Message 155
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Scripture Reading: Exo. 30:11-16; 36:25-28; Num. 1:45-46; 2:32
Without the propitiation silver, God’s dwelling place could not be built up. Furthermore, apart from the propitiation silver, there was no way for God’s dwelling place to move. The propitiation silver provided the material for the sockets, the caps, the hooks, and the fillets of the pillars. The propitiation silver was also related to the numbering of the males twenty years of age and over to be drafted to form the army to fight for God’s move on earth.
Some teachers of the Bible misinterpret the significance of the propitiation silver and say that it is simply a type of Christ’s redemption. Apparently the propitiation silver does typify the redemption of Christ. But for the initial experience of Christ’s redemption, we do not need to pay anything. However, concerning the propitiation silver in Exodus 30, all those who were numbered were required to pay a half-shekel of silver.
Later, among the children of Israel, this half-shekel was known as the poll tax. Matthew 17:24-27 refers to this. Verse 24 says, “And when they came to Capernaum, those who received the half-shekel came to Peter and said, Does not your teacher pay the half-shekel?” This half-shekel was the poll tax for God’s dwelling place in 30:12-16. In Matthew 17 we see that, fifteen hundred years after the book of Exodus was written, the regulation in 30:12-16 had become a statute related to the paying of the poll tax, the head tax. According to chapter thirty of Exodus, the half-shekel had to be paid by every male twenty years of age and older. Surely this is more than simply a type of the redemption of Christ.
The payment of the half-shekel in Exodus 30 was a kind of tax. In principle, it was somewhat similar to today’s income tax. This tax was used by God to accomplish two things. First, God used this tax to collect silver for the building up of the tabernacle. From Exodus 38:25-28 we learn that the silver from this tax, the propitiation silver, was used to make the hundred sockets for the pillars of the tabernacle and also to make the caps, the hooks, and the fillets. Second, God used this tax to accomplish the formation of an army. Therefore, through the single matter of the half-shekel payment God did something for the building of the tabernacle and the formation of the army.
The propitiation silver is related to Christ’s redemption, but it is not a direct type of redemption, for in this type there is no blood. Because there is no blood, the silver is not actually related to the death of Christ. Rather, the Christ typified by the propitiation silver is the uplifted One, the ascended One, not the crucified One. All the silver paid in by those numbered to form God’s army was regarded as a heave offering. Exodus 30:14 says, “Every one passing over unto those that are numbered, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the heave offering of Jehovah.” The heave offering signifies Christ in ascension.
This heave offering was offered to God not for redemption but for a memorial. Verse 16 says, “It shall be a memorial for the sons of Israel before Jehovah to make propitiation for your souls.” A memorial is a pleasant matter. In the sight of God, the half-shekel paid by the children of Israel drafted into His army was a memorial.
We have emphasized the fact that the propitiation silver could be paid only by males twenty years of age and upward. This indicates that, spiritually speaking, we all need to grow up. If we do not grow up and reach the age of twenty, we shall not be qualified to be drafted into the army to fight for God’s move on earth. In some countries the young people may be afraid of being drafted and wish that they could stay under draft age. Because they are afraid of the military draft, they do not want to grow up. In the spiritual life many believers have their growth stunted. Although they may be rather old, it seems that they are dwarfs. They have not grown in life. We hope that among us in the Lord’s recovery there will not be any dwarfs. I hope that more and more of us will be able to say when we are asked how old we are, spiritually speaking, that we have reached the age of twenty and are qualified to pay the half-shekel. Eventually, we all should be able to say, “Praise the Lord that in the spiritual life I am no longer a teenager! I am past the age of twenty, and I am qualified to pay the half-shekel and be drafted into God’s army.”
What is the significance of the half-shekel? What does it typify? The half-shekel typifies Christ in ascension. It does not typify the incarnated Christ, the crucified Christ, nor even the resurrected Christ. The propitiation silver as a heave offering is a type of the ascended Christ.
