This chapter details where the Jews took up residence, the names of leaders, and heads of households.
“Now the leaders of the people lived in Jerusalem. And the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in Jerusalem the holy city, while nine out of ten remained in the other towns. And the people blessed all the men who willingly offered to live in Jerusalem.” (v1-2)
The Jews were required to send ten percent of their manpower to to serve in Jerusalem, rather than serve on their own personal properties. Some were selected by ‘random’ draw, others volunteered, and those who volunteered were blessed.
This reminds me of the importance of tithing our time and other resources. Many churches will ask people to give ten percent of their money to God’s work, which is biblical, however they sometimes neglect to mention that God asks for more from us than just money.
All who wish to follow Christ are called to serve and help build God’s kingdom. Giving money is important, however, I find giving time, energy and other resources is even more rewarding. I encourage all of us to tithe as God calls us, returning a portion of all of our resources to His kingdom.
Of course it’s always best if we give joyfully and voluntarily. Just like the Jews who volunteered to serve in Jerusalem, those who willingly help build God’s kingdom will be blessed differently than those who do it out of obligation or wrong motives. By joyfully serving with our time, energy, money, influence, connections, and other resources, we are loving God and loving our neighbors.
One good thing to remember is we can give outside of the established church structure – even serving our families with the love of Christ is serving God. Personally, I find the most rewarding forms of tithing don’t come with a formal volunteer label or a tax receipt.
Father God, our Magnificent Lord and Savior, You are truly deserving of our voluntary devotion and service. Spirit please mold our hearts to serve willingly, and give joyfully without hesitation. May we serve You obediently and frequently, though wisely so we don’t burn out. Please guide our service each and every day, helping our hearts to serve You, no matter what the task. May we praise, honor and glorify You with every resource entrusted to us, each and every day, amen.
~ Conqueror in Training