Atonement Money
11Then the Lord said to Moses, 12“When you take a census of the Israelites
to count them, each one must pay the Lord a ransom for his life at the time he is counted. Then no plague will come on them when you number them. 13Each one who crosses over to those already
counted is to give a half shekel,c according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. This half shekel
is an offering to the Lord. 14All who cross over, those twenty years old or more, are to give an offering to the Lord. 15The
rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less when you make the offering to the Lord to atone for your lives. 16Receive the atonement money from the
Israelites and use it for the service of the tent of meeting. It will be a memorial for the Israelites before the Lord, making atonement for your lives.” Exodus 30:11-16
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Consider the ransom we paid when God first knew He could truly count
us as His own. Yes, we had something to pay.
I love the verse, ‘The rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less when you make the offering to the Lord to atone for your lives.’
So
what current equal payment could rise above such massive social divides today? The payment is death to ourselves; this payment will be a memorial for God’s people for the atonement of their lives.
Now ponder (a word I love) this: God’s
payment was the ultimate ransom for us, which came down with Him into the midst of all social inequalities. Moreover, His payment was His life as well.
Beyond beautiful isn’t it?
Give your life for helping others in this life -
and save it for eternity! SLAVERY IS REAL.