最近，我丈夫庆祝了生日，因为刚好是整寿（是10的倍数），所以我特别看重。在这之前，我尽心竭力想向他表达尊敬和爱意，多次与孩子们一起讨论，如何为他筹备一个最完美的庆生会。我真心期待这次的生日会，能让他展望未来的十年，也能体会我们对他的敬爱，更希望我们送给他的礼物，能衬托出他生命中这重要的里程碑。

King Solomon wanted to give to God a much greater gift than a “big birthday” would merit. He wished for the temple he built to be worthy of God’s presence in it. To secure raw materials, he messaged the king of Tyre. In his letter, he remarked that the temple would be great “because our God is greater than all other gods” (2 Chron. 2:5). He acknowledged that God’s vastness and goodness far exceeded what could ever be built with human hands, yet set about the task anyway out of love and worship.

所罗门王定意献给上帝更卓越的礼物。他期盼建造出一座圣殿，能配得上帝的同在。他为了要取得最好的木料，差人去见推罗王希兰，并在信中说，他所要建造的将是一座宏伟的圣殿，“因为我们的上帝至大，超乎诸神”（历代志下2章5节）。他深知上帝是至大且慈爱的，超乎人手所建造的殿宇。他建造这殿，完全是出于他对上帝的爱慕和尊崇。

Our God is indeed greater than all other gods. He has done wondrous things in our lives, prompting our hearts to bring Him a loving and precious offering, regardless of its external value. Solomon knew his gift wouldn’t match God’s worth, yet joyfully set his offering before Him; we can too.

我们的上帝超越一切神明，祂在我们的生命中奇妙的作为，促使我们由衷地想为祂献上一份充满爱的珍贵礼物，这礼物并不在于价格高低。所罗门知道他的礼物不足以献给上帝，但他仍欢欣献上，我们也可以像他一样！

Lord, You are indeed a great God, matchless in worth. May my offerings be pleasing in Your sight.

Preparations for Building the Temple

2 [a]Solomon gave orders to build a temple for the Name of the Lord and a royal palace for himself. 2 He conscripted 70,000 men as carriers and 80,000 as stonecutters in the hills and 3,600 as foremen over them.

3 Solomon sent this message to Hiram[b] king of Tyre:

“Send me cedar logs as you did for my father David when you sent him cedar to build a palace to live in. 4 Now I am about to build a temple for the Name of the Lord my God and to dedicate it to him for burning fragrant incense before him, for setting out the consecrated bread regularly, and for making burnt offerings every morning and evening and on the Sabbaths, at the New Moons and at the appointed festivals of the Lord our God. This is a lasting ordinance for Israel.

5 “The temple I am going to build will be great, because our God is greater than all other gods. 6 But who is able to build a temple for him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain him?Who then am I to build a temple for him, except as a place to burn sacrifices before him?

7 “Send me, therefore, a man skilled to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, and in purple, crimson and blue yarn, and experienced in the art of engraving, to work in Judah and Jerusalem with my skilled workers, whom my father David provided.

8 “Send me also cedar, juniper and algum[c] logs from Lebanon, for I know that your servants are skilled in cutting timber there. My servants will work with yours 9 to provide me with plenty of lumber, because the temple I build must be large and magnificent. 10 I will give your servants, the woodsmen who cut the timber, twenty thousand cors[d] of ground wheat, twenty thousand cors[e] of barley, twenty thousand baths[f] of wine and twenty thousand baths of olive oil.”