The Lord said to Moses, 12 “When you take the census of the people of Israel, then each shall give a ransom for his life to the Lord when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them. 13 Each one who is numbered in the census shall give this: half a shekel[b] according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs),[c] half a shekel as an offering to the Lord. 14 Everyone who is numbered in the census, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the Lord‘s offering. 15 The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than the half shekel, when you give the Lord‘s offering to make atonement for your lives. 16 You shall take the atonement money from the people of Israel and shall give it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may bring the people of Israel to remembrance before the Lord, so as to make atonement for your lives.” (Exodus 30:11-16)
Introduction
Last week we considered the altar of incense in the tabernacle, and today we look at verse 11-16 of chapter 30 concerning the Shekel of the Sanctuary. Recall that throughout this section of Exodus, God has told Moses, back in chapter 25 that all these instructions for the tabernacle serve the purpose of making a sanctuary where God may dwell in their midst. All of the details concerning the tabernacle are so that there is a fit place for God to dwell in their midst. We’ve seen the ordering of the materials used, the ordering of the priesthood, and now in verse 11-16 we see the ordering of the people.
V. 11-16
This section concerning a census tax may at first seem a bit out of place, but we find that it is indeed connected to the service of the tabernacle as verse 16 tells us the money is for “the service of the tent of meeting, that it may bring the people of Israel to remembrance before the LORD, so as to make atonement for their lives.”
Now when we consider this census tax, the first thing that comes to our minds is probably just a typical census, a counting of all the people of Israel for administrative purposes. However another way to translate the text would be to say, “when you MUSTER the people,” as opposed to “take a census of the people.” The idea of mustering the people is to muster the people for an army.
And beyond this other way of translating the text, there are clues within the Scripture that would point to a muster as being more likely. In verse 14 it says those numbered in the census are 20 years old and upward. This is the age in which the Israelite men would be eligible to fight in the army. Now, the ESV says “everyone” or “people” – indicating it is not gender specific. However, the KJV and others, translate it in the masculine, as men, as of course it was only men who fought in the army. Furthermore, a few chapters over in Exodus 38:26, it says, “…for everyone who was listed in the records, from twenty years old and upward, for 603,550 men.”
You might also recall the incident where King David sinned by wrongly taking a “census” of the people. In 1 Chronicles 21 the numbers that are given were the numbers of men who drew the sword. It seems David’s sinful motivations were pride in boasting large numbers of a standing army, pride in the strength of Israel and his Kingdom. So the idea is that the purpose of taking a census in Israel was for mustering an army.
So in Exodus 30 we have this connection between numbering the men for battle and the service of the tabernacle. Thus, a military census tax such as this, was to remind Israel that when they rightly go to battle they were to do so under the authority of the God of Israel. It was to remind them that the LORD was their strength and they were to trust in His Arm to save, and not their own strength. And it was to teach them that in rightly entering holy war, it was to serve the dwelling place of God, and to further the right worship of God. In all of their righteous battles it was ultimately so that God might be praised, and that the nations would see how great their God was.
By way of application, we know that nations today are not in the same covenantal holy war situation as Old Covenant Israel. But there are of course just wars that still have to be fought from time to time. And I believe that a vital consideration for Christian people who engage in war is to consider the furtherance of the praise and worship of God, and how their military engagements affect that. In other words, the church should be of utmost consideration when we fight. How will the strategies, tactics, and battles affect the Christians in the land that you are fighting in? One of the great tragedies of history is Christians fighting and killing other Christians in war. It’s possibly the saddest reality of church history. And one of the great tragedies of the United State’s involvement and wars in the Middle East over the past 20+ years is the suffering that it has caused for Chrisitans in the Middle East. And most Christians in America have never even thought about what we have done to our brothers and sisters in these war torn regions. We have gone in and destabilized and overturned Middle Eastern governments which has led to less protections for Christians and more opportunity for Islamic radicalization, which leads to more persecution of Christians. Let me just give you one number. In 2003 there were 1.5 million Christians in Iraq. Today, there are less than 120,000. Do you think that’s better or worse for Iraq? In recent weeks we’ve seen conservative talking heads calling for Israel to carpet bomb and even use Nuclear bombs on their enemies in Palestine. That’s insane. What about the Christians and churches that would be destroyed? As Christians, we must consider the people of God when it comes to war tactics. Today, in the New Covenant, the worship of God is not tied to a material tabernacle, promised land, or nations, but the true worship of God is wherever God’s people are, in every land and every nation where Jesus is building His church. Our actions should be grounded by a desire to see that continue and increase wherever it may be. We should care about the Church in Ukraine and Russia, the Church in Palestine and in Israel. We want God’s praise to rise in every tongue and every land.
The other element of this census tax in Exodus 30 is that everyone who was numbered was to pay the same amount. Whether you were rich or poor or somewhere in between, it was the same amount. Not all Old Covenant required payments were like this. Tithes were percentages, some offerings were given according to ability. But this one was the same for all, and it was called a ransom for their lives, and atonement money. This was to show that the price of atonement is the same. It pointed forward to the fact that the price of our redemption is the same price for all – the precious blood of Jesus. There is one hope, one faith, one baptism, and one Lord over all.
