God will bless our integrity

In the eighth chapter of Ezra, we read of a significant treasure offered by King Artaxerxes:

Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests, namely, 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 our 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 ancestors. 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 the 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.

The scholars tell us that the value of all of this wealth in today's terms would be millions of dollars. There's gold, silver, and vessels made of bronze listed there. I read one commentary that said it would have amounted to more than thirty tons of precious metal and finely made vessels.

These verses indicate that Ezra divided up all of this treasure for the temple among the twelve people that were chosen for this task. Each one received a certain amount of material that they were responsible for. It was weighed before being handed to the carrier, and then once they arrived in Jerusalem, it was weighed again, to make certain that there was complete financial integrity.

Ezra was concerned about making sure that when a report went back to the king regarding his offering to the Hebrews' God, that there was no way any could go astray - no chance for greed, corruption, or mismanagement.
He made sure that the chosen carriers were aware that they were accountable to deliver that amount of treasure to God's house in Jerusalem. And sure enough, when they got there, everything was numbered and weighed, and all was well. Now, I suppose there may have been one or two who grumbled about whether or not Ezra trusted them, because after all, God was watching all that they did. But God has always valued good accounting. Good stewardship. That doesn't mean that we all have to undergo training, learn how to keep ledgers, and wear visors while we pore over columns of numbers. (Grin) But it's a good principle to remember - honesty in stewardship is important.

There are many verses we can point to, that illustrate this. Let's focus on some in the New Testament: like when Paul was talking about bringing an offering to the Lord's people:

For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man. (II Corinthians 8:21)

He was referring to his careful handling of the gifts for the poor Christians in Jerusalem. He knew that if we don't work hard to be accountable, we can expose ourselves to temptation and to accusations from others.
Paul also said:

So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man. (Acts 24:16)

Even in what we humans would consider "small matters," we must try very hard to show honesty and integrity.  Jesus told us:

 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much." (Luke 16:10)

Integrity means total honesty in financial (and other) dealings. Ezra knew this, just as Paul did when he counseled the Ephesians:

when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. (Ephesians 4:21-25)

In our relationships in the world, we represent the Lord Jesus, Who is the Truth. We may be the only gospel that some people "read." So it makes sense that we must honor God with our faith and with integrity, and that He will bless our efforts for accountability and honesty.
More from Ezra 8 tomorrow!