The institution of the half shekel of
silver as atonement money in this passage is associated with numbering the
children of Israel and with the possibility of plague. At first sight there
is no apparent connection between these items, but a consciousness that all
Scripture is inspired and profitable is a great help forward in its
understanding. The association of
these features evidently meant something to Moses and Israel, and it will to us
as we allow the Word to enter and give us light.
“When thou takest the sum of the children
of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his
soul unto the Lord, when thou numberest them;
that there be no plague among them, when thou numberest. This shall they give, every one that passeth
among them that are numbered, half a shekel, after the shekel of the sanctuary
(a shekel is twenty gerahs): an half
shekel shall be the offering of the Lord” (Exod.xxx.12,13).
What is the association between numbering,
plague and the ransom of half a shekel?
And why are we told just here that the shekel is equal to twenty gerahs? It is evident that each person paid ten
gerahs, and if we took our stand with this people we should not be long before
we saw some association between the ten gerahs and the ten plagues that fell
upon Egypt, from which Israel were spared and delivered by redeeming blood. This is no play of imagination, as a
reference to Exodus xiii. will show.
There we find that by reason of the fact that Israel were spared, while
the tenth plague were enjoined to wear the phylacteries as “a sign and a
memorial”, and to sanctify every firstborn, whether of man or beast, unto the
Lord.
“The males shall be the Lord’s. And every firstling of an ass thou shalt
redeem with a lamb . . . . . and all the firstborn of man among thy children
shalt thou redeem . . . . . when Pharaoh would not let us go, the Lord slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt,
both the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of beast: therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all that
openeth the matrix, being males; but all
the firstborn of my sons I redeem” (Exod.xiii.12-15).
Later on another phase of substitution was
introduced whereby the whole tribe of Levi was set apart instead of every
firstborn of the whole nation.
“And I, behold, I have taken the Levites
from among the sons of Israel instead of all the firstborn … because all the
firstborn are Mine: for on the day that
I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto Me all the
firstborn of Israel, both man and beast:
Mine shall they be: I am the
Lord” (Numb.iii.12,13).
Then comes the numbering of the Levites in
verses 14-39, and the numbering of the firstborn of Israel in verses
40-43. It so transpired that there were
22,273 firstborn males of Israel and 22,000 Levites of one month old and
upward, leaving 273 to be specially redeemed by the payment of five shekels
apiece. This sum of 1,365 shekels was
given to Aaron and his sons (Numbers.iii.45-51).
There is evidently some similar principle
at work in Exodus xxx. In
this case the numbering is of all who are twenty years old and upward, and the
ransom money is appointed for the service of the tabernacle as a memorial (xxx.
16). The number of those who thus paid
their half shekel was 603,550 men, and of the total sum 100 talents were used
to make the sockets of silver on which the tabernacle rested, while some, at
least, of the remainder were used in the making of the silver hooks, chapiters
and fillets that were specified.
No distinction was made between rich and
poor in the matter of this atonement money:
“The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less” (Exod.
xxx. 15). Whilst we have a recognition
of “each one’s several ability” in the distribution of the talents, one
receiving five, another two, and another only one, whilst reward for service
will be in some measure proportionate to faithfulness, yet, when we deal with such matters as redemption and atonement,
“there is no difference”, all alike are redeemed by the blood of the
Lamb, all alike pay their half shekel, neither more nor less.
It
is a blessed thought, that every time an Israelite looked at his own firstborn
son, he had a “memorial” of substitution before him. Every time he looked at a Levite accomplishing
the service of God, every firstborn male could say: There is one who hath taken my place. Every time he considered the foundations upon
which the tabernacle rested, they spoke of his atonement.
What of the spiritual realities of which
these are but shadows? Does our
conception of service, worship and the present position of Christ at the right
hand of God bring vividly to our mind and heart the consciousness that we are
not our own; that we are bought with a
price?
There is one occasion in the history of
David, in which “numbering”, “plague” and “ransom” figure, that should be
considered as a contrast to this ordinance.
David was moved to number Israel and Judah. Even Joab realized that the spirit that
prompted this numbering was not good (II Sam. xxiv. 3), and David subsequently
confessed that he had sinned greatly (verse 10). The result was judgment, in the form either
of famine, defeat, or pestilence, and the sequel was the erection of an altar
and the offering of sacrifice. The words
of Exod.xxx.12 come to mind as one reads this tragic
chapter:--
“Then shall he give every man a ransom for
his soul unto the Lord, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them,
when thou numberest them.”
The numbering of Israel by David was
evidently done either in pride, or in unbelief of the power of God. The grace of God that chose Israel for His
own ignored their numerical inferiority as compared with other nations (Deut.
vii. 7, 8). While Israel remained true,
“one should chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight” (Deut. xxxii.
30), but when they were unfaithful “a small company of men” was sufficient to
conquer “a very great host”, for the Lord would not be with them.
The solemn numbering of Israel with the
accompanying emphasis upon atonement would impress upon them the truth
concerning both their own shortcomings and the Lord’s grace.
The depths of love were sounded when the
spotless Son of God was “numbered with the transgressors”. Whenever we think of that, the only numbering
that matters to us is that we have been numbered with His saints, and rejoice
in the hope of the glory of God.
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