The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when ye give the heave-offering of Jehovah, to make atonement for your souls.
When Israel was counted, God set a price on each man's life. Every man paid the same half shekel as a ransom — no more from the rich, no less from the poor. Commentators read that fixed sum as a picture of how God redeems people.
God fixed the amount. The giver had no say in it. One writer says that shuts out every price man might prefer instead.
This was vital: no one could be counted as God's at all unless the redemption money was paid for him. God exempted no one and allowed no excuse... The price is half a shekel, or ten gerahs, by the shekel of the sanctuary — God's own estimate. Man might imagine that something else would suit his redemption better — his own works, his feelings, his worthiness, or his faithfulness. But God's holiness and righteousness would not let poor man fool himself like that. The foundation must match God's estimate; the shekel must match the weights of the sanctuary.
The equal payment says something about the payers. Measured by sin, the differences between people disappear.
Once sin is the question, God sees no difference between one man and another. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Some have gone further in open wrongdoing and outright crime. But in their state before God, all are sinners under condemnation — the outwardly decent as well as the immoral, the rich as well as the poor. Wealth, position, achievements, even good character, count for nothing before God.
The same levelling holds for believers. They differ widely in maturity and usefulness, but not in the ground they stand on.
People may differ hugely in knowledge, experience, ability, progress, zeal and devotion. Yet the ground of atonement is the same for all. The great apostle to the Gentiles and the weakest lamb in Christ's whole flock stand on the same level when it comes to atonement... Not all are equally devoted and fruitful. But "the precious blood of Christ" — not devotion or fruitfulness — is the solid and everlasting ground of the believer's rest.
That half shekel came to ten gerahs. One writer treats those ten gerahs as a debt man could never pay — and points to the One who did.
Man never has paid the ten gerahs he owes, and never could. Christ has paid in full, at God's own valuation, and so provided the perfect ransom. This atonement price is the solid and eternal foundation on which the guiltiest sinner who believes in Him can rest. In the picture, it was ten gerahs of silver. What it pointed to is this: "you were ransomed … not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot" (1 Peter 1:18-19).
Commentators differ on how far the picture reaches. One takes this scene as a ransom that guarded life from plague, not a sacrifice for sins. He still finds a lesson in the equal price:
Here the question was not sins or sacrifice, but a ransom for a man's life to keep plague away. So the rule laid down was a sacred half shekel, weighed by the shekel of the sanctuary... This was a beautiful sign that each of the people, all alike, belonged to the LORD, their divine Guardian and Ruler.
The sum was fixed, so a rich man could not cover a poor neighbour. Each paid for himself.
Here the rich could not pay for the poor. Each man had to come into a clear and personal relationship with God about his own ransom... Another person's prayers will not save him on their own, unless by the grace of God they lead him to know Christ himself as the Redeemer.
The silver did not go into storage. It went under the walls of God's house.
The money went to make the silver sockets that formed the foundation of the sanctuary. The house of God rested on redemption, and the ransomed people were joined to it — each one represented by the money he had given... They may have grasped this blessed fact only weakly. But the memorial stood before the Lord always, and the question then, as now, is this: Does He look on us as redeemed? Has He accepted our redemption price? If He is satisfied, we too may rest in peace.
- One price — God set the half shekel by His own standard. Redemption is priced by His estimate, not by our works, feelings or worthiness.
- One level — rich and poor paid alike. In the matter of sin there is no difference between people, whatever their wealth or character.
- One payment — ten gerahs measured a debt no one could pay. Christ paid it in full, and the guiltiest believer rests on that.
- One each — no man could buy a neighbour's ransom. Salvation is personal dealing with God, never borrowed from someone else's faith.
- One foundation — the silver became the sockets under God's house. It stands before Him as a memorial of atonement, so His people can rest in peace.
And thou shalt take the atonement-money of the children of Israel, and devote it to the service of the tent of meeting; and it shall be a memorial to the children of Israel before Jehovah, to make atonement for your souls.
God tells Moses where the census silver goes: into the service of the tent of meeting, where it stands before Him as a reminder for His people. Two questions sit behind that instruction — why did counting people need a ransom at all, and why does God's dwelling rest on the price of souls?
The command was tied to one particular moment: the counting itself.
At the counting, each man came before God one by one, as it were. That was the exact moment chosen to remind them of their condition, and of the need of redemption that follows from it. As long as sin is not dealt with, if God comes into contact with men as they are, His very holiness must make Him take notice of their guilt. So we have this gracious provision. Its meaning as a picture is simply the truth found on every page of Scripture: all men need a ransom for their souls.
The sum was not left to the giver to decide.
If God is to have a redeemed people among whom He will dwell, it must be according to His thoughts, not theirs. The price is to be half a shekel, or ten gerahs, according to the shekel of the sanctuary — the divine estimation. Man might imagine that something else would suit his redemption better. He might think of his own works, his feelings, his worthiness, or his faithfulness. But God's holiness and righteousness would not let poor man be so deceived. The foundation must match God's estimate. The shekel must match the weights of the sanctuary.
The half shekel weighed ten gerahs of silver. Both the number and the metal carry meaning.
Ten is the number of responsibility toward God. The lesson, then, is that man's responsibility to God as a sinner must be met. Now silver is a figure of the blood of Christ. Peter points to this when he says, "you were ransomed… not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot." The half shekel of silver was a plain figure of the blood of Christ. So we learn that this precious blood alone can meet our responsibility to God as sinners, and make atonement for our souls.
Rich and poor paid the identical amount. That says something about how God sees people once sin is the subject.
Every man, whether rich or poor, was of exactly the same value before God. "The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less." Once sin is the question, God sees no difference between one man and another. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Some may have gone further in outward wrongdoing, in open crimes. But as to their state before God, all are sinners under condemnation — the outwardly moral as well as the immoral, the rich as well as the poor.
No one could pay on another's behalf:
In this matter the rich could not give for the poor. Each man for himself had to come into a distinct and personal relationship with God about his ransom or redemption. Unless the silver sockets included the money of each man counted, God could not regard him as redeemed. It is so now. Everyone must have a personal interest in the blood of Christ or he cannot be saved.
The silver did not go on running costs. It went underneath, into what the whole structure rested on.
It went to make the sockets of silver which formed the foundation of the sanctuary. The house of God was founded upon redemption, and the ransomed people were identified with it — every one of them represented by the money given, and represented therefore in all the value of what the silver pictured. The silver the tabernacle rested on testified, for the people of Israel, that atonement had been made for their souls. The memorial was always before the Lord, and the question then, as now, is this: does He look on us as redeemed? If He is satisfied, we may rest in peace.
The money did not buy their standing with God. It recorded that standing, and kept it before Him.
This offering of atonement money was only a memorial of the great fact, the ground on which each one of them stood with God — "that it may bring the people of Israel to remembrance before the LORD."
The ransom leaves a man nothing of his own to claim.
The atonement makes everything of God and nothing of us. Apart from Christ and His work on my behalf, I am nothing; but regarded on the ground of it, my blessing has no limit.
- Counted — Being numbered brought each man face to face with God, and that meeting exposed his need of a ransom.
- Priced — God set the price by His own sanctuary standard, so no substitute of man's choosing would do.
- Equal — Rich and poor paid the same, because sin levels every difference between people.
- Personal — No one could pay for another; each had to be represented in the silver himself.
- Foundational — The ransom silver became the sockets under the tabernacle, so God's house stood on redemption.