Atonement Offering

Introduction

In preparation to study our text for this morning it is necessary that we take a few moments and review a couple of very important truths that we see in the book of Exodus and in particular the place where we find ourselves currently. When we started this journey through the book of Exodus the series was entitled Exodus: Delivered by God, for God which speaks to the entire theme of this book in scripture, in fact the truth for the people of God for all time in all places. Here in the book of Exodus we can emphatically state that the purpose of these events in the history of Israel were for God to deliver His people from the bondage in Egypt for the express purpose the He would be glorified in them and dwell with them. As Christians, we are recipients of that same promise; we were delivered from our bondage of sin for the express purpose that God be glorified through us and that He would dwell with us.

Under the larger theme of deliverance or redemption there are smaller themes that are addressed throughout Exodus and the current smaller theme that our study has fallen under for the last couple of weeks and really for the remainder of the book is that of the people of God entering into the privileges of deliverance and redemption. At the point at which we are in the text, the people of God have been delivered and redeemed for God. The sacrifice for their sins has been made and accepted, they have entered into covenant with almighty God, the priesthood has been instituted, and the people set apart. The reason that we need to understand this as the position of the people of Israel is so that we do not misunderstand the text before us this morning. Both in what it meant to them and what it means to us here today.

If we are believers then we, just like the Israelites are in the same place and what has been demonstrated to us as we have walked through all of these is that this entirely the work of God. Horatius Bonar wrote a hymn in 1861 entitled “Not What These Hands Have Done” in it, he beautifully walks us through the truth of God working in our lives. Listen to the words of this song:

Not what these hands have done can save a guilty soul; not what this toiling flesh has borne can make my spirit whole. Not what I feel or do can give me peace with God; not all my prayers and sighs and tears can bear my awful load. Thy grace alone, O Christ, can ease this weight of sin; Thy blood alone, O Lamb of Go, can give me peace within. Thy love to me, O God, not mine, O Lord, to thee, can rid me of this dark unrest, and set my spirit free. Thy grace alone, O God, to me can pardon speak; thy pow’r alone, O Son of god, can this sore bondage break. I bless the Christ of God; I rest on love divine; and with unfalt’ring lip and heart, I call this Savior mine.

As the people of God, saved by faith alone, through grace alone, we turn our hearts toward the words of God found in Exodus 30:11-16 and we pray that the Spirit illuminate these words to our hearts.

Text

Please stand for the reading of God’s Holy, Inerrant, Infallible, Complete, Sufficient and Authoritative Word...

Exodus 30:11–16 LSB

Yahweh also spoke to Moses, saying, “When you take a census of the sons of Israel to number them, then each one of them shall give a price of atonement for himself to Yahweh when you number them, so that there will be no plague among them when you number them. “This is what everyone who is numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as a contribution to Yahweh. “Everyone who is numbered, from twenty years old and over, shall give the contribution to Yahweh. “The rich shall not pay more and the poor shall not pay less than the half shekel when you give the contribution to Yahweh to make atonement for your souls. “And you shall take the atonement money from the sons of Israel and shall give it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may be a remembrance for the sons of Israel before Yahweh, to make atonement for your souls.”

Our prayer this morning is adapted from “The Valley of Vision; The Precious Blood”

Blessed Lord Jesus, Before Your cross we kneel and see the heinousness of our sins, our wrongs that caused You to be “made a curse”, the evil that excites the severity of divine wrath. Show us the enormity of our guilt by the crown of thorns, the pierced hands and feet, the bruised body, the dying cries. Your blood is the blood of the incarnate God, its worth is infinite and its value is beyond all thought. Infinite must be the evil and guilt that demands such a price. Sin is our malady, born in our birth, alive in our life, strong in our character, it dominates our faculties, it follows us as a shadow, it intermingles with our every thought, it is the chain that holds us captive in the empire of our own soul. Sinner that we are, why should the sun give us light, the air breath, the earth support, its fruit nourish, and its creatures subserve our needs? Oh Lord Jesus, Your compassions yearn over us, Your heart hastens to our rescue, Your love endured our curse, and Your mercy bore the stripes we so deserved. Let us walk humbly in the lowest depths of humiliation, bathed in Your precious blood, our conscience made tender by Your mercy and we stand triumphant as an heir of glorious salvation, in Your precious name we pray, Amen.

