This Shelomith and his brethren were over all the treasuries of the dedicated things which King David and the heads of fathers' houses, the captains over thousands and hundreds, and the captains of the army, had dedicated. Some of the spoils won in battles they dedicated to maintain the house of the Lord.
--1 Chronicles 26:26-27 (NKJV)
From the daily Bible reading on July 18, 2013 of Psalm 119:121-128; Luke 1:57-80; 1 Chronicles 26:20-27.
The scripture in today's Old Testament reading tells us that the Levite named Ahijah was in charge of all the treasuries of the house of God. Serving under him were Shelomith, also a Levite (as were all who served God and His priests), and those of his house, who had responsibility "over all the treasuries of dedicated things". These dedicated things were gifts given to the service of God in the maintenance of His house, many by prominent people, and many of which were obtained as spoils of war. This treasury would have included gold, silver, bronze, and iron, jewels, gems, and precious stones, even expensive lumber. These would have been the kind of items one king would present to another in tribute, or the finer booty the victors would take after battle. David was perhaps the primary benefactor (for instance, please see 1 Chronicles 18:8-11), some of which Solomon made good use when building the Temple (1 Chronicles 18:8, 2 Chronicles 5:1). But Samuel, Saul, Abner, and Joab are also noted as having contributed to this treasury (1 Chronicles 26:28). And all of this was under the control of Shelomith and his brethren.
What a great treasure this cache of gifts dedicated to God would have contained! Just storing it all must have required an immense amount of space, and guarding it fell to the hands of Shelomith and his kinsmen. That would be quite a responsibility. These were the gifts of kings, of holy men, of mighty warriors, all freely given and dedicated to the service of God. No word of tithing is mentioned, so each man donated as moved by his heart and by the Spirit. And as we read in other accounts of how these gifts were used, there was no shortage of wealth in this treasury.
What does our treasury of gifts dedicated to the Lord look like, what does it contain? God has richly blessed us in so many ways, what have we set aside to return to Him, for His use? Have we dedicated anything for the advancement of His kingdom? I'm not talking just precious metals and gems, nor even physical wealth. Money is nice and can always be used in service to our Lord. But we have other gifts we can donate as well. We can sing, we can teach, we can watch over, we can visit, we can clothe and feed and provide water, we can even just sit and listen. Jesus tells us that as we treat even the least among us, so we treat Him. Let's open up our treasury of gifts and dedicate them to the Lord's service. Amen.
Loving Father, You have blessed us with glorious gifts and continue to heap more upon us every day. Help us remember, dear Lord, that all we have comes from You so that we might return just a little of our great riches for Your service, to further Your kingdom, to fulfill Your will. Help us understand that when we give, we receive far more in return ourselves. In the dearest name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
What a great treasure this cache of gifts dedicated to God would have contained! Just storing it all must have required an immense amount of space, and guarding it fell to the hands of Shelomith and his kinsmen. That would be quite a responsibility. These were the gifts of kings, of holy men, of mighty warriors, all freely given and dedicated to the service of God. No word of tithing is mentioned, so each man donated as moved by his heart and by the Spirit. And as we read in other accounts of how these gifts were used, there was no shortage of wealth in this treasury.
What does our treasury of gifts dedicated to the Lord look like, what does it contain? God has richly blessed us in so many ways, what have we set aside to return to Him, for His use? Have we dedicated anything for the advancement of His kingdom? I'm not talking just precious metals and gems, nor even physical wealth. Money is nice and can always be used in service to our Lord. But we have other gifts we can donate as well. We can sing, we can teach, we can watch over, we can visit, we can clothe and feed and provide water, we can even just sit and listen. Jesus tells us that as we treat even the least among us, so we treat Him. Let's open up our treasury of gifts and dedicate them to the Lord's service. Amen.
Loving Father, You have blessed us with glorious gifts and continue to heap more upon us every day. Help us remember, dear Lord, that all we have comes from You so that we might return just a little of our great riches for Your service, to further Your kingdom, to fulfill Your will. Help us understand that when we give, we receive far more in return ourselves. In the dearest name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
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