“And now, because of my devotion to the Temple of my God, I am giving all of my own private treasures of gold and silver to help in the construction. This is in addition to the building materials I have already collected for his holy Temple. [1 Chronicles 29.3]
"All" that David had was enormous. 112 tons of gold and 262 tons of refined silver is staggering by any standard and, particularly by today's standard. All one can do is read this account and say, "wow!"
But someone else said "wow" some time later...
For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.” [Mark 12.44]
Jesus praised a poor widow's gift as "more" compared to the large amounts given by the rich. Jesus' scale of measure was not "quantity given" but rather "quantity given in relationship to total possession" (or, percentage of total wealth).
Back to David... The paragraph above makes David's gift even more significant because it was "all" just like the poor widow's gift years later. In fact, as Jesus revealed, God saw David's and the widow's gifts exactly the same!
The importance of this is revealed and taught throughout Jesus' life and ministry on earth. Here is a flagship verse supporting this statement:
So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own. [Luke 14.33]
Don't we all feel compelled at this point to "explain" Luke 14.33?
God help us.
Father, forgive me for "explaining" the Word according to my level of comfort. Help me to quit all my reasoning and justification for self-preservation and obediently conform to Christ and His example.
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