24 Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests: … 26 I weighed out into their hand 650 talents of silver, and silver vessels worth 200 talents, and 100 talents of gold, 27 20 bowls of gold worth 1,000 darics, and two vessels of fine bright bronze as precious as gold.
28 And I said to them, “You are holy to the LORD, and the vessels are holy, and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the LORD, the God of your fathers. 29 Guard them and keep them until you weigh them before the chief priests and the Levites and the heads of fathers’ houses in Israel at Jerusalem, within the chambers of the house of the LORD.” 30 So the priests and the Levites took over the weight of the silver and the gold and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem, to the house of our God.
Ezra 8:24-30 (ESV)
Manage the problem
To manage the problem, Ezra divided the treasure offering into 12 parts among the leading priests and charged them with the responsibility to care for their safe delivery in Jerusalem. “You are holy to the LORD, and the vessels are holy,” he says to encourage them in their call, their task.
Holy to the Lord
These were the priests, who were already dedicated to the worship of God and leading the rest of the Jews in worship. Holy means set apart, clean. We are to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to the Lord. This is our spiritual act of worship. (Romans 12:1) Is there any unclean part of us. Is there any part that is not appropriate for the Lord? Seek Him. Humbly repent and be clean.
Wholly to the Lord
Not only should we be holy to the Lord, we should also offer ourselves wholly to the Lord. Nice pun. What part of us wasn’t created by God? What do we have that He did not graciously give us? When I hold onto anything as my own – treasure, talents, time, ______ – I give God less than He deserves.
It’s not that God needs us. He knows that it’s what is best for us. We were created to serve Him. Surely the more wholly we commit to Him, the greater our joy and pleasure, now and for eternity as we lay up treasures in Heaven.
