Topical - God’s Divine Economy - Why Follow It? (Stewardship1)
God’s Divine Economy - Why Follow It?
Stewardship Sunday Message
November 23, 1997
1. It is a tried and proven pattern of giving by godly people throughout the ages.
Ge 14:17 ¶ After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley).
Ge 14:18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High,
Ge 14:19 and he blessed Abram, saying, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth.
Ge 14:20 And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand." Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
Ge 28:16 ¶ When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it."
Ge 28:17 He was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven."
Ge 28:18 Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it.
Ge 28:19 He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz.
Ge 28:20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear
Ge 28:21 so that I return safely to my father's house, then the LORD will be my God
Ge 28:22 and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth."
Le 27:30 "'A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD.
Pr 3:9 Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops;
Pr 3:10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.
Mal 3:7 ¶ Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you," says the LORD Almighty. "But you ask, 'How are we to return?'
Mal 3:8 "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings.
Mal 3:9 You are under a curse-- the whole nation of you-- because you are robbing me.
Mal 3:10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.
Mal 3:11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty.
Mal 3:12 "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty.
Mal 3:13 ¶ "You have said harsh things against me," says the LORD. "Yet you ask, 'What have we said against you?'
Mal 3:14 "You have said, 'It is futile to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the LORD Almighty?
Mal 3:15 But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly the evildoers prosper, and even those who challenge God escape.'"
Mt 23:23 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices-- mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law-- justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.
2. It will help you revere God more in your life.
De 14:22 ¶ Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year.
De 14:23 Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God always.
3. It will bring God’s wisdom and order to your finances and will help you harness the dragon of materialism.
Mt 6:19 ¶ "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
Mt 6:20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
Mt 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Mt 6:24 "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
Mt 6:25 ¶ "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?
Mt 6:26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
Mt 6:27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
Mt 6:28 "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.
Mt 6:29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.
Mt 6:30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
Mt 6:31 So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'
Mt 6:32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
Mt 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Mt 6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Lu 12:16 And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop.
Lu 12:17 He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.'
Lu 12:18 "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.
Lu 12:19 And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." '
Lu 12:20 "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'
Lu 12:21 "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."
1Ti 6:6 ¶ But godliness with contentment is great gain.
1Ti 6:7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.
1Ti 6:8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.
1Ti 6:9 People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.
1Ti 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
1Ti 6:17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
1Ti 6:18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.
1Ti 6:19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
Ec 5:10 Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless.
4. It will serve as a practical reminder that God is the owner of everything you have.
1Ch 29:11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.
1Ch 29:12 Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.
1Ch 29:13 Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.
1Ch 29:14 "But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.
1Ch 29:15 We are aliens and strangers in your sight, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.
1Ch 29:16 O LORD our God, as for all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name, it comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you.
1Ch 29:17 I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things have I given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you.
1Ch 29:18 O LORD, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep this desire in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you.
Ps 24:1 ¶ Of David. A psalm. The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;
Ps 24:2 for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.
Ps 50:10 for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.
Ps 50:11 I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine.
Hag 2:8 'The silver is mine and the gold is mine,' declares the LORD Almighty.
5. It will allow you to experience God’s creative care and provisions in ways you would not otherwise experience.
1Ki 17:1 ¶ Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word."
1Ki 17:2 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah:
1Ki 17:3 "Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan.
1Ki 17:4 You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there."
1Ki 17:5 So he did what the LORD had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there.
1Ki 17:6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.
1Ki 17:7 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.
1Ki 17:8 ¶ Then the word of the LORD came to him:
1Ki 17:9 "Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food."
1Ki 17:10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, "Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?"
1Ki 17:11 As she was going to get it, he called, "And bring me, please, a piece of bread."
1Ki 17:12 "As surely as the LORD your God lives," she replied, "I don't have any bread-- only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it-- and die."
1Ki 17:13 Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son.
1Ki 17:14 For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.'"
1Ki 17:15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family.
1Ki 17:16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah.
1Ki 17:17 ¶ Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing.
1Ki 17:18 She said to Elijah, "What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?"
1Ki 17:19 "Give me your son," Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed.
1Ki 17:20 Then he cried out to the LORD, "O LORD my God, have you brought tragedy also upon this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?"
1Ki 17:21 Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried to the LORD, "O LORD my God, let this boy's life return to him!"
1Ki 17:22 The LORD heard Elijah's cry, and the boy's life returned to him, and he lived.
1Ki 17:23 Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, "Look, your son is alive!"
1Ki 17:24 Then the woman said to Elijah, "Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth."
Pr 3:9 Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops;
Pr 3:10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.
Mal 3:7 ¶ Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you," says the LORD Almighty. "But you ask, 'How are we to return?'
Mal 3:8 "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings.
Mal 3:9 You are under a curse-- the whole nation of you-- because you are robbing me.