In order for us to pay the half-shekel, our experience of Christ must reach the highest point, the point where we are sitting with Him in the heavenlies. This is the highest experience of Christ. We need to experience such a Christ in order to have Him as the half-shekel. In other words, the half-shekel of silver signifies the ascended Christ experienced by us and paid by us as the poll tax.
The half-shekel of silver signifies our experience of Christ as the ascended One. When we are in the meetings, we need to be in the heavens. Otherwise, we shall not be able to function. Whenever we are not with Christ in the heavens, we cannot function in the meetings. When we function properly, we are truly in the ascended Christ.
Now we need to go on to find out why the rich and the poor alike were to pay a half-shekel. The rich were not required to pay more, and the poor were not allowed to pay less. Verse 15 says, “The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when you give the heave offering of Jehovah to make propitiation for your souls.” Everyone who paid this tax was to pay the same amount, a half-shekel.
According to 30:13, a shekel was twenty gerahs. A half-shekel, therefore, was ten gerahs. Furthermore, ten gerahs were equal to one bekah. A half shekel, ten gerahs, and one bekah all signify the same quantity. God required that His people pay only a half-shekel.
When the gatherers of the poll tax came to Peter in Matthew 17, they asked Peter if his master paid the half-shekel. Instead of going to the Lord for the answer to the question concerning the half-shekel, Peter answered that his Teacher did pay the poll tax. This indicates that Peter forgot the vision he had seen on the mount of transfiguration. In Matthew 17:5 the voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I delight; hear Him!” The Father was telling the disciples not to listen to Moses or Elijah, who, respectively, represented the law and the prophets, but to listen to Christ, the living Son of God. It seems that the Father was saying, “Don’t care for what Moses says or for what Elijah says. Only care for what My Son says. Hear Him!” Although Peter had heard the voice out of the cloud, when he came down from the mountain he failed the test with the gatherers of the poll tax. Actually, Peter at that time did not understand what had happened on the mountain.
Those who collected the poll tax wanted to know if the Lord Jesus paid the half-shekel according to what Moses said. If Peter had understood what he had heard on the mountain, he would have answered, “No, it is not necessary for my Teacher to pay this tax.” Because Peter was still under the influence of tradition, he answered the question with a yes. Like Peter, we are also still too much under the influence of religious tradition.
Matthew 17:25 says, “And when he came into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth receive custom or poll tax, from their sons or from strangers?” The Lord was actually giving Peter a word of rebuke. The Lord seemed to be saying, “Peter, you have forgotten what you heard on the mountain. I am the Son of the One who owns the temple. I am the Son of the King. Therefore, I don’t need to pay any tax.”
Peter may have been shocked by the Lord’s answer. Perhaps he said to himself, “What shall I do now? I told those outside that my Teacher paid the half-shekel, and they are still outside the door waiting for the payment. But the Lord has made it clear to me that He does not need to pay the tax.” However, according to Matthew 17:27, the Lord went on to say, “But that we may not stumble them, go to the sea and cast a hook, and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel; take that and give it to them for Me and you.” While the Lord was correcting and teaching Peter, He took care of his need. This is always the Lord’s way in dealing with us.
The fact that the amount of the propitiation silver was a half-shekel indicates that God’s requirement of us in this matter is not too high. The requirement of functioning in the meetings is likewise not very high; it is only a half-shekel from each one attending the meeting. The tax that must be paid in order for us to be drafted into the heavenly army is also just a half-shekel. From God’s point of view, the amount of this tax is not very high.
Although the amount of the tax was only a half-shekel, it was also ten gerahs. Since the number ten signifies fullness, the ten gerahs indicate that the tax involved a payment in full. There was no deficiency. Furthermore, the half-shekel was equal to one bekah, a complete unit. Therefore, the payment of the half-shekel involved a payment that was full and complete.
