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.