Exodus 30.11-21-The Lord Gives Moses Instructions Concerning Census Atonement Payments And Construction And Use Of Washing Basin
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday July 1, 2012
Journey Through The Bible Series: Exodus 30:11-21-The Lord Gives Moses Instructions Concerning Census Atonement Payments And Construction And Use Of Washing Basin
Lesson # 42
Please turn in your Bibles to Exodus 30:11.
This morning we will continue our study of Exodus chapter 30 by noting verses 11-21, which record the Lord giving Moses instructions concerning the census atonement payments and construction and use of the washing basin.
Exodus 30:11 The LORD also spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “When you take a census of the sons of Israel to number them, then each one of them shall give a ransom for himself to the LORD, when you number them, so that there will be no plague among them when you number them. 13 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 the LORD. 14 Everyone who is numbered, from twenty years old and over, shall give the contribution to the LORD. 15 The rich shall not pay more and the poor shall not pay less than the half shekel, when you give the contribution to the LORD to make atonement for yourselves. 16 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 memorial for the sons of Israel before the LORD, to make atonement for yourselves.” (NASB95)
This passage teaches that those numbered among the redeemed of the Lord were to support the work of the Lord to maintain their fellowship with the covenant.
Verses 11-12 teach that whenever a census was taken such as in Numbers chapter 1, each Israelite who was twenty years old or more was to pay a ransom for his life to avoid death.
Verses 13-15 teach that the ransom was the same for all Israelites, whether rich or poor.
This means that both the poor and the rich in Israel were to equally share in the upkeep expenses for the tabernacle and of those of the priestly tribe who served in the tabernacle.
The implication of this is that Israelite society was classless under God’s covenant.
Everyone had the same value in the Lord’s eyes.
Verse 16 teaches that this ransom helped to maintain the tabernacle and its services, which would include support for the priests who officiated in the tabernacle.
In the same way that all Israelites were responsible to contribute to the support of the work of the Lord so also every church age believer is responsible to contribute financially to the work of the Lord (Matthew 5:42; 10:8; Luke 6:30, 38; Romans 12:13; 1 Corinthians 9; 16:2; 2 Corinthians 8:1-6; Galatians 6:1-10; Philippians 4:10-19; 1 John 3:16-18).
This payment mentioned in Exodus 30:11-16 was called a “ransom” because its payment guaranteed protection from plagues, which of course would help to motivate each Israelite male to pay.
This payment was also considered an “atonement,” i.e. a covering for their sins.
This payment taught the Israelites that God owns their lives and that though they as sinners were worthy of death according to His holy standards, the Lord graciously gave them back their lives in order that they could enjoy a life of serving Him and receiving His protection from their enemies (cf. Exodus 13:14-16).
The concept of redemption is taught throughout the Word of God.
The Lord Jesus Christ redeemed all of sinful humanity at the cross by means of His voluntary substitutionary spiritual and physical deaths on the cross.
“Redemption” refers to that aspect of Christ’s finished work on the Cross-that “purchased” all of humanity out of the slave market of sin.
It is appropriated through the non-meritorious decision to believe in Jesus Christ for salvation.
Redemption is one of the three major doctrines of Soteriology: (1) Redemption: inward (2) Reconciliation: manward (3) Propitiation: Godward.
The doctrine of redemption refers to the fact that Jesus Christ’s spiritual and physical deaths on the cross were a substitutionary ransom for the benefit of each and every member of the human race.
These unique substitutionary deaths redeemed the entire human race out from the slave market of sin in which each and every member of the human race was born physically alive but spiritually dead (Mark 10:45; Romans 3:24; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 6:20; Galatians 3:13-14; Ephesians 1:7).
Now, this census in Exodus 30:11-16 is related to taxation.
Oftentimes the census in the ancient world involved mustering an army for a military objective or to impose some sort of taxation.
In ancient Israel, the census was usually for only one purpose, namely, to prepare for war.
However, in Exodus 30:11-16, the purpose of the census in this passage was for taxation in the sense that the money raised would serve to maintain the tabernacle and its services.
There was no evidence that it was being instituted to prepare for war.
The practice described here in Exodus 30:11-16 for taking a census in order to raise money for the maintenance of the tabernacle became the basis for the temple tax that became an annual tax during the time of Christ (Matthew 17:24).
Exodus 30:13 reveals that the payment for everyone in Israel was “a half shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary.”
This verse says that the shekel weighed twenty gerahs, which was a Babylonian weight.
The shekel was silver and the half shekel weight of silver would be about one-fifth of an ounce, which is 6 grams.
Exodus 30:17 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 18 “You shall also make a laver of bronze, with its base of bronze, for washing; and you shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it. 19 Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet from it; 20 when they enter the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water, so that they will not die; or when they approach the altar to minister, by offering up in smoke a fire sacrifice to the LORD. 21 So they shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they will not die; and it shall be a perpetual statute for them, for Aaron and his descendants throughout their generations.” (NASB95)
This passage introduces to the reader the last article of furniture which would reside in the tabernacle courtyard, namely the bronze lavor or basin for holding water.
It is divided into three sections.
The first appears in verses 17-18, which presents the instructions for this washing basin.
The second appears in verses 19-20, which present to the reader the rules for washing.
The third and final in verse 21 is a reminder that this is a perpetual statute in Israel.
The emphasis in this passage is not on the design or construction of the basin but rather its purpose.
“Laver” is the kiy∙yôr (כִּיּוֹר) (kee-yore´), which means “basin, laver,” i.e. a container for washing and was round since the root of the word means “to be round, rounded.”
This round laver or basin for holding water was placed upon a pedestal or base according to the Lord’s instructions to Moses in Exodus 30:18.
This was to let water run out through taps of some kind for the priests to wash.
They could not simply dip their dirty hands into the basin.
This was for the priests to primarily wash their hands and feet before entering the tent.
In Exodus 30:18, the Lord tells Moses that it should be in the courtyard between the altar and the tent.
No dimensions are given to the reader.
Now, as we noted in previous chapters in the book of Exodus, the altar portrays the cross of Christ and the animals sacrificed on this alter portray Jesus Christ’s spiritual and physical deaths on the cross.
The washing basin was placed after the bronze altar of burnt offering before the tent of meeting which contained the holy place and holy of holies.
In relation to the moment of conversion, the washing basin portrays the baptism of the Spirit, which refers to the Spirit uniting the believer to the Holy One, Jesus Christ and identifying the believer with Him in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Romans 6; Ephesians 4:5).
In relation to experiential sanctification and fellowship, the washing basin portrays the purification from sin as a result of confession of sin to the Father (1 John 1:9).
So in Exodus 30:17-21, the washing basin portrays the baptism of the Spirit which takes place at the moment of conversion and the confession of sin after conversion.
