Keepers of the Treasure
20 [f]The Levites, their relatives, [g]had charge of the treasures of the house of God and of the treasures of the dedicated gifts. 21 The sons of Ladan, the sons of the Gershonites belonging to Ladan, namely, the Jehielites, were the heads of the fathers’ households, belonging to Ladan the Gershonite.
22 The sons of Jehieli, Zetham and Joel his brother, [h]had charge of the treasures of the house of the Lord. 23 As for the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites and the Uzzielites, 24 Shebuel the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, was officer over the treasures. 25 His relatives by Eliezer were Rehabiah his son, Jeshaiah his son, Joram his son, Zichri his son and Shelomoth his son. 26 This Shelomoth and his relatives [i]had charge of all the treasures of the dedicated gifts which King David and the heads of the fathers’ households, the commanders of thousands and hundreds, and the commanders of the army, had dedicated. 27 They dedicated [j]part of the spoil won in battles to repair the house of the Lord. 28 And all that Samuel the seer had dedicated and Saul the son of Kish, Abner the son of Ner and Joab the son of Zeruiah, everyone who had dedicated anything, all of this was [k]in the care of [l]Shelomoth and his relatives.
Outside Duties
29 As for the Izharites, Chenaniah and his sons were assigned to outside duties for Israel, as officers and judges. 30 As for the Hebronites, Hashabiah and his relatives, 1,700 capable men, had charge of the affairs of Israel [m]west of the Jordan, for all the work of the Lord and the service of the king. 31 As for the Hebronites, Jerijah the chief [n](these Hebronites were investigated according to their genealogies and fathers’ households, in the fortieth year of David’s reign, and men of outstanding capability were found among them at Jazer of Gilead) 32 and his relatives, capable men, were 2,700 in number, heads of fathers’ households. And King David made them overseers of the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of the Manassites concerning [o]all the affairs of God and of the king.
This passage would make it seem these guys had it easy, just watching over the treasure. But no, these were not just the keepers of treasure, but the treasurers. They had a dual responsibility, to keep a detailed record of what came in and out of the treasury, and to guard that treasure so that nothing went missing.
A portion of the spoil of battle was put into the treasury, but then they were also responsible to dedicate a part of that to the repair of the house of the Lord. At this point in time, that was the tabernacle, and being a tent of sorts, no doubt it needed regular upkeep even more than a brick or wood building.
This reminds me of two responsibilities we have ourselves. One is to make sure we are giving God a portion (a tenth/tithe or more) of our income. The other is to make sure that when we have surplus income, that a portion goes to help maintain our churches. But as I was thinking recently about the state of our town, another thing came to mind, which is to support our schools. While I don’t always appreciate everything they do, they are an integral part of our community, and they need our support.
So whether it be financial or otherwise, make sure you are giving, first to God (usually your local church) and then to help make sure the important places in your town can maintain their facilities. There’s no reason all our giving has to go to religious organizations, and in fact, I think it’s all the more important to show our support for our communities.