the royal garden."
"Your Royal Highness, yes the new king is Solomon, and I saw to leaving a triple guard for him before I left."
"Ah that is good and wise that you did so. I am sure that the world will benefit by him being the new king of your people. Tell me how is the queen mother Batsheva taking this sorrowful event?"
"Aside from the first day she cries only in the privacy of her chambers. But even so the tear stains were visible on her face the entire week of the "shivah" mourning, and the sorrow is still obvious in her face, though she did maintain her regal commanding stand, may God bless and console her."
"A woman of valor indeed.
"Good captain, now you and your men go wash and rest in our guest quarters for a few days before returning home. Any foods which you desire just ask and it will be prepared for you. I know that the meat will have to be slaughtered by one of your own men should you want any. Be not bashful to ask. Upon your return home you may tell King Solomon that I King Hiram pledge to him my allegiance and friendship as I was with his illustrious father. Also God willing I will come to visit him in the near future.
"Farid"
"Yes your Royal Highness"
"See to all the needs of the captain and his men. Their comfort care and wellbeing are your total responsibility."
“Yes sir your royal highness, immediately!”
"Good day my young respected friend. We will meet again before you leave for back home. Maybe we will even travel together."
Nine days later an entourage of over 150 men on horseback, comprised of Avner Captain of the Israelite King’s Guard with his twenty eight guardsmen and King Hiram with his Royal Guard, riding up the road from the central lowlands of the Holy Land approaches the final rise before the main crest and stops a moment.
The sun had only recently risen from the east behind the Holy City, the few early morning clouds were dispersing and an eagle came flying past them from the east as if flying to them from the rising sun. The pleasant refreshing odor of the Jerusalem pines and spruce trees wafted to them.
"Behold, your majesty, the Holy City of Jerusalem", announces Avner to King Hiram riding next to him.
"Yes, it is as I recall it from my visits to the late dear King David. With all due respect to my own capitol city, your holy city has something that no other in the world has. It has a glow that is felt in the heart though not seen with one’s physical eyes. Something unseen draws the soul to it."
"Avigdor, gallop before us and go tell King Solomon, may he live a long healthy life, and Queen Batsheva that we have returned and that King Hiram is with us. Shu'ah Layish and Nisim, go with him, and do keep your eyes open for bandits."
"Yes Sir" all four replied as one, and rode off with their horses’ hooves thundering ahead of the entourage, quickly disappearing around a turn in the tree lined hill road.
"Your majesty, that is my prime scout and the second is one of my best swordsmen and an excellent archer as well."
"That one you called Avigdor is quite a horseman. He rides as if he is a part of the horse, and that beast is galloping like a desert windstorm. In a split second he was ahead of the rest a full length."
“Quite so, his father started him on horseback as a tot. Their family has been breeding horses for several generations. God has blessed them with success. All the horses of the royal family and their guard are from his stables. You should see the horse they prepared special for Queen Batsheva. Aside from its graceful appearance, absolute obedience to her slightest signal, and smooth gate to pamper her, it trots and canters without raising dust.”
“Phenomenal; I must meet them and maybe purchase a horse for myself from them while I am here.”
“I will be pleased to bring you to their farm and introduce them to you.”
“Thank you. Well let’s go. I am anxious to give my condolences to the King Solomon and Queen Batsheva and to see what aid I can offer them.”
The ride to the city went uneventful, though on the way they did see evidence that Avigdor and his escort had experienced a brief skirmish with a small band of bandits, much to the bandits’ bad luck. As the regal entourage entered the city the gate trumpeteers gave call with a regal heralding. The populace came out to greet the entourage as it rode through the city to the palace complex, children ran to the side of Avner cheering and singing to him.
“Ah my young friend” commented King Hiram, “you seem quite admired by the children.”
“I don’t know why, must be by merit of our late beloved King David.”
“You are too humble. Recognize your own merit as well.”
His progress having been delayed by the skirmish with bandits, Avigdor the scout and his three men entered the great hall of the palace only twenty minutes before Avner and his entourage. "Our Glory Majestic Highness King Solomon son of our late Exalted King David of blessed and holy memory, the captain has returned and –and our ally King Hiram is with him to visit the King!"
"The Lord bless them both. Yehoshuah, prepare a proper reception for our royal guest, and go tell my mother the queen of their arrival. Also have the bath house prepared for them to refresh themselves from the long ride."
“Yes your highness.”
When King Hiram arrived to the Great Hall, Queen Batsheva was already seated next to King Solomon. While traces of grief were still evident on her beautiful face her stance and bearing were regal as ever.
“Young King Solomon, I profess my deepest grief and present my heartfelt condolences to you over the demise of your illustrious holy father. As well I pledge before you my total allegiance and friendship as with your holy exalted late father King David. Your friends are my friends and your enemies, there should be none, are mine. Should you ever need anything that I can help you need only ask. Though I pray that you never need it, my army is at your disposal.”
Turning to the queen mother, "Your Royal Highness Queen of my great late friend, I share your sorrow deep in my heart. I believe that only you and young King Solomon know grief greater than mine over the demise of King David. I give you my condolences and bless that the Lord Creator soothe your heart and soul and that you may know only joy from now on. May you live to see your regal son the new king reign in glory and surety for many years, as did his exalted father.
“Thank you, precious friend of my late husband. May you too live long and well and too have fulfilling joy from your children.”
Then King Solomon replied, "Thank you precious comrade friend and ally King Hiram. May the blessed Lord Creator grant you peace and a long happy and healthy life."
"I have brought with me gifts for the royal family. They include forty arms lengths of fine silks from the Far East, ten farmers’ basket loads of true cinnamon from south India, and five litras of pure tkheilet dye."
