April 24, 2022

I Kings 9: 11-13 (NIV)

King Solomon gave twenty towns in Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre, because Hiram had supplied him with all the cedar and pine and gold he wanted. But when Hiram went . . . to see the towns . . . he was not pleased with them. “What kind of towns are these you have given me, my brother?” he asked. And he called them the Land of Cabul . . .

Could it be that we define the value of someone’s life in terms of that which is useful to me or to society rather than to God?*

Who hasn’t bought something only to find that it was not the high-quality product you were expecting? In this story, King Solomon gives twenty towns to Hiram, king of Tyre, because Hiram had been so generous with the cedar, pine, and gold that Solomon wanted. When Hiram went to inspect the towns, he found them to be of inferior quality. I don’t know what he was expecting but he renamed the area and called it Cabul – which means “good for nothing.”

In case you didn’t realize it: these towns were located in the Promised Land. What Hiram regarded as worthless was actually part of the land that God had given to the Children of Israel and for which they had fought and died. Maybe the towns themselves were not strategically placed or prosperous but it was this area which Jesus later chose as the early focal point of his ministry,* proving it was good for something!

The Bible contains many examples of how God’s idea of value differs from man’s. These twenty towns may not have been worth much by human standards, but things that men look down on can be made valuable by Jesus – because he values them. And there is nothing that Jesus values more than human souls. All of them. Not just the productive, attractive, or creative ones.

If you find yourself questioning your worth, remember that Jesus died for you. You were bought at the price of Jesus’ blood and your price-tag reflects your value. 

We must derive our sense of self-worth from Biblical values.*