Often in living this life we ​​are trapped in an obsession with ownership of various possessions that often change with the times. We feel that by having these things happiness will come. In fact, what we should remember is that whatever is in our lives and everything we have basically belongs to God alone. So all of these things should be offered to Him as a tool to glorify God's name. Christianity has never been against wealth and possessions, but in Christianity we can know the proper governance of everything we have.

When the people of Judah returned to Jerusalem, people also brought their possessions. At that time, one form of valuable possessions was livestock. In our text today it is recorded that along with the 42,360 souls who returned, there were also 736 horses, 245 mules, 435 camels, and 6,720 donkeys. The many animals brought home prove that the people who returned from exile apparently continued to struggle and work hard and even sought the welfare of the city where God exiled them. That is how they lived out the word of God as recorded in Jeremiah 29:7.

Ezra 2:68-70 records an interesting thing that several heads of families offered voluntary offerings for the construction of the House of God in its original place. The offerings collected were quite large. It was recorded that there were 61,000 gold drachmas, 5,000 silver minas, and 100 priestly shirts. In addition to what was recorded, it is suspected that there were also other forms of participation from the people who returned to Israel. It could be in the form of property or labor in the construction of the house of God.

From this we learn that in the end the wealth we have is a tool for God's work to be revealed. These objects are not our final goal, but rather God's blessing so that we are also able to be a blessing through involvement in God's work and helping others. The offerings we give every week also have the same spirit. Hopefully every Christian family can have this awareness and the managers of the offerings can truly realize that what they manage is part of the involvement of believers, especially the church, in God's work in the world.