But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are consecrated unto the LORD: they shall come into the treasury of the LORD.
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Augustine of Hippo
AD 430
And when temples, idols, groves, and other things of the sort are authorized to be torn down, although it is evident when we do this that we are not honoring but despising them, still we should not take away anything for private, or at least personal, use so that our purpose in tearing down must be manifest as devotion, not cupidity. However, when such things are turned over for public, not private or personal use, as when they are used to honor the true God, that same holds true for things as for people, when they turn from sacrilege and impiety to the true religion. God is understood to have taught this by those texts which you quoted, as when he ordered wood from the grove of foreign gods to be brought for a holocaust and ordered that all the gold, silver and brass vessels be carried into the treasury of the Lord. - "Letter 47"
Treasures, probably in the tabernacle. See Numbers xxxi. 48. God claims the first-fruits of the booty, as an acknowledgment that he granted the victory, (Calmet) and all the riches of the country, to his people. (Haydock)