God’s People

In Genesis 12:1-3 we have recorded for us Abram’s calling out from the land of Ur, we read: Genesis 12:1-3

Genesis 12:1–3 LSB

And Yahweh said to Abram, “Go forth from your land, And from your kin And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

From that point forward we see the growth of the people of God; from Abram or Abraham to Issac, to Jacob, to Joseph, through 400 years in captivity in the land of Egypt, to God calling Moses out of the wilderness, back to the land where he grew up for the express purpose we find in Exodus 3:4-10

Exodus 3:4–10 LSB

And Yahweh saw that he turned aside to look, so God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “Do not come near here. Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” He said also, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. And Yahweh said, “I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sufferings. “So I have come down to deliver them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. “So now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them. “So now, come and I will send you to Pharaoh, and so you shall bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.”

All of human history to this point has existed to bring to God a people of His choosing. As we open up our text for today we see firstly this reassertion that it is Yahweh who is speaking and commanding Moses these things. Time and again we see this repeated as a reminder of the authority by which Moses speaks and delivers these truths to the people of God. As years pass, memories fade, and the sinful nature of humanity corrupts all that we come into contact with it becomes easier to dismiss Sacred Scripture as nothing more than a collection of writings from an outdated era that in truth has little to nothing to do with our lives today. So as have seen and will see, the reminder that this is the word of the Living God becomes increasingly important. When we read this small verse, simple as it may seem, it should remind us first that this and every other word recorded in the Bible are the words of God and secondly, that because it is the word of our creator we should be paying careful attention to its truths.

Every Sunday, as we stand to read God’s word together we are reminded that it is holy, infallible, inerrant, complete, authoritative and sufficient. This is merely a summation of the opening paragraph of the 1689 LBCF where we read:

Confessing the Faith: The 1689 Baptist Confession for the 21st Century I. The Holy Scriptures

The Holy Scriptures are the only sufficient, certain, and infallible standard of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience. The light of nature and the works of creation and providence so clearly demonstrate the goodness, wisdom, and power of God that people are left without excuse; however, these demonstrations are not sufficient to give the knowledge of God and His will that is necessary for salvation. Therefore, the Lord was pleased at different times and in various ways to reveal Himself and to declare His will to His church.3 To preserve and propagate the truth better and to establish and comfort the church with greater certainty against the corruption of the flesh and the malice of Satan and the world, the Lord put this revelation completely in writing. Therefore, the Holy Scriptures are absolutely necessary, because God’s former ways of revealing His will to His people have now ceased.

The inclusion of these words are here to remind us that these words are God’s words, that these truths are His truths. After ensuring that we have the remembrance that this is the word of God, we are next reminded that these are the people of God. Now, you will not see these specific words in either the Hebrew or the English translations of these verses, but what we do see in the command that Moses is given is a particular action that denotes ownership. verse 12 reads: Exodus 30:12

Exodus 30:12 LSB

“When you take a census of the sons of Israel to number them, then each one of them shall give a price of atonement for himself to Yahweh when you number them, so that there will be no plague among them when you number them.

The first clause of this verse literally translates to a command to take a head count. Now there are varied disagreements as to exactly when this head count took place and if this was a one time event that was being prescribed or an annual census to be taken. There is also military language involved in these verses which, along with the age stipulation in verse 14, have led some to believe that the sole purpose of this particular counting had to do with the military strength of the people of God. None of these are questions that we will seek to answer this morning. Our concern with these verses for the moment is what they have to say about this particular group of people, namely that they are the people of God. AW Pink provides this insight regarding the census:

Gleanings in Exodus Chapter 54: The Atonement Money

when God numbers or orders anything to be numbered, taking the sum of them denotes that they belong to Him, and that He has the sovereign right to do with them as He pleases. The action itself says of the things numbered, “These are Mine, and I assign them their place as I will.”

