Archetype 55: Abundance
Now King Hiram of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father; for Hiram had always been a friend to David. Solomon sent word to Hiram, saying, “You know that my father David could not build a house for the name of the Lord his God because of the warfare with which his enemies surrounded him, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor misfortune. So I intend to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord said to my father David, ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, shall build the house for my name.’ Therefore command that cedars from the Lebanon be cut for me. My servants will join your servants, and I will give you whatever wages you set for your servants; for you know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.”
When Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly, and said, “Blessed be the Lord today, who has given to David a wise son to be over this great people.”
—1 Kings 5:1–7
The Reading
The reading describes a time when the Jewish civilization was at its most advanced and powerful. Solomon is now king. He is going to use this time of peace, prosperity, and abundance to fulfill a promise that his father had made. He would build a great temple for God. The temple will stand for more than four hundred years, but not even Solomon’s temple can last forever.
The Hexagram
This hexagram consists of the lower trigram Christ and the upper trigram Word. The Word and Christ are two aspects of the same manifestation. The Word is the creative outpouring of God power. Christ is God power made manifest as human. Christ is the God child who shows us the way to also become God children. We are then no longer aligned with the finite and limited but with the infinite and unlimited, and we have within our grasp the inexhaustible abundance the Word promises.
The Archetype
There is a time...
- To appreciate the great abundance that God has provided, knowing that all worldly wealth is fleeting.
- To recognize that not all are equally able to bring about a time of abundance; it takes a great leader.
- To understand that not all are equally able to lead in a time of abundance; it takes wisdom to understand how to make use of the abundance God has given.
- To carefully investigate the facts, enforce the laws, and apply discipline swiftly and fairly.
Now is that time.
Moving Lines
Other interpretations of Archetype 55:
- Tom Christensen's interpretation [click here]
- Cafe Au Soul's interpretation [click here]
- LiSe's interpretation [click here]
- Richard Wilhelm's interpretation [click here]
Internal Links:
- Return to the Hexagram Index Table [click here].
- Return to Consulting the Christian I Ching [click here].
- Purchase a printed copy of Wisdom's Way; The Christian I Ching [click here].
- Learn about our Online Christian I Ching Workshop [click here].
- Find out about personal consultations [click here].
Reproduced with permission from Wisdom's Way; The Christian I Ching copyright (c) 2015 Roger Sessions.