Mal 3:10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.
Mal 3:11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty.
Mal 3:12 "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty.
Mal 3:13 ¶ "You have said harsh things against me," says the LORD. "Yet you ask, 'What have we said against you?'
Mal 3:14 "You have said, 'It is futile to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the LORD Almighty?
Mal 3:15 But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly the evildoers prosper, and even those who challenge God escape.'"
Hag 1:4 "Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?"
Hag 1:5 Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways.
Hag 1:6 You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it."
Hag 1:7 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways.
Hag 1:8 Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored," says the LORD.
Hag 1:9 "You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?" declares the LORD Almighty. "Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house.
Hag 1:10 Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops.
Hag 1:11 I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the oil and whatever the ground produces, on men and cattle, and on the labor of your hands."
Hag 2:15 "'Now give careful thought to this from this day on--consider how things were before one stone was laid on another in the LORD's temple.
Hag 2:16 When anyone came to a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten. When anyone went to a wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were only twenty.
Hag 2:17 I struck all the work of your hands with blight, mildew and hail, yet you did not turn to me,' declares the LORD.
Hag 2:18 'From this day on, from this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, give careful thought to the day when the foundation of the LORD's temple was laid. Give careful thought:
Hag 2:19 Is there yet any seed left in the barn? Until now, the vine and the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree have not borne fruit. "'From this day on I will bless you.'"
Lu 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
6. It will encourage your spiritual growth and trust in God.
De 14:23 Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God always.
Pr 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
Pr 3:6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Mal 3:8 "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings.
Mal 3:9 You are under a curse-- the whole nation of you-- because you are robbing me.
Mal 3:10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.
Hag 1:4 "Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?"
Hag 1:5 Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways.
Hag 1:6 You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it."
Hag 1:7 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways.
Hag 1:8 Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored," says the LORD.
Hag 1:9 "You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?" declares the LORD Almighty. "Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house.
Hag 1:10 Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops.
Hag 1:11 I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the oil and whatever the ground produces, on men and cattle, and on the labor of your hands."
Hag 2:15 "'Now give careful thought to this from this day on--consider how things were before one stone was laid on another in the LORD's temple.
Hag 2:16 When anyone came to a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten. When anyone went to a wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were only twenty.
Hag 2:17 I struck all the work of your hands with blight, mildew and hail, yet you did not turn to me,' declares the LORD.
Hag 2:18 'From this day on, from this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, give careful thought to the day when the foundation of the LORD's temple was laid. Give careful thought:
Hag 2:19 Is there yet any seed left in the barn? Until now, the vine and the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree have not borne fruit. "'From this day on I will bless you.'"
2Co 8:5 And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will.
7. It will ensure your treasure in heaven.
1Ti 6:18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.
1Ti 6:19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
Mt 6:19 ¶ "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
Mt 6:20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
Mt 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Heb 6:10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.
3Jo 1:8 We ought therefore to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth.
1Sa 30:22 But all the evil men and troublemakers among David's followers said, "Because they did not go out with us, we will not share with them the plunder we recovered. However, each man may take his wife and children and go."
8. It will strengthen the ministry, outreach, and stability of your local church.
Ac 2:42 ¶ They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Ac 2:43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.
Ac 2:44 All the believers were together and had everything in common.
Ac 2:45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.
Ac 2:46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,
Ac 2:47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Ac 4:32 ¶ All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.
2Co 9:12 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.
2Co 9:13 Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.
9. It will help provide the means to keep your pastor and missionaries in full-time Christian service.
1Co 9:9 For it is written in the Law of Moses: "Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain." Is it about oxen that God is concerned?
1Co 9:10 Surely he says this for us, doesn't he? Yes, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they ought to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest.
1Co 9:11 If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you?
1Co 9:14 In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.
1Ti 5:17 ¶ The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.
1Ti 5:18 For the Scripture says, "Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain," and "The worker deserves his wages."
3Jo 1:5 Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though they are strangers to you.
3Jo 1:6 They have told the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God.
3Jo 1:7 It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans.
3Jo 1:8 We ought therefore to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth.
Php 4:15 Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only;
Php 4:16 for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need.
Php 4:17 Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account.
Php 4:18 I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.
Php 4:19 And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
Ga 6:6 Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.
Lu 8:3 Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod's household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.
2Ki 4:8 ¶ One day Elisha went to Shunem. And a well-to-do woman was there, who urged him to stay for a meal. So whenever he came by, he stopped there to eat.
2Ki 4:9 She said to her husband, "I know that this man who often comes our way is a holy man of God.
2Ki 4:10 Let's make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay there whenever he comes to us."
10. It will help accomplish needed building projects and renovations.
Ex 35:20 ¶ Then the whole Israelite community withdrew from Moses' presence,
Ex 35:21 and everyone who was willing and whose heart moved him came and brought an offering to the LORD for the work on the Tent of Meeting, for all its service, and for the sacred garments.