Therefore, the purpose of the census taking was to first and foremost identify these people as God’s people. I made reference earlier to the sub-theme of this point of the book of Exodus, but to truly grasp this we need to see the movement of these secondary themes through the book of Exodus under the primary theme of Deliverance and Redemption. These people have moved from a place of bondage and captivity in desperate need of deliverance and redemption to a place where the holiness, power and glory of God was displayed for them in the plagues that were brought down. As the final plague fell we saw the truth that they were purchased, redeemed and set free by the power of the blood that was shed for them, out of which rose the duties of a people bought with a price as they were called into covenant with God, a covenant in which they declared their obedience to God as a result of His deliverance and redemption. All of these brought us to the place where we are now, one in which we are shown the privilege of being the people of God, the ability to enter into His presence, to worship Him.

The Price of Atonement

As the people of God, one of the first things messages that God has delivered is that He will not share His possession, His people. This is marked for us in the very first commandment Exodus 20:2–3 ““I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before Me.” The truth, however, is that this is not a new command. This has been the reality of existence since the Garden of Eden, engraved on the heart of Adam, and is still a reality, engraved on the hearts of men today. In 1 Chronicles 21:1-8 we read of a situation where David sinned by taking a census, we read: 1 Chronicles 21:1-8

1 Chronicles 21:1–8 LSB

Then Satan stood up against Israel and incited David to number Israel. So David said to Joab and to the princes of the people, “Go, count Israel from Beersheba even to Dan, and bring me word that I may know their total count.” But Joab said, “May Yahweh add to His people a hundred times as many as they are! But, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants? Why does my lord seek this thing? Why should he be a cause of guilt to Israel?” Nevertheless, the king’s word stood strong against Joab. So, Joab went out and went throughout all Israel, and came to Jerusalem. And Joab gave the total count of the census of the people to David. And all Israel were 1,100,000 men who drew the sword; and Judah was 470,000 men who drew the sword. But he did not number Levi and Benjamin among them, for the king’s command was abominable to Joab. And this thing was displeasing in the sight of God, so He struck Israel. Then David said to God, “I have sinned greatly, in that I have done this thing. But now, please take away the iniquity of Your slave, for I have acted very foolishly.”

There have been some that postulated that this was a sin because David failed to have the people pay the price of atonement, which we will discuss in a few minutes, however, I believe that there is a simpler truth here, namely, that David, choosing to number God’s people did so, not to bring God glory or honor, but as a display of the might of his kingdom. In the account of this census, found in 2 Samuel 24 we read in the third verse 2 Samuel 24:3 “But Joab said to the king, “Now may Yahweh your God add to the people a hundred times as many as they are, while the eyes of my lord the king still see; but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?”” David found delight in seeing the largeness of that which he claimed as his own.

We read that as the numbering occurred, the people where to give what is referred to as an atonement offering. This is why, as we began this morning, we made it clear of the status of the people of Israel, namely that they were redeemed, purchased, delivered, their sins had been atoned for in the sacrifice on the altar. This is not, therefore, a price for their atonement in the sense that they could merely pay the half-shekel offering and be cleansed of their sins, the cleansing of sin only took place through the shed blood on the altar, so what then was the purpose of this offering. In the simplest of terms, it served as a reminder of the cost of that sacrifice. There are some who argue that this is called an atonement offering so that as the men went to war it served to pay the price for whatever was done during the fighting in the event that they do not make it back, however, for Israel, they only went to war when commanded by God for His purposes and His glory, which makes the argument that it was to cover accidental sins committed during a time of war somewhat farfetched.

When we take into consideration, however, what else we know regarding this particular offering, it should become very obvious the purpose. You may recall that when we were looking at the individual components of the tabernacle we spoke of the bases that supported the curtains that formed the tent of meeting that these bases were made from silver recall the words of Exodus 26:19 ““You shall make forty bases of silver under the twenty boards, two bases under one board for its two tenons, and two bases under another board for its two tenons;” The verses that follow contain the remainder of these silver bases. As we studied that particular text we looked forward to what we find in Exodus 38:25-27

Exodus 38:25–27 LSB

The silver of those of the congregation who were numbered was 100 talents and 1,775 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary; a beka a head (that is, half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary), for each one who passed over to those who were numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for 603,550 men. One hundred talents of silver were for casting the bases of the sanctuary and the bases of the veil; one hundred bases for one hundred talents, a talent for a base.

