Tally Not

“And Solomon left all the vessels unweighed, because they were exceeding many: neither was the weight of the brass found out.” (1Ki 7:47 AV)

 This may seem like an odd verse, but there is a point to this.  It would not have been difficult to tally all the materials that went into the building and furnishing of the temple.  It could have started with a tally of raw materials.  Then a tally or inventory could have been made of all the finished products.  It would not have been that difficult.  However, Solomon chose to refrain from tabulating the final monetary worth of the temple and the reason was given is the sheer volume of it.  One could read the phrase “because they were exceeding many” as the inability to tabulate such an amount.  Or, more than likely, the amount was so great they didn’t want to risk national pride in what they were able to do.  In doing so, the glory would have been theirs and not the LORD’s.

Israel was forbidden to number the people.  They were not allowed to take a census and tabulate the total population of war eligible men.  For good reason.  If the king knew exactly how many men he could call up and the total number he would have in a standing army, he may be enticed to wage wars of aggression.  By not knowing the total number of resources, he would be limited to planning warfare.  He would only be able to respond defensively to an imminent threat.  Not knowing the total value of things is sometimes a good thing.  We need to know some things for specific reasons.  We need to know our church finances so we can plan missions and budgets.  We need to know the total number of material belongings and property values for insurance purposes.  Our finances are known to the church body so we can budget, plan, and be accountable.  The other numbers we may not know or publish.  We can see the total cap on our insurance, but the actual value of that which the LORD has blessed is seldom known.  We wouldn’t want to get a bit prideful over what we have.

This was the difference between Solomon and his descendent of many generations, Hezekiah.  Solomon did not tally all of that which the LORD has bestowed.  It wasn’t necessary other than to take pride in what was given.  Humility doesn’t count.  Hezekiah, on the other hand, not only tallied but went so far as to invite the Chaldeans into his palace and the house of the LORD to see all the wealth God had given.  This lead to an invasion a few years later.  We should be aware of our blessings.  We should take pleasure in the fact of God’s blessings of life.  We should be pleased as to how the LORD has used us for His glory.  But there is a fine line between remembering what God has done and counting our participation in it.  The older I get the more I realize just how much of what is accomplished is God and how little of it is me.  God is the giver of all we have and He alone should receive the praise for the final product.  We have done nothing in and of ourselves.  We have given nothing.  We have sacrificed nothing.  He has done it all for the praise and glory of His name!