The Lord's Treasury
Scripture Reading — Joshua 6:12-21
“All the silver and the gold … are sacred to the LORD and must go into his treasury.”
—Joshua 6:19
Being good followers did not make Israel wealthy. After they shouted, the walls came down, but all the wealth of Jericho went into the Lord’s treasury.
The cities and nations of the world and their people enjoy the good things of the earth. But this goodness, and the people themselves, belong to the Lord. He expects to receive the firstfruits of the land and of the family, of the mind and of the body (see Exodus 23:19). So when Israel wields the sword of the Lord in Jericho, Israel is there to gather into the God’s treasury what belongs to the Lord: silver and gold, bronze and iron. But the people and their animals are slain by the sword of the Lord. Thus God dedicated Jericho completely to himself, body and soul, in life and in death.
Jesus Christ brings his disciples into the Lord’s treasure house through his complete dedication to God, by the death wrought in his body and spirit on a cross (John 19:28-30). As Christians, we don’t just give the Lord the firstfruits of what we have and are, but everything—our thoughts, our loves, our wealth, our youth, our old age, and much more—belongs in the Lord’s treasury. We belong to him totally.
Being good followers of Jesus may not make you wealthy, but it brings you into the Lord’s treasury. That makes you more precious to the Lord than the finest gold.
“We give you but your own, whatever that gift may be. All that we have is yours alone,” to do with as you please. Amen.
About the author — Arie C. Leder
Dr. Arie C. Leder is the Martin J. Wyngaarden Senior Professor of Old Testament Studies at Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He previously served as pastor at Ebenezer Christian Reformed Church, Trenton, Ontario, and with Christian Reformed World Missions in Latin America. He teaches courses on the Pentateuch and on historical books of the Old Testament.
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