As we referenced these verses we discussed how, that as the people saw these silver bases, the foundational component of the tabernacle, they would be reminded of the price that was necessary to construct a place where God would dwell with men. We also talked about how, for us, it reminded us of the same cost, but one that was not paid with silver or gold, but as Peter writes in 1 Peter 1:18–19 “knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver or gold from your futile conduct inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”

The Standard

We see in verse 13 the explicit detail regarding the cost, one half shekel. We could do a conversion based on what we have learned regarding the value of the different currencies of ancient Israel, but that simply is not the point. I want to draw your attention to two great truths about this atonement offering. The first is that there is a standard by which this price is determined, and secondly, built off of that truth, the cost is the same, regardless of the individual.

We turn our attention first to the standard. A standard is something by which something is verified or something that is considered by an authority as a basis of comparison. Today, if you were to use a tape measure to measure the distance from point a to point b you would provide that information in some form of unit, be it what is called standard (inches, feet) or metric (mm and cm). If there were no standard, however, by which an inch or a centimeter were defined, then we would never know the true measurement.

The standard here, is the shekel of the sanctuary. Commentators have postulated regarding the value of this particular standard, they have equated it with the temple tax, the roman drachmas that were required as a tax from Rome, none of which is certain. At the end of the day, this is not the most important truth here and is quite honestly a distraction of the enemy that pulls us away from the true point.

The shekel of the sanctuary was the shekel by which all other shekels were verified, it was the set measure and determination of the correct and proper value. For Israel it would have again reminded them that these commands where from God, measured by God, held to His standards, not their own. For us, it should remind us that the Scripture is the Word of God. That, just as we read earlier, it is the standard by which our lives are to be lived.

In the great temptation of our Lord Jesus we read in the account from Matthew’s Gospel, these words:

Matthew 4:1–11 LSB

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command His angels concerning You’; and ‘On their hands they will bear You up, Lest You strike Your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “Again, it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’” Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.

Three times Satan tempts Jesus with various things, three times He responds according to the word of God. Later as Jesus gives the famous sermon on the mount we find these words:

Matthew 7:1–2 LSB

“Do not judge, so that you will not be judged. “For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with what measure you measure, it will be measured to you.

Of course we all know that the world would use this verse to say to us, we are not called to judge, but then we read in John 7:24 ““Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”” The point, in both of these passages is NOT that we should not judge others, the point in them is that WHEN we judge others it must be done according to a standard, that standard is the same standard by which you and I judge. We will judge others, what we are called not to do is to do in in such a way as to make it seem as if we are perfect, or we have it figured out, and to do it not according to anything but what God’s word actually says and how it calls us to live.

The standard, therefore, in the lives of those who are God’s people is Holy Scripture. Let me repeat that and expand upon it for just a moment, the standard for those who are God’s people is Holy Scripture, it is NOT our own personal thoughts, it is certainly not our emotions, it is not the thoughts or writings of others, it is the clear, concise truth of God’s Word. There have been many great writers throughout history that have written marvelous things for us to read, but they were not inspired by the Holy Spirit, and as such are susceptible to error, prone to fallacy, certainly are not fully sufficient, nor do they carry the ultimate authority, that is reserved for God and His Word alone. Christian, in the words of Charles Spurgeon, “Visit many good books, but live in the God’s Word.” for it alone is the standard. This is the essence of the cry of the reformers when we hear the words “Sola Scriptura” or “According Scripture Alone”. Tradition is certainly important, but only in as much as it aligns properly and rightly with scripture, the closed canon of God’s word. Hebrews 1:1–2 which says “God, having spoken long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days spoke to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds,” demonstrates that the time of prophets has passed, 2 Peter 1:18–21 “and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. And we have as more sure the prophetic word, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. Know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes by one’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever made by the will of man, but men being moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” demonstrates that this word is better, even than that which the Apostles witnessed because it is more sure, it is complete, it is THE WORD of THE LIVING GOD!!!

