Ezra 1:7-11
“Moreover, King Cyrus brought out the articles belonging to the the temple of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of his god. Cyrus king of Persia had them brought by Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah.
This was the inventory:
gold dishes 30
silver dishes 1000
silver pans 29
gold bowls 30
matching silver bowls 410
other articles 1000
In all, there were 5,400 articles of gold and of silver. Sheshbazzar brought all these along when the exiles came up from Babylon to Jerusalem.”
Sometimes it’s easy to forget what exactly temple sacrifices were under the Old Covenant.
It was the acting out of Hebrews 9:22: Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.
The distance between our Holy God and our sin is so great, something has to die. For every sin.
If you’re like me and have never slaughtered an animal before, it can be hard to picture. But this is bloody work. And not just for little lambs, but depending on the sin, also bulls and rams and goats.
This slaughtering required utensils. Things like knives and forks and meat hooks.
But also things like bowls and pans and dishes. Some bowls were used to sprinkle blood on the altar before the LORD.
This, these sacrifices, were the only way God had provided for the people to be made right with Him.
And this is not just at the tabernacle before the People of God had a city. The same held true in Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem. King David desired to build a house for God. A place where the Ark of the Covenant could rest. Rather than being the one to build it, he got the privilege of passing that honor on to his son, Solomon.
Before the whole assembly, King David handed Solomon the plans for the temple, including the weight of pure gold for the forks, sprinkling bowls and pitchers, and dishes (1 Chronicles 28:17). David himself gave from his treasury some of the precious metal for the Temple and its articles, and encouraged the assembled Israelites to do the same. They gave generously and David dedicated their offerings to God, saying:
“O LORD our God, as for all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name, it comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you…So they all praised the LORD, the God of their fathers; they bowed low and fell prostrate before the LORD and the king.” (1 Chronicles 29:16,20b)
And all this? These treasures dedicated to God and used to daily bridge that gap between Divine and Human?
Nebuchadnezzar simply carried off.
God is zealous for His Name. And for anything that has been set apart and made holy unto Him. God used this study to teach me more about King Neb. I truly would like to believe that after some run-ins with Daniel’s God, he was no longer flippant with sacred things.
But how about us? Do we treat what is sacred as sacred?
That includes ourselves, Believers. If our trust is in Jesus alone, the One Sacrifice to end all sacrifices, we are set apart as holy for Him. Not only that, but under the New Covenant, we are living sacrifices.
It’s how we are to worship Him. Die every morning. Then stand up and walk with Him in His power.
Living sacrifices.