Treasure

Initially in the Bible, Yahweh alone has a treasury.  His heaven is a treasury of rain, and therefore of abundance (Deuteronomy 28:12).  When Joshua defeats the Canaanites, the plunder goes into Yahweh’s earthly-heavenly treasury, the tabernacle (Joshua 6:19, 24).

One of the innovations of kingship is that the king has a treasury that is mentioned in the same breath with Yahweh’s own treasure house (1 Kings 14:26; 15:18; 2 Kings 12:18; 14:14; 16:8; etc.).

At times, the king’s treasury becomes competitive with Yahweh’s own.  At times, of course, king’s trust in their treasuries rather than in the infinite treasury of Yahweh (as in Isaiah 2:7).  In itself, though, it is a good thing for kings to have treasuries: It shows that Yahweh is deifying Israel, growing up his son to be able, eventually, to handle even the heavenly treasures that are in the Father’s storehouse.

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