Exodus 30:11-16
“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,... that there be no plague among them.”
Before Aaron could approach to burn incense unto God, he must have a redeemed people to act for. And this, we believe, is the reason why we have the atonement money brought in here.
When they were numbered, each man was brought individually, as it were, before the Lord, and on each occasion he must give a half a shekel of silver. In this way he would be reminded of his condition as a sinner and need of redemption. Man everywhere is a sinner and needs a ransom for his soul. “That there be no plague” — unless one’s sins are atoned for he will come under the judgment of a holy God.
They were each to give half a shekel. The rich were not to give more, nor the poor less. God is no respecter of persons; all stand on one common platform as sinners before Him. It was to be “after the shekel of the sanctuary"; that is, it must be according to God’s standard, and not man’s. A shekel is twenty gerahs, so a half shekel would be ten gerahs. Ten speaks of responsibility towards God, and this tells us that man’s responsibility to God as a sinner must be met.
The silver of the ransom money speaks to us of the blood of Christ, the price our blessed Saviour paid as a ransom for our souls. How much more precious than silver, even as Peter tells us: “Ye were not re, deemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold... but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot,’ 1 Pet. 1:18,19. Thus in the ten gerahs we read the truth that only the blood of Christ can meet our responsibility to God as sinners.
“Without shedding of blood is no remission.” Heb. 9:22, is a truth largely given up and denied by many today, dear young Christian. But may the blood of Christ, the foundation of all our blessings, be more precious to us as we journey on home to heaven, and may we seek grace too, to make much of the blood to others along the way.
In this matter of the atonement money, every man had to give for himself. It was a ransom for his soul, and unless he were represented in the atonement money he could not be considered as redeemed. So it is now. One must be under the value of the blood of Christ for himself, or he will come under the judgment of God. Each one must have to do with God personally; and have a personal interest in the blood.
The atonement money was used in the service of the Lord, to make the sockets of silver in which the boards of the tabernacle rested. Typically it witnessed to the fact that atonement had been made for their souls. The believer can well rest in peace knowing that he has been redeemed with the precious blood of Christ.
Sweetest rest and peace have filled us,
Sweeter praise than tongue can tell;
God is satisfied with Jesus,
We are satisfied as well....
ML-11/29/1970