January 30

Read Exodus 29-31 The most segregated hour of the week is Sunday morning at 11:00.

Exodus 30:15 The rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less when you make the offering to the Lord to atone for your lives.

Is this a bribe to God to atone for our sins? You put the money in the offering plate and you can get a free “Out of Hell” card? What is going on?

From the Life Application Bible: The atonement money was like a census tax. It continued the principle that all the people belonged to God and therefore needed to be redeemed by a sacrifice. Whenever a census took place, everyone, both rich and poor, was required to pay a ransom. God does not discriminate between people (see Acts 10:34; Galatians 3:28). All of us need mercy and forgiveness because of our sinful thoughts and actions. There is no way the rich person can buy off God, and no way the poor can avoid paying. God’s demand is that all of us come humbly before him to be forgiven and brought into his family.

We will see in future readings that when it comes to sacrifices and offerings God does have a sliding scale for rich and poor. Yet on this tax, the ground is equal among all peoples.

We live in days of class and race envy. The idea of segregating people according to certain characteristics is against the law but it is still very evident in our culture. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said in the 60’s that Sunday morning at 11:00 is still the most segregated hour of the week. It is now 40 years later and tomorrow only 8% of the churches in the USA will be blended.

If God regards each and every person as equal, how can we make class, race or social distinctions? There is no place for prejudice or discrimination in the family of God.