39 The priests: the sons of Jedaiah of the house of Jeshua, 973; 40 the sons of Immer, 1,052; 41 the sons of Pashhur, 1,247; 42 the sons of Harim, 1,017.
43 The Levites: the sons of Jeshua, of Kadmiel, of the sons of [m]Hodevah, 74. 44 The singers: the sons of Asaph, 148. 45 The gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, the sons of Shobai, 138.
46 The temple servants: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth, 47 the sons of Keros, the sons of [n]Sia, the sons of Padon, 48 the sons of Lebana, the sons of Hagaba, the sons of Shalmai, 49 the sons of Hanan, the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar, 50 the sons of Reaiah, the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda, 51 the sons of Gazzam, the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah, 52 the sons of Besai, the sons of Meunim, the sons of [o]Nephushesim, 53 the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur, 54 the sons of [p]Bazlith, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha, 55 the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Temah, 56 the sons of Neziah, the sons of Hatipha.
57 The sons of Solomon’s servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of [q]Sophereth, the sons of [r]Perida, 58 the sons of Jaala, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel, 59 the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth-hazzebaim, the sons of [s]Amon.
60 All the temple servants and the sons of Solomon’s servants were 392.
61 These were they who came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, [t]Addon and Immer; but they could not show their fathers’ houses or their [u]descendants, whether they were of Israel: 62 the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, the sons of Nekoda, 642. 63 Of the priests: the sons of [v]Hobaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, the sons of Barzillai, who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai, the Gileadite, and was named after them. 64 These searched among their ancestral registration, but it could not be located; therefore they were considered unclean and excluded from the priesthood. 65 The [w]governor said to them that they should not eat from the most holy things until a priest arose with Urim and Thummim.
Total of People and Gifts
66 The whole assembly together was 42,360, 67 besides their male and their female servants, [x]of whom there were 7,337; and they had 245 male and female singers. 68 [y]Their horses were 736; their mules, 245; 69 their camels, 435; their donkeys, 6,720.
70 Some from among the heads of fathers’ households gave to the work. The [z]governor gave to the treasury 1,000 gold drachmas, 50 basins, 530 priests’ garments. 71 Some of the heads of fathers’ households gave into the treasury of the work 20,000 gold drachmas and 2,200 silver minas. 72 That which the rest of the people gave was 20,000 gold drachmas and 2,000 silver minas and 67 priests’ garments.
73 Now the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple servants and all Israel, lived in their cities.
And when the seventh month came, the sons of Israel were in their cities.
It’s interesting that God does not give us all the same gifts. Which is only natural, since we are all different. But even in the area of finances, God gives different people different amounts to work with. In this passage, we see that the governor gave 1,000 gold drachmas, and all the “heads of fathers’ households” gave only 20k gold drachmas by comparison. But then all the rest of the people only gave 20k gold drachmas also.
One might wish you could give like someone else, but if God knows you couldn’t handle that amount of money, then don’t fret. Do the best with what you have been given, show yourself faithful, and see what happens. Likewise, if God has blessed you with much (by comparison), be sure to use it wisely, or it might disappear in an instant.
Use what God has given you wisely, regardless of the amount, and don’t fall back on excuses in any case–“I never have enough…” or “Oh, I’ve got plenty, I don’t need to be so careful…” You have exactly what God can trust you with, so be content (and prudent) with whatever that may be. Work hard so that you may be a “workman who needs not be ashamed…”