God’s command that, concerning the propitiation silver, the rich not pay more than a half-shekel and the poor not pay less is altogether against the common practice among today’s Christians. This practice is that the more someone puts in, the better. Those who are rich, the spiritual giants, pay more than God requires, and the poor do not pay anything. The result is that in the so-called services there is the system of clergy-laity. A few do all the speaking, and the majority of the people do not say anything.
I would like to say a word of warning to the leading ones among us and to those who are good speakers: Do not think that because you are rich you should pay more than a half-shekel in the meetings. I would also say a word to those who are not good speakers, yet who, spiritually speaking, are above the age of twenty: You need to pay a half-shekel, nothing less.
The Lord hates the deeds of the Nicolaitans. He hates that the giants would become a clergy, and that the other saints would become laymen. The type of the propitiation silver in Exodus 30 certainly can be interpreted and applied in this way. Because of the system of clergy and laity among today’s Christians, there is no census, no draft.
Leading ones, be careful that the amount of the poll tax you pay in the meetings is not more than a half-shekel. Even though you have been enriched by God — thank Him for this — you need to be limited and not pay so much tax in the meetings. Leave opportunity for others to speak. Those who regard themselves as poor and weak at least have a half-shekel.
Those who say that they do not have a half-shekel should be encouraged to gain a half-shekel to pay in each meeting. Otherwise, according to the Bible they will be cut off. Those who do not pay their income tax may be sentenced to jail. In the same principle, those believers who do not pay the half-shekel tax will be cut off. Many Christians today have been “jailed” because they have not paid their tax.
A proper meeting, a meeting that is living, rich, and balanced, is one in which each one pays the half-shekel. But the situation today is that certain rich ones may put in millions of shekels, whereas most of the Christians do not pay anything at all. This is the situation of today’s Christians, and it may also be the situation among us.
I am concerned that in the meetings the leading ones are paying too much. If the leading ones pay too much, they will kill the meetings. On the other hand, many of the saints may pay less than a half-shekel, and some may not pay anything. Whenever you come to a church meeting, you should put in your half-shekel. This is not a great requirement. Actually you need to pay just a half-shekel, yet this half-shekel is a full payment and a complete unit, for it is ten gerahs and one bekah. I long to see meetings where all the saints pay the half-shekel.
Recently I have been deeply bothered by the matter of overpayment and underpayment in the church meetings. With the exception of the Lord’s table meeting, in most meetings some pay too much — more than a half-shekel — and others pay too little — less than a half shekel. Of course, we cannot blame those who spiritually are under the age of twenty for not paying anything. A group of those who pay too much tax may function like a corporate pastor, and the rest of the attendants may be like laymen. This kind of situation bothers me. This is not the Lord’s recovery, and this is not the census for the formation of the army.
We all need to grow and experience Christ to the standard required by God. Then the half-shekel must be weighed not by our own balance but by the balance in the sanctuary. For this reason, in verse 13 the shekel is called the shekel of the sanctuary, a shekel weighed according to God’s holy standard. At the least, we need to experience Christ to the extent that we have enough silver to pay our spiritual poll tax for the census, for the draft.
If we all pay the half-shekel in each meeting, how strong, living, rich, uplifted, excellent, and wonderful our meetings will be. Again I say that those who are very young in the spiritual life are not required to pay the half-shekel. Spiritually speaking, they are children or teenagers. It is normal to have such young ones among us. But all those over the age of twenty are required to pay the half-shekel. This is for the formation of the army.
When the army goes forth to fight the enemy, we do not send the toddlers, school-age children, or teenagers. Rather, we would keep them safe and protected at home. Those who are twenty and upward, however, must go forth to fight. Actually, every meeting is a fight. We need to realize that every meeting is a fight for God’s move.
By now we should be clear that the propitiation silver is for the building up of God’s dwelling place and also for the move of God’s testimony. Eventually, as we shall see later on, after God’s dwelling place had been built, the propitiation silver served as the maintenance fee.
