The Daily Fountain Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 17 September 2026 – Workers’ Welfare
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TOPIC – Workers’ Welfare
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READ: 1 Kings 5: 13-18 (NKJV)
13 Then King Solomon raised up a labor force out of all Israel; and the labor force was thirty thousand men.
14 And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month in shifts: they were one month in Lebanon and two months at home; Adoniram was in charge of the labor force.
15 Solomon had seventy thousand who carried burdens, and eighty thousand who quarried stone in the mountains,
16 besides three thousand three hundred from the chiefs of Solomon’s deputies, who supervised the people who labored in the work.
17 And the king commanded them to quarry large stones, costly stones, and hewn stones, to lay the foundation of the temple.
18 So Solomon’s builders, Hiram’s builders, and the Gebalites quarried them; and they prepared timber and stones to build the [i]temple.
THE MESSAGE:
In today’s text, we read about the work strategies employed by Solomon in building the temple. A task force of thirty thousand Israelite labourers went in shifts to work for one month, out of three, in Lebanon (verses 13-14). They spent one month working in Lebanon and two months at home. Another group was simultaneously working in the hills cutting and collecting the stone for the foundation (verses 15-17). Notice too that other than the craftsmen of Solomon and Hiram, the Gebalites or men of Byblos (verse 18), were also employed for this project. They were Phoenicians probably skilled as shipbuilders.
Planning is critical for success. This is the reason for the saying: ‘If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.’ Solomon’s work strategies for the temple project involved good planning to ensure that the labourers’ were not away from home for long periods of time. This was perfected through having the 30,000 workers come “from all Israel” (verse 13). Also, most other workers, including the labourers and quarry workers, were non-Israelites (verses 15-17).
This wise planning demonstrates Solomon’s special concern for the welfare of his Israelite workers and their families. Let’s learn to treat those who work under us well so that the work they do should not be a burden but a blessing to them.
PRAYER: Lord, help me to take the welfare of my workers seriously. Amen.
