Atonement money. It was to be a specific amount that each and every one 20 years old and older were to give as "an offering to the Lord" (vs 14), and this regardless of the individual's wealth or lack thereof.
Atonement in this case, was to atone for being counted in the census of the Israelites. It was literally "your money or your life" (a plague could come upon them otherwise [vs 12]).
Being counted was a serious matter to the Lord; reasons for it being so are not given. However, I do know, generally speaking, that people often take pride in numbers. They perhaps see that as their strength &/or success victory and reliance upon it instead of upon God.
How many converts have you? How many came to the evangelistic meeting? You get the point. God is interested in the individual not the crowd.
And the sin of pride is anathema to Him. Don't take pride in numbers. Remember what happen to King David's subjects when he tasked his general to count the number of soldiers? Many died because of it (2 Samuel 24; 1 Chronicles 21). A solemn lesson learned.
What really impacts me about this portion of Scripture in Exodus is that "each must pay the LORD a ransom for his life" (vs 12) and "The rich are not to give more...and the poor are not to give less" (vs 15).
At the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ, all are equal. Each of us must come to Christ for atonement in the exact same way. There is only one way to God and that is through His Son Jesus Christ.
Jesus paid the atonement for us already. He paid the penalty for our sins. "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23). Death, and ultimately an eternity in Hell. Now, as Jesus has made atonement for our souls, we can have forgiveness of sins and eternal life with Him in Heaven, when we accept, on an individual and personal basis, His sacrificial offering for us; for you. God will see and preserve your life.
~ERC 2017~
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