According to their ability they gave
Wed, 2 January, 2008: Today’s Bible readings.
68 Some of the heads of families, when they came to the house of the LORD that is in Jerusalem, made freewill offerings for the house of God, to erect it on its site. 69 According to their ability they gave to the treasury of the work 61,000 darics of gold, 5,000 minas of silver, and 100 priests’ garments.
The book of Ezra begins with Cyrus’ proclamation allowing Jews to return to Israel. In chapter 2, there is a list of the Jewish exiles who returned to Israel. As the chapter ends, we are told that people contributed a significant amount to the reconstruction of the temple, according to their own desire and ability.
What do we learn from this?
This is another example in scripture of people giving to God out of gratitude for what He has done. The giving is not forced. They gave as they were able, and as they desired.
It is possible to give reluctantly or under compulsion, but this is not the kind of giving God desires. Rather, we should give as God prospers us and out of gratitude for what He has given to us.
If you begrudge God your money, don’t give it. But you should seriously consider what God has done for you, and think about why you are not grateful to Him for what He has done. If you truly are thankful to God for His mercy that He has bestowed upon you, then giving a portion of what He has blessed you with is a tangible way to show your gratitude.
Where is Christ in this passage?
The people in Ezra’s day were giving toward to completion of the temple. They were seeking to complete the earthly shadow of the heavenly reality. Everything in the temple was pointing forward to the final High Priest who would offer the perfect Sacrifice for sin. All in the temple was pointing to Jesus Christ.