"Five litras of pure tkheilet dye and forty arms lengths of fine silks? I am not overly knowledgeable of prices of commodities, but that alone sounds like a small fortune. My dear King Hiram you are too generous."
"Yet still a modest gift for the son and wife of my late friend."
“I thank you greatly for me and my mother. Enough chatter. Let us go to the dining hall. You and your men, as well as my captain Avner with our men, have been eating trail meals for over a week. I trust you would welcome a decent indoor well set dinner. Come walk beside me to the dining hall."
The hard stone floor dining hall of the palace was softened with the finest carpets and the walls decorated with colorful fabric and tapestries. The wooden tables covered with light colored cloths were filled with sumptuous meals and fine delicacies and the servants awaiting every call. King Solomon sat at the head table with the Queen Mother Batsheva to his right and King Hiram to his left.
King Hiram turned to his host and asked, “My honored royal friend, I am not complaining - I merely ask from curiosity - I recall that when we dined with your late father he always had musicians playing gently at the side. Why today you do not?”
“Well asked dear King Hiram. It is a rule with our people that during the mourning period on a parent, or spouse, we do not hear music. In fact, were it not for your royal visit, both the queen mother and I would not be eating in such a festive gathering.”
“I understand. My apologies, I good custom indeed and well worth adopting.
"I am pleased to see that you give proper respect to your mother, young king. This will merit you with a long safe life. You should know that it is in the merit of your late holy father that I and my household observe all the seven Noahhide laws and am not an idolater. As we sit here together at this repast I again pledge to be with you shoulder to shoulder as I was with your late exalted holy father."
Two hours later with the meal completed, the queen mother gone to her chambers and most of the men of both kings gone to rest, "Ah young Solomon, you know how to arrange a festive meal as did your father, God bless you."
"Thank you my precious ally and friend. Now that we have finished the meal, the tables have been cleared and we have all said our after meal blessings, there is something I wish to show you.
"Huna bring me the plans please.
"You know we have the Holy Tabernacle with its appointments."
"Yes several times I sent or brought myself sacrifices to it."
"My late father of blessed and holy memory wished to build a permanent stone building for the Holy Presence."
"Yes he had mentioned that once to me. But nothing seemed to come of it."
"Yes so it was decreed by The Lord."
"Why was he not permitted to?"
"As you know, aside from being a master of prayer and a poet par excellence, he was a warrior."
"And a formidable one at that too. Who in the world does not know that? Not only by sword and spear. I myself saw him do battle on two occasions by reciting some verses and waves his right hand. The result of that being, hundreds of cavalry falling off their horses dead on the ground and the horses running off in absolute panic. Calling him a warrior is an understatement. I have never seen anything like that in my life. Truly a warrior of The Lord God."
"Yes as you say our dear friend. Yet for that very reason of being a man of blood, God did not permit him to fulfill his dream of building the Holy Temple, the permanent home for the residence of the Shekhina – The Divine Presence - in this world. However HE did reveal to my late father the location on which it should be built."
With those words King Solomon opened the packet and spread the large parchments on the cleared and cleaned table. "These here are the plans for the entire structure."
"Looks like an impressive and complex edifice. Explain to me what each area is for please."
After describing the measurements and functions of the various sections King Solomon said to King Hiram, "Come let us go see the location together." With that they rose and left the dining hall.
As they walked to the chosen location, several people came to ask permission to receive blessings from King Solomon and to kiss his hand. A matter which King Hiram noticed and was quite impressed by.
They walked together surrounded by their guards to an open area not far from the palace. "Here, you see this boulder; this is called "Even Hashtiyah-the foundation rock". It is the key of the entire planet. The bounty from heaven descends to this rock and branches off to the rest of the world from here. The building complex which you saw in the plans and the model, will with God's help, be constructed around this boulder."
"My dear young friend King, you need not ask even ask. I hereby pledge to send to prime straight cedar and cypress logs for all the wood you need for the building, four thousand kilograms of pure gold, and as many lumber laborers as needed, all at my expense. That of course includes the transportation from my land to this location here."
"Thank you, I had intended to pay you well for all, and so I will send to you twenty thousand kurs of wheat and twenty kurs of olive oil yearly. May your taking part in this building grant you even more favor in the eyes of whom it is most and truly important, The Lord God Creator, amen."
“Amen”
The following day Avner took King Hiram to the famed horse farm. The king thoroughly impressed, bought one of their finest steeds.
“How do they do it? Breed such magnificent animals? I must send my stable master here to learn.”
Three days later King Hiram and his entourage went back north to Lebanon. King Solomon provided an honor escort till the border.
Back in Lebanon King Hiram often took time to personally oversee the choosing, cutting, preparing and delivery to the sea of the great straight and aromatic cedar and cypress logs. His lumberjacks made great rafts that were floated, escorted by ships of the King's navy to the port city of Yafo. From Yafo they were transported on oxen drawn wagons to Jerusalem. The artisans and other materials went by ship.
Yafo port was lively, busy with passenger as well as trade ships and fishing boats. The air was full of seagulls swooping around the fishing boats and a few seeking some tidbits at other ships as well. Their sharp cries and squawks mixed with shouted commands of ship captains and bosons, along with voices of the traders and fishmongers.
After the rafts were taken apart and the logs pulled onto shore, and all was offloaded from the ships, King Hiram's son sat on a horse with regally decorated saddle and bridle at the head of a long train of thousands of laborers, horse drawn wagons of supplies for the laborers, and oxen drawn wagons carried the logs. As they left the Yafo port they were escorted by a troop of King Solomon's army. It was truly an impressive sight.
At the gates of Yafo city one gate keeper asked the other, "What is all that?"
"Dense fellow, where have you been hiding? Don't you know? This is King Solomon's train for supplies gifted by King Hiram of Lebanon for the building of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.”