Matthew Henry says that the tribute money was the same for all “…to intimate that the souls of the rich and poor are alike precious, and that God is no respecter of persons, Acts 10:34. In other offerings men were to give according to their ability; but this, which was the ransom of the soul, must be alike for all.”
This points forward to the greater reality of the New Covenant, that we can’t pay money for our ransom. There is no price we can pay to redeem our souls. It is only through the blood of Jesus, the same price for all – His life for ours. And Jesus is the one that paid it all. And in Jesus paying it all, He knows, as the census shows, the exact number of ransomed souls. He knows the name of each one whom He purchased with His blood. So it is that Jesus paid the price for the building up of the spiritual tabernacle, the living temple, that His spiritual service and worship be done.
It is a temptation to our flesh to think that there is something we have to do to earn forgiveness or pay for our sins. We sin and we can be so laden with guilt that we feel that there must be something more we have to do to pay. It is so hard to just receive in faith the free forgiveness of sins that Jesus gives. So we make up penance that we have to do to make ourselves feel like we are now worthy or qualified to be Christians. Or we feel that we need to suffer more punishment and guilt than Jesus has already suffered on our behalf. This is a subtle trusting in our own works, and a refusal to rest in the finished work and fully paid price of Jesus Christ for us. But in Jesus, we can just rest. It is finished. It is paid. There is no penance to be done. There is no more guilt or punishment you have to beat yourself up with. Christ has set us free, from condemnation from the law and free from punishment for our sins. There may be earthly consequences for our sins in relationships, there may be justice to be paid for crimes. But a man sitting in a prison cell who has been purchased by the blood of Jesus is more free than the most moral homeschool parent who thinks he or she has to do all kinds of different good deeds in order to pay for his or her sin and guilt. Christ has made atonement with His own blood.
We are called to live lives of obedience and holiness to God because we are free, not in order to be free. Faith looks to these promises of God, believes, and so lives. You can’t change the past. You can’t change what you’ve done. And when it comes to our standing before God, you can’t pay for it. Instead, you are to look to the promises of God, look to Christ, and believe that He really paid it all. Believe that God is not a liar. Believe that His offer of freedom and forgiveness is real, and that through faith, it is yours.
But some may say, “You don’t know what I have done. I have sinned so much more than others. What I have done is so much worse than anyone else! I have to pay for what I’ve done.” If that is you, then you are thinking way too highly of yourself. Why are you so special that the precious blood of Christ and His promises of rest don’t apply to you? Why are your sins not covered by Him? Christ knew exactly the depths of sin you would commit, and they are worse than you think, and yet, He still gave His life for sinners, for specific sinners with names and specific sins. If you could do penance, you don’t even know all the penance you would have to do to cover the depths of your sin. But Jesus knew. And He paid it all. God is satisfied in the sacrifice of His Son.
Exodus 30:15, “The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less…” The rich could not add to this census tax, and the poor could not take away from it. There are some persons who may believe that the blood of Jesus is good and necessary, but they have to add to it, they have to contribute something in addition or on top of it in order to be made right with God. In doing so, some may take an appearance of humility. But such is arrogance – to think that you can actually add something on top of the blood of Jesus to make you right with God. You can’t pay more than the “all” that Christ has already paid.
And then there are those who think they can pay less. This is utterly misguided self-righteousness, for some to think, “I can live a good and moral life and do all kinds of great works of philanthropy for my fellow man, so I don’t need the blood of Jesus, or to be a humble and poor sinner. I am a good person and God will accept me.” All the works you have to offer are woefully short of the price of your soul. Christ shed His blood because that was the price, and no other payment would be acceptable. The rich cannot give more, the poor cannot give less. All stand in the same need of the blood of Jesus Christ, no more and no less. And His blood is power to save all kinds of sinners, rich and poor, great and small, white-collar or blue-collar. All alike stand guilty and condemned before a holy God, and all alike stand in need of the One Mediator between God and man, the God-Man, Christ Jesus. There is no other way.
Boys and girls, it is a great blessing from God to grow up in Church and to have Christian parents, who take you to church and have family worship, and teach you the Word of God. It is a great blessing to have the Word of God, to sing the Psalms, to memorize God’s Word, and to live an upright life. But if anyone says “I have no sin, then he is a liar and the truth is not in him.” Being raised in a Christian home is a great blessing, but it does not change the fact that you are yet a sinner, who stands in the same need of the blood of Jesus Christ, and His death payment for your life, as anyone not raised by godly parents. The blessing is that you might see your need for Jesus and believe upon Him, as your parents have taught you to do, not that you would turn around and think that you need to pay more or pay less. Boys and girls, whatever your age is, you stand in the same need of Christ, as the oldest adult among us. And today you can believe upon the Lord Jesus, believe that He paid for your sins on the cross and be saved.
