King David dedicated these articles to the LORD, as he had done with the silver and gold he had taken from all these nations: Edom and Moab, the Ammonites and the Philistines, and Amalek. – 1 Chronicles 8:11

Today’s Scripture Reading (March 19, 2016): 1 Chronicles 18

A hiker in Israel recently found a gold coin that was almost 2000 years old. The coin is now one of only two about whose existence we are aware. This particular coin is now in the possession of Israeli Antiquity Authority and the only other one that we are aware of like it of resides in London’s British Museum. The coin itself was minted in 107 C.E. and it bears the image of Augustus who was the Caesar reigning at the time of the birth of Christ. Apparently, the coin was created at the beginning of the second century as part of a series of coins about Roman rulers. At the very end of the article is a comment that the hiker who found the coin would be given a certificate of appreciation for turning the coin over to the Israeli Antiquities. The cynic in me asked another question – is that what the hiker understood that she was doing when she took the coin to the Antiquities Authority in the first place. Or is it possible that in the back of her mind right now the exchange of a gold coin for a certificate is one of the worst deals she has made in her life.

We live in a world that seems to love to possess things. And a gold coin is a significant possession, especially one of that age. But the other side of the coin, and one that I am sure that the hiker, Laurie Rimon, is aware of, is that things of that age and importance really belong to all of us. The move to turn the coin over to Israeli Antiquities was precisely the correct one, but it is also a move that, in a possession driven world, is hard to make. Right is seldom easy.

The writer of I Chronicles, this section is copied almost word for word from 2 Samuel 8, reminds us that David kept a proper relationship between himself and his possession. The precious metals that came into his possession did not stay with him. The king did not become rich and fill his palace with the valuables that were given to him by other cultures. He recognized that these things did not come to him because of his expertise and value. They come to him because God had given him success. And so he was willing to allow these things to pass through him and back to God.

Specifically, David understood that he would not be the one who would build the Temple in Jerusalem. In David’s mind, God had said that that job would be given to Solomon. But as God blessed David, there was nothing to say that David could not take the spoils of war and the gifts of friends to begin to prepare things for the temple. And so the precious metals that came into David’s possession passed through David and were dedicated to God, and formed into implements and items that would one day fill the future temple.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 9