The Census Tax

Since Exodus 25:1, Moses has been recording the Lord’s instructions for the tabernacle and its associated elements. Because of the materials used in constructing all these things, there would be an initial cost to make the sanctuary. But the Israelites would have to provide upkeep for the tabernacle and its implements so that the worship of God could continue. Today’s passage explains that these ongoing expenses would be covered by a census tax.

Exodus 30:11–16 assumes that Israel will need to take a census from time to time, but the passage does not specify exactly when. Many commentators argue that the census envisioned was to help muster an army, as is recorded later in Numbers 1. If so, the individuals counted in today’s passage are males of fighting age who are enlisting as soldiers to fight Israel’s battles. It should be noted, however, that some scholars believe that the census here is not limited to males who would form an army but rather includes all men and women in Israel age twenty and older.

Either way, the basic point of the census was the same—to remind the Israelites that they belonged to God. A census is a form of taking inventory, and as one commentator points out, owners conduct inventories to number what they possess. When the ancient Israelites took a census properly, they were doing so on God’s authority for the purpose of taking an inventory of what belonged to the Lord. The process of the census included the numbered individuals’ paying “half a shekel [of silver] as an offering to the Lord,” which is called “atonement money” (Ex. 30:13–16). Half a shekel was less than an ounce, and it was neither a trivial amount nor a cost so high that the poor in Israel would be unable to pay it. The atonement price was the same for both rich and poor (Ex. 30:15), for their value is equal in the Lord’s eyes.

Of course, atonement was really offered by the shedding of blood (see Heb. 9:22), so the paying of silver was not the effective means of atonement. Nevertheless, the funds are called “atonement money” in today’s passage because of the connection between payment and atonement. God owned the Israelites, and He could rightly demand their death, but by paying the census tax, they purchased themselves, as it were, out from under this death sentence. Blood atonement works in a similar way, which is why concepts of ransom and payment are related. God accepts the blood of a substitute, which buys us out from under His wrath and puts us under His blessing (Rom. 3:21–5:1).