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#68.
The atonement money (Exod. 30: 11-16).
pp. 85 - 88
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. 30: 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 Exod. 13: 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. 13: 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. 3: 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 (Numb. 3: 45-51).