And it is on that foundation, that standard, that the truth that this one price for all hinges. Note verse Exodus 30:15 ““The rich shall not pay more and the poor shall not pay less than the half shekel when you give the contribution to Yahweh to make atonement for your souls.” Regardless of the individual or their station in life the cost was the same. Affirming to the children of Israel that they were all equal in the eyes of God, that price, the cost, was the same, for everyone.

How true that is for us today. We live in a world where people are valued based on their merit. The more you can or do contribute the higher your value but this is not what God demonstrates in His word for His people, observe:

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death...” If you were to turn to that particular passage and study the context, you would rather quickly find that the only thing conditional regarding the price of sin, is being human. We are all subject to that same price, to that same cost. Death is death, the physical end to our mortal life is a reality that each of us face, however, there is a death that is of much greater concern at stake here. The enemy has done well in his distraction making people believe that there is no fate worse than death, the physical one. Scripture teaches us something much different, that there is a spiritual death, the second death, one in which we all find ourselves unless we have been regenerated by the Spirit. That death is to experience for all eternity the wrath of God. You remember the biblical pictures of that wrath, fire, lighting, etc. None worse, however than that which was played out on Calvary’s Cross. Crucified, barely able to breath, hours of agony led our Savior to cry our My God, My God why have You forsaken Me, darkness falling, the earth shaking, tombs opening all at the death of Christ, the sinless one, as the wrath of almighty God was poured out on Him...

That is the one price, death, that we all face, but there is the price that was paid, the one price, for all of God’s people, paid by Christ, as He endured that pain, that suffering, that anguish, on the cross. Romans 6:23 goes on to read “... but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” This is what Peter was referring to when he wrote in 1 Peter 1:18–19 “knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver or gold from your futile conduct inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”

Conclusion

As we bring our attention once more to the atonement price commanded in Exodus 30:11–16, we must consider the richness of what God was revealing to His people. He did not need their silver. He was not seeking financial gain. What He was doing—what He has always been doing—was shaping a people for His own possession. The census and the half-shekel offering were not about counting heads or collecting coins—they were about identifying those who belonged to Him, reminding them of the cost of being counted among His people, and establishing both their equal standing before Him and their dependence on His provision.

The silver bases of the Tabernacle stood as enduring witnesses to this truth. Every Israelite who gazed upon the dwelling place of God would be reminded that they had been bought with a price, that their place in the community of God was not self-earned but divinely granted, and that their worship rested on a foundation far more glorious than silver—namely, the blood of the unblemished Lamb.

This brings us to the greater reality to which all of this pointed: that the true atonement price, the one price for all, was paid not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ. He is the standard. His Word is the measure. His blood is the price.

Whether rich or poor, weak or strong, man or woman, slave or free—none is exempt from the cost of sin. And yet, for all who are found in Christ, the debt has been paid in full. Not one ounce of our righteousness can add to His sacrifice, and not one moment of our shame can outweigh it. The standard of redemption has not changed. It is still Christ alone. His blood alone. His righteousness alone.

So I ask you today, are you numbered among the people of God? There is coming another great numbering, When the Lord takes account, when He numbers His redeemed, will your name be counted among them? Have you been marked, not by silver, but by the crimson stain of Christ’s blood, applied through faith?

Are you standing upon the sure foundation of Christ, or are you trusting in what your own hands have done?

Closing Prayer

Gracious and Merciful Father,

We come before You in awe and gratitude, humbled by the truth that we have been bought with a price far greater than silver or gold—the precious blood of Your Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We thank You for the unshakable foundation You have laid in Him, a foundation that cannot be moved by the storms of life or the failures of our flesh.

O Lord, we confess that far too often we forget the cost of our redemption. We are tempted to measure our worth by the standards of this world and to trust in our own efforts rather than in the sufficiency of Christ. Forgive us, we pray. Restore to us the joy of Your salvation and renew a steadfast spirit within us.

Teach us to treasure Your Word as the only sure standard for our lives. May we live as those who have been marked by grace—equal at the foot of the cross, bound together in love, and united in the hope of eternal life.

Keep us faithful, O Lord, until the day when You gather all Your people, and we see our Redeemer face to face.

In Christ’s holy name we pray, Amen.