Ex 35:22 All who were willing, men and women alike, came and brought gold jewelry of all kinds: brooches, earrings, rings and ornaments. They all presented their gold as a wave offering to the LORD.
Ex 35:23 Everyone who had blue, purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen, or goat hair, ram skins dyed red or hides of sea cows brought them.
Ex 35:24 Those presenting an offering of silver or bronze brought it as an offering to the LORD, and everyone who had acacia wood for any part of the work brought it.
Ex 35:25 Every skilled woman spun with her hands and brought what she had spun-- blue, purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen.
Ex 35:26 And all the women who were willing and had the skill spun the goat hair.
Ex 35:27 The leaders brought onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.
Ex 35:28 They also brought spices and olive oil for the light and for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense.
Ex 35:29 All the Israelite men and women who were willing brought to the LORD freewill offerings for all the work the LORD through Moses had commanded them to do.
Ex 36:2 Then Moses summoned Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the LORD had given ability and who was willing to come and do the work.
Ex 36:3 They received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to carry out the work of constructing the sanctuary. And the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning.
Ex 36:4 So all the skilled craftsmen who were doing all the work on the sanctuary left their work
Ex 36:5 and said to Moses, "The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the LORD commanded to be done."
Ex 36:6 Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp: "No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary." And so the people were restrained from bringing more,
Ex 36:7 because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.
1Ch 29:2 With all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God-- gold for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise, stones of various colors, and all kinds of fine stone and marble-- all of these in large quantities.
1Ch 29:3 Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple:
1Ch 29:4 three thousand talents of gold (gold of Ophir) and seven thousand talents of refined silver, for the overlaying of the walls of the buildings,
1Ch 29:5 for the gold work and the silver work, and for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now, who is willing to consecrate himself today to the LORD?"
1Ch 29:6 Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king's work gave willingly.
1Ch 29:7 They gave toward the work on the temple of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze and a hundred thousand talents of iron.
1Ch 29:8 Any who had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the temple of the LORD in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite.
1Ch 29:9 The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the LORD. David the king also rejoiced greatly.
1Ch 29:10 ¶ David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, "Praise be to you, O LORD, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.
1Ch 29:11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.
1Ch 29:12 Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.
1Ch 29:13 Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.
1Ch 29:14 "But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.
1Ch 29:15 We are aliens and strangers in your sight, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.
1Ch 29:16 O LORD our God, as for all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name, it comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you.
1Ch 29:17 I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things have I given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you.
1Ch 29:18 O LORD, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep this desire in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you.
1Ch 29:19 And give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion to keep your commands, requirements and decrees and to do everything to build the palatial structure for which I have provided."
2Ch 24:4 Some time later Joash decided to restore the temple of the LORD.
2Ch 24:5 He called together the priests and Levites and said to them, "Go to the towns of Judah and collect the money due annually from all Israel, to repair the temple of your God. Do it now." But the Levites did not act at once.
2Ch 24:6 Therefore the king summoned Jehoiada the chief priest and said to him, "Why haven't you required the Levites to bring in from Judah and Jerusalem the tax imposed by Moses the servant of the LORD and by the assembly of Israel for the Tent of the Testimony?"
2Ch 24:7 Now the sons of that wicked woman Athaliah had broken into the temple of God and had used even its sacred objects for the Baals.
2Ch 24:8 At the king's command, a chest was made and placed outside, at the gate of the temple of the LORD.
2Ch 24:9 A proclamation was then issued in Judah and Jerusalem that they should bring to the LORD the tax that Moses the servant of God had required of Israel in the desert.
2Ch 24:10 All the officials and all the people brought their contributions gladly, dropping them into the chest until it was full.
2Ch 24:11 Whenever the chest was brought in by the Levites to the king's officials and they saw that there was a large amount of money, the royal secretary and the officer of the chief priest would come and empty the chest and carry it back to its place. They did this regularly and collected a great amount of money.
2Ch 24:12 The king and Jehoiada gave it to the men who carried out the work required for the temple of the LORD. They hired masons and carpenters to restore the LORD's temple, and also workers in iron and bronze to repair the temple.
2Ch 24:13 The men in charge of the work were diligent, and the repairs progressed under them. They rebuilt the temple of God according to its original design and reinforced it.
2Ch 24:14 When they had finished, they brought the rest of the money to the king and Jehoiada, and with it were made articles for the LORD's temple: articles for the service and for the burnt offerings, and also dishes and other objects of gold and silver. As long as Jehoiada lived, burnt offerings were presented continually in the temple of the LORD.
(Adapted from Assoc. of Baptists for World Evangelism, Dimensions, vol. 20, fall 1997)