Monday, March 26, 2012

Treasurers




This Shelomoth and his brothers were in charge of all the treasuries of the dedicated gifts that David the king and the heads of the fathers' houses and the officers of the thousands and the hundreds and the commanders of the army had dedicated. From spoil won in battles they dedicated gifts for the maintenance of the house of the LORD.
1 Chronicles 26:26-27

Someone had to be entrusted with the care and maintenance of the valuable gifts that were stored in the treasury of the Lord's house in Jerusalem. David commissioned gifted financial accountants with the security duty involving these gifts which came from the spoils of war. So the Jerusalem temple eventually had treasuries that were sort of vaults and sort of museums that held the rarest of articles captured in battle by Israel's defensive forces. From the spoils of war, the best and the rarest treasures were sent to Jerusalem from the commanders of the army to be used to maintain the worship of the Lord on the Jerusalem temple site. It was a kind of giving prompted by gratitude.

Again, the administrative genius of King David's later years shines through. He creates an entirely new classification of service for the Lord: treasurer. And he picks the finest financial workers and security personnel in the land to guard the treasure and administer funds for the maintenance of the worship of the Lord. He created the system that would run the finances of the vast temple complex with its hundreds of Levites and priestly workers... the complex Solomon would later build. And Solomon would fill its treasuries with even more unbelievable riches and art.

God deserves the best we can give Him. The national treasures of Israel under David and Solomon were kept in the temple where God was worshiped. And the gifts given for His worship needed protection and wise administration. What Israel valued most was relationship and worship of God. It literally showed in what the nation treasured and where they treasured it. And the way that David set the example made it clear that God was the most important leader in the life of the nation. Those visible values made a difference. And just where are my visible values? The answers will be shown in what is seen in my life.

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