Wednesday, March 28, 2018

day no. 14,401: lessons on work, life and money

Exodus 30:14-15
Everyone who is numbered in the census, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the Lord's offering. 15 The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than the half shekel, when you give the Lord's offering to make atonement for your lives.

The terms and conditions of the census and subsequent tax do give us some insight into God's designs. First, anyone 20 years old and upward were considered to be working or established enough through a lifetime of work to pay the tax. Secondly, it was assumed that there were richer and poorer among God's people. Thirdly, there was no distinction between rich and poor with respect to the amount of tax owed. The rich person's life was not worth more and the poor person's life was not worth less. To make atonement for their respective lives, the same amount was paid because their lives were equal in value even if their bank accounts weren't. 

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