1 Maccabees 10:34-45: a reflection

34“All the feasts, the Sabbaths, new moons, appointed days, three days before a feast, and three days after a feast, let them all be days of immunity and release for all the Jews who are in my kingdom. 35No man shall have authority to exact anything from any of them, or to trouble them concerning any matter. 36“Let there be enrolled among the king’s forces about thirty thousand men of the Jews, and pay shall be given to them, as is due to all the king’s forces. 37Of them, some shall be placed in the king’s great strongholds, and some of them shall be placed over the affairs of the kingdom, which are positions of trust. Let those who are over them and their rulers be of themselves, and let them walk after their own laws, even as the king has commanded in the land of Judah. 38“The three districts that have been added to Judea from the country of Samaria, let them be annexed to Judea, that they may be reckoned to be under one ruler, that they may not obey any other authority than the high priest’s. 39As for Ptolemais and its land, I have given it as a gift to the sanctuary that is at Jerusalem, for the expenses of the sanctuary. 40I also give every year fifteen thousand shekels of silver from the king’s revenues from the places that are appropriate. 41And all the additional funds which those who manage the king’s affairs didn’t pay as in the first years, they shall give from now on toward the works of the temple. 42Besides this, the five thousand shekels of silver which they received from the uses of the sanctuary from the revenue year by year is also released, because it belongs to the priests who minister there. 43Whoever flees to the temple that is at Jerusalem, and within all of its borders, whether owing money to the king, or any other matter, let them go free, along with all that they have in my kingdom. 44For the building and renewing of the structures of the sanctuary, the expense shall also be given out of the king’s revenue. 45For the building of the walls of Jerusalem and fortifying it all around, the expense shall also be given out of the king’s revenue, also for the building of the walls in Judea.”

In this royal decree, the king provides generously for the ongoing needs of the temple: funds for its structures, for its building and repair, for the walls of Jerusalem, given year by year out of the royal revenue. It is not a one-time gift, but ongoing provision for the continual work of maintaining and supporting God's house. The unglamorous but necessary work of keeping the sanctuary in order was to be provided for, steadily, over time.

Notice the provision for the ongoing work: not just a one-time gift, but steady, continual support for the maintenance and repair of the sanctuary. The work of God's house was not only its dramatic building, but its ongoing upkeep, the unglamorous, continual work of maintaining and supporting it; and provision was made for this ongoing work, year by year. The steady support of the ongoing work was as necessary as the dramatic founding, and was provided for.

That is worth remembering, for the work of God requires not only dramatic beginnings but steady, ongoing support. We can be drawn to the dramatic, the founding, the visible; but much of God's work is the unglamorous, continual labor of maintenance and support, keeping the work going year after year. And this ongoing work needs steady provision and faithful support, as much as the dramatic beginnings do. Do not overlook the unglamorous, ongoing work of supporting God's work, drawn only to the dramatic and visible. The steady, continual support of the ongoing work, the maintenance and upkeep that keep the work going, is as necessary as the dramatic founding. Give your steady, faithful support to the ongoing work of God, the unglamorous maintenance and continual labor that keeps it going, as the decree provided steady support for the ongoing work of the sanctuary. Faithful, ongoing support, not just dramatic gestures, is what keeps God's work going; give it steadily.

Lord, in this royal decree the king provided generously for the ongoing needs of the temple: funds for its structures, its building and repair, given year by year, not a one-time gift but ongoing provision for the continual, unglamorous work of maintaining and supporting your house. Help me remember that your work requires not only dramatic beginnings but steady, ongoing support. I can be drawn to the dramatic, the founding, the visible; but much of your work is the unglamorous, continual labor of maintenance and support, keeping the work going year after year. And this ongoing work needs steady provision and faithful support, as much as the dramatic beginnings do. Keep me from overlooking the unglamorous, ongoing work of supporting your work, drawn only to the dramatic and visible. The steady, continual support of the ongoing work is as necessary as the dramatic founding. Help me give my steady, faithful support to the ongoing work of you, the unglamorous maintenance and continual labor that keeps it going, as the decree provided steady support for the ongoing work of the sanctuary. Faithful, ongoing support, not just dramatic gestures, is what keeps your work going, Lord; help me give it steadily.