This is the other point we see in this passage that Matthew Henry mentioned, that God is no respecter of persons. All alike were to pay the same price for their souls. God does not look down upon us and think, “Wow, I am impressed with Jimmy, he can add so much to my kingdom, he is worth saving.” Nor does He say, “Wow, Jimmy is poor and wretched and does not offer anything to my kingdom. He is not worth saving.” No, Jesus came for sinners, of whatever kind. The healthy do not need doctors, the sick do. And we are all alike sick with sin, and stand in need of a healer, a redeemer, the Lord Jesus. Rich or poor. Famous or unknown. All must come alike through Jesus Christ.
How then are we to conduct ourselves in the household of God? As the New Testament teaches we are to be no respecter of persons in the church. If a wealthy person enters to worship, we are not to save a special seat for them and tell the poor to sit on the floor. But all alike, come through Jesus Christ, to the same table, with the same faith, baptism, and Lord. Or consider how you evangelize. Are you tempted to shy away from someone who is poor and needy because of that, or do you see them as a person made in the image of God, yet a sinner who needs Jesus Christ as much as the next person? Or back to the issue of warfare. Should we care less about the church in certain parts of the world because they don’t have the prominence of other nations? Certainly all the household of God should be of consideration to us. We have the same Lord and Faith as believers in any small war-torn nation, and we should do good unto all, especially the household of God.
Finally, consider again verse 16, which says they are to give the atonement money to the service of the tent of meeting, THAT IT MAY BRING THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL TO REMEMBRANCE BEFORE THE LORD… So again we find this purpose that we have seen with other elements of the tabernacle service, that the people would be brought in remembrance before the LORD. This was one of the purposes of the bread of the presence that was stacked in two stacks of 6 each, for remembrance before the LORD. This was one of the purposes of the Onyx Stones on the shoulder piece of the High Priest, that had the names of the sons of Israel engraved upon them, for remembrance before the LORD. Likewise, this is one of the purposes of the census tax.
The atonement money would serve the practical purpose of the up-keep of the tabernacle, thus serving as an offering, or a contribution from the people to the tabernacle service and the worship of God. So when they are registered in the army for battle, their military service is also connected to the service of God and His worship in the tabernacle. They are submitted to God in battle, fighting His holy wars, in His way, trusting in Him, fighting for His glory.
In this connection to war and the tabernacle service, we see that God remembers His soldiers. God remembers those who fight for Him in battle. Some Iraelites would of course die in battle, and when they fought justly before God, following His rules, their lives that were taken in combat, were not forgotten, and more, they were atoned for, and because they were atoned for they were not forgotten. Remember, death is unclean in the Old Covenant. Coming into contact with death and blood of the slain made one unclean. And this atonement money served the purpose of atoning for their lives that they would not become unclean before God as it were in battle, because they died in holy war. Their life was atoned for. This brought the gravity and weight to what they were signing up for and entering into when they paid the tax while being mustered for battle. It could cost them their life, but as faithful Israelites, they would not be forgotten by God, should they perish in war.
So it is that when Jesus gave His life in His suffering and death, in His war against the enemy where He triumphed over principalities and powers at the cross, He was not forgotten. His death was not in vain. It was pleasing to the Father. And of course, Jesus rose from the dead, ascended to the right hand of the Father, where His death is ever brought before the remembrance of the Father as Christ intercedes there for His people.
And in Jesus Christ, by His blood, which atoned for your life, you are always brought before remembrance to God. By way of application, the LORD always remembers you, in battle. He always remembers His soldiers. While we no longer fight literal holy wars for a promised land and conquest of Canaan, but when we become Christians, we are enlisted in the Lord’s army, not to fight against flesh and blood, but against the schemes of the devil. Against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. This is why Paul tells us in Ephesians 6 to put on the whole armor of God and to take up the sword of the Spirit, the word of God – spiritual weapons, for spiritual battle. And in this fight of our lives we are ever brought to remembrance before the Lord. He does not forget his soldiers. Some may be slain in battle, dying a martyr’s death, but the Lord does not forget them, their death is precious in His sight, and they are then with the Lord.
Probably the main part of this battle against spiritual forces of evil is the battle with our sin. It is spiritual warfare. And in that battle, it may be long, it may be difficult, we may gain many wounds and scars, but if we are Lord’s, if our lives are atoned for by the blood of Jesus, the Lord does not forget us in the fight. He will not leave us to ultimately fall away and lose our souls. He keeps us. In Christ we are more than conquerors. Your struggle with sin may result in many losses. It could cause you great grief and sorrow. Others may leave you and forget you. But the Lord does not forget His soldiers. Hebrews 12:3-4 says, “Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.”
Don’t give in in the fight. Put on the whole armor of God. Stand firm. Look to Jesus and believe that your life is atoned for in His blood, so that you ever brought before the Lord in remembrance.
Likewise, we ought not to forget each other in the fight. We are to pray for one another, help one another, exhort one another, and consider how to stir up one another to love and good works. Don’t abandon your brother in his fight. It is our fight. As Paul says in 1 Thessalonians, “Admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak. Be patient with them all.” And let us not forget those who suffer from the world for the sake of Christ. As Paul tells the Colossians, “remember my chains.” Or Hebrews 13:3, “Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.” The Lord does not forget His soldiers, let us not forget our brothers in arms.
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