In the book of Ezra, Ezra said, “I separated twelve of the chief of the priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them, and weighed unto them the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, even the offering of the house of our God, which the king, and his counselors, and his lords, and all Israel there present, had offered. I even weighed unto their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and silver vessels an hundred talents, and of gold an hundred talents. Also twenty basins of gold, of a thousand drams; and two vessels of fine copper, precious as gold. And I said unto them, You are holy unto the LORD; the vessels are holy also; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering unto the LORD God of your fathers”, and in chapter eight and verse twenty-nine of Ezra, Ezra said, “watch you, and keep them” where we read,
Watch you, and keep them, until you weigh them before the chief of the priests and the Levites, and chief of the fathers of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the LORD.
The verse reads, “Watch you, and keep them, until you weigh them before the chief of the priests and the Levites, ..” Ezra began with the words, “watch you” which means “you, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them, be alert, keep awake, observe and be wakeful”, “and keep them” or “and guard over and observe them, the silver, gold and vessels”, “until you weigh them” which means “till such a time when you, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them, pay and present them, the silver, gold and freewill offerings” “before the chief of the priests” or “in front and in the presence of the ruler, chieftain and head of the spiritual leaders and spokesmen” “and the Levites” which means “and the descendants of Levi whose name means joined to and who were specially set aside by God for his service”. Ezra shared how he charged “Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them” to be alert and guard over the silver, gold and the implements for the temple until such time as they presented them to the head “priest” and the temple serving members of the tribe of Levi.
The verse continues, “… and chief of the fathers of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the LORD.” Ezra added the words, “and chief” which means “and ruler, chieftain and head” “of the fathers of Israel” which means “belonging to the male ancestors and progenitors belonging to Israel whose name means God prevails and is the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob”, “at Jerusalem” or “in the location of Jerusalem whose name means teaching of peace and is the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split”, “in the chambers” which means “within the room” “of the house” or “pertaining to the habitation, abode and dwelling place” “of the LORD” which means “belonging to Jehovah who is the existing One and the proper name for the One True God”. Ezra shared how “Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them” were also to present the silver, gold and implements to the head of the male progenitors belonging to Israel within the city of “Jerusalem” and in the room inside of the dwelling place of Jehovah God.
When we consider the words in this verse, we learn through Ezra how he gave instructions to “Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them” concerning the “silver, gold and articles” which were given for the rebuilding of the temple and the reestablishing of worship to Jehovah God. God wanted a personal relationship with the people of Israel, and He desires a relationship with us as well. When we yield to His Son Jesus as our personal “Savior and Lord” who died on the cross for our sins, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put within us an understanding in the valuable spiritual things that He places within our trust.
Next time Ezra says what to do with, “the weight of silver, gold and vessels”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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