Plan Well - King Solomon

“Now the LORD my God has given me peace on every side; I have no enemies, and all is well. So I am planning to build a Temple to honor the name of the LORD my God, just as he had instructed my father, David. For the LORD told him, ‘Your son, whom I will place on your throne, will build the Temple to honor my name.’”

1 Kings 5:4-5

When George Bernard Shaw visited sculptor Jacob Epstein, he noticed a huge stone block in one corner of the studio. Shaw pointed to the stone and asked Epstein what would become of it.

“I don’t know yet,” Epstein replied. “I’m still making plans.”

“You mean you plan your work?” Shaw asked in astonishment. “Why, I change my mind several times a day!”

“That’s all very well with a four-ounce manuscript,” the sculptor shot back, “but not with a four-ton block.”

Many things in life require good planning, a truth the wise King Solomon took into consideration as he prepared to build the Temple in Jerusalem.

Solomon had a consuming passion to bring his father’s dream of a permanent house of worship for the Lord to completion, but he tempered his passion with careful planning. He realized that rushing headlong into the construction of such a magnificent, complex structure would mean disaster, so he planned and prepared for the work.

He sought out construction know-how from his neighbors, did some wheeling and dealing with King Hiram of Tyre to acquire the necessary building materials, and enlisted a labor force from around the region. Then he prepared the Temple site.

Only when he had finished all preparations and planning for the construction did Solomon officially begin to build. Seven and a half years from ground-breaking day, this Temple of breathtaking beauty stood on the summit of Mount Moriah.

All of Solomon’s wise and careful planning paid off magnificently.

The Bible teaches that we are to submit our plans to the will of God (see Proverbs 16:1; James 4:13-16). If you want to accomplish anything significant in any sphere of life, you must do some careful, prayerful planning.