Ezra 8:24–30

Gathering the people

Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests, together with Sherebiah, Hashabiah and ten of their brothers, 25 and I weighed out to them the offering of silver and gold and the articles that the king, his advisers, his officials and all Israel present there had donated for the house of God. 26 I weighed out to them 650 talents of silver, silver articles weighing 100 talents, 100 talents of gold,27 20 bowls of gold valued at 1,000 darics, and two fine articles of polished bronze, as precious as gold.

28 I said to them, “You as well as these articles are consecrated to the LORD. The silver and gold are a freewill offering to the LORD, the God of your fathers. 29 Guard them carefully until you weigh them out in the chambers of the house of the LORD in Jerusalem before the leading priests and Levites and the family heads of Israel.” 30 Then the priests and Levites received the silver and gold and sacred articles that had been weighed out to be taken to the house of our God in Jerusalem.

Second, for the safekeeping of the royal gifts and so that there would be no suspicion that any of the money had been diverted to improper use, Ezra provided for a full inventory of the gifts and for trustees to be responsible for the administration of the finances. We should use the same care in the administration of the church’s financial affairs today. Like Ezra, we will want to avoid loss or any suspicion of the misuse of funds, which would be very harmful to the reputation of the church and an offense to the givers. Saint Paul provides us with an example of the same carefulness and concern in the New Testament. Speaking of a donation to be sent to the poor, Paul remarks: “As we carry the offering, . . . we want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men” (2 Corinthians 8:19-21).