The final verse of First Kings 7 tell us that “King Solomon finished all his work on the Temple of the Lord. Then he brought all the gifts his father, David, had dedicated – the silver, the gold, and the various articles – and he stored them in the treasuries of the Lord’s Temple” (I Kings 7:51, NLT).
What exactly had been dedicated to the Temple? First Chronicles 29 holds the answer: “Then King David turned to the entire assembly and said, ‘My son Solomon, whom God has clearly chosen as the next king of Israel, is still young and inexperienced. The work ahead of him is enormous, for the Temple he will build is not for mere mortals – it is for the Lord God Himself! Using every resource at my command, I have gathered as much as I could for building the Temple of my God. Now there is enough gold, silver, bronze, iron, and wood, as well as great quantities of onyx, other precious stones, costly jewels, and all kinds of fine stone and marble.
And now, because of my devotion to the Temple of my God, I am giving all of my own private treasures of gold and silver to help in the construction. This is in addition to the building materials I have already collected for His holy Temple. I am donating more than 112 tons of gold from Ophir and 262 tons of refined silver to be used for overlaying the walls of the buildings and for the other gold and silver work to be done by the craftsmen. Now then, who will follow my example and give offerings to the Lord today?’
Then the family leaders, the leaders of the tribes of Israel, the generals and captains of the army, and the king’s administrative officers all gave willingly. For the construction of the Temple of God, they gave about 188 tons of gold, 10,000 gold coins, 375 tons of silver, 675 tons of bronze, and 3,750 tons of iron. They also contributed numerous precious stones, which were deposited in the treasury of the house of the Lord under the care of Jehiel, a descendant of Gershon. The people rejoiced over the offerings, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord, and King David was filled with joy” (I Chronicles 29:1-9, NLT).
David gave liberally and challenged other Israelites to do likewise. Like the widow who put only two small coins into the church treasury (see Luke 21), everyone couldn’t give huge amounts, but everyone could give something.
Look at David’s reason for giving so much for the Temple Solomon was to build: “the Temple he will build is not for mere mortals – it is for the Lord God Himself!”
“For the Lord Himself!” If professing Christians today could only latch onto that same understanding. If you attend a church, you should support that church both by participating in worship and other activities as well as through financial giving. If in your heart your giving is to the Lord, you won’t fuss or worry over how “the church” is spending “your” money because you won’t see it as yours or the church’s but as the Lord’s.
If you’re a tightwad when it comes to giving to your church, it would behoove you to read Malachi 3:6-12. God plainly promises blessings for giving and curses for withholding.
I don’t know about you, but I greatly prefer blessings. Let’s align ourselves to receive them.
“Even if all we have is a little, the Lord desires us to be joyfully generous, so that He will have for His church an abundance for every good work. Let us not be selfish or deceived by money. In a real sense, money is not a blessing; it’s a test.” (Francis Frangipane)
Copyright © 2013
Judy Woodward Bates
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