And you see why I didn't want
to assign a reading to Rex. Turn with me, if you will, to
Exodus chapter 30. Exodus the 30th chapter. In verses
11 through 16, we are given another of the laws that God gave to
Moses concerning the children of Israel and their worship of
him connected with the tabernacle. This law regards the numbering
of the children of Israel and the atonement money that was
paid when the children of Israel were numbered. Specifically,
atonement money paid that no plague come upon them. The title of my message tonight
is A Certain Number, A Certain Price, A Certain Result. You can mark it down. Whenever
this book speaks about the redemptive work of Christ in promise, in
picture, or in the explanation given of the work, it is always
redemption for a certain number by a certain price with a certain
result. Let's read Exodus chapter 30
beginning at verse 11 together. Here is a beautiful, blessed,
instructive picture of that redemption, the ransom of our souls in Christ
Jesus the Lord by his blood. Exodus 30 verse 11. And the Lord
spake unto Moses, saying, When thou takest the sum of the children
of Israel after their number, Then shall they give every man
a ransom for his soul unto the Lord, when thou numberest them,
that there be no plague among them when thou numberest them. This they shall give, every one
that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after
the shekel of the sanctuary. A shekel is 20 giras, and half
a shekel shall be the offering of the Lord. Everyone that passeth
among them that are numbered from 20 years old and above shall
give an offering unto the Lord. The rich shall not give more
and the poor shall not give less than a half a shekel when they
give an offering unto the Lord to make atonement for your souls.
And thou shalt take the atonement money of the children of Israel
and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of
the congregation, that it may be a memorial unto the children
of Israel before the Lord to make atonement for your souls. We believe and we rejoice in
and we delight to proclaim publicly, everywhere, constantly, the blessed
gospel doctrine of particular effectual redemption. That is
redemption accomplished, real redemption, accomplished by the
sin-atoning blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son. I promise you, some
of you have traveled with me enough to know it. Everywhere
I go, folks hear about particular redemption. Hear it from every
pulpit in which I preach, anywhere in the world. As a matter of
fact, you can bank on it. The first time I preach anywhere,
the first thing they will hear is about particular redemption,
limited atonement. Because it is this glorious foundational
truth which gives glory to our God and comfort to the souls
of God's people, assuring every believing sinner of full salvation
through Jesus Christ the Lord by his obedience unto God as
the sinner's substitute. I know there are lots of folks
who say, well, that's a doctrine that's debatable. No, it's not
debatable. No. In fact, I defy anyone. I challenge you. I challenge
any preacher, any theologian, anywhere in the world at any
time. I defy anyone to find me a single place in this book,
just one, just one, where there is any hint that Jesus Christ
died to redeem everybody in this world. Any hint that Jesus Christ
shed his blood for those who perish under the wrath of God
in hell. Find me such a place and I will
quit preaching and recommend you quit worshiping the Son of
God. For he's a failure if he died
to redeem folks who are not redeemed. We worship a false God, we believe
a false gospel, and we are yet in our sins. There's not a hint
anywhere in the Word of God of an atonement that doesn't atone,
a redemption that doesn't redeem, a deliverance that doesn't deliver,
a ransom that doesn't set free, or a Savior who does not save.
The fact is, everywhere in this book, every single place, every
single place, where the subject of redemption is discussed. Now,
understand what I'm saying. Every single place where the
subject of redemption is discussed, where it is pictured, where it
is typified, where it is prophesied, or where it is explained, in
the Old Testament or in the New, in the Psalms or in the Proverbs
or in Ecclesiastes, in any of the prophets or in the writings
of the evangelists or the writings of the apostles. every single
place where redemption is spoken of. It is spoken of as the redemption
of a specific people by the blood of Jesus Christ effectually accomplished. It is always spoken of as a redemption
that actually redeems and God's people spoken of as a people
who are actually redeemed. In our text tonight, the ransom
money for atonement was paid for a certain number of people.
The sum of the children of Israel. Now most of you know that I didn't
learn a great deal of math when I was in school. My wife is the
mathematician in our house and she's a good one. I don't have
to bother with it. My son-in-law and my grandchildren
are good mathematicians, not me. But I know what the sum is. Anybody not know what the sum
is? That's all of them. Is that right? That's the total
number. That's the whole shebang. All right, we're talking now
about the numbering of the sum of the children of Israel. And
a certain price was paid for the sum of the children of Israel.
A half shekel, not just any half shekel, a half shekel determined
by God after the measure of the sanctuary. And there was a certain
result that followed. Wherever there were these people
numbered, wherever in scripture the sum of the number of God's
people was given, wherever they were all totaled up and given
one total sum, and this atonement money was paid, wherever there
was the numbering and the payment of the atonement money, no plague
came upon the people. No plague came upon the people.
Now I want this evening to simply make five observations, observation
statements that are so clear, so obvious in the passage before
us that they cannot be missed except you willfully miss them.
They cannot be misunderstood except you refuse to read what
God has before you in the book open on your lap. You cannot
possibly fail to understand what this text teaches unless you
just choose not to believe God. Now, let's look at these five
statements together. Number one, none were redeemed
by God's law given in this passage except God's chosen, the children
of Israel, and all the children of Israel were redeemed. Boy, that's complicated, Brother
Don. Well, let me try it again. None were redeemed but the children
of Israel, and all the children of Israel were redeemed. This
atonement money was not paid for anyone else. It was paid
for all these people, and all these people for whom it was
paid were redeemed. All the children of Israel were
numbered by the numbering of the adult males in the nation. The adult males represented the
whole nation, and they made up the specific number for whom
this atonement money was paid. In chapter 38, if you want to
read it, we'll look at it again in a few moments, there were
603,550 men redeemed when Israel were numbered. 6,350 men redeemed. The children of
Israel were a chosen people. Turn to Deuteronomy chapter 7.
A chosen people. I always find it amazing that people who object
to the doctrine of election We preach election and oh, that's
not fair. Nobody objects to God having
chosen Israel. I've never heard tell of anybody
objecting to God having chosen Israel in the Old Testament.
Nobody objects to God having chosen some angels and kept those
angels in their first estate so that they didn't perish with
others. I've never heard tell of anybody who objected to that.
The only time I hear about objecting to election is when it talks
about God choosing men unto salvation, so that He completely shuts out
your will and your worth and your work. But here we read about
God's Israel. They're represented in this physical
nation. And God's Israel, the Israel of God, like this physical
nation, were a people chosen of God, chosen out from among
the fallen sons of Adam in this world. Oh, how we ought to rejoice
in God's electing love. Now, listen to how he describes
it. Deuteronomy, chapter seven, verse one, when the Lord thy
God shall bring thee into the land, whither thou goest to possess
it and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites and
the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites
and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier
than thee. He's going to throw a whole bunch
of folks out of this land who were better than you and stronger
than you and worth more than you. He goes into the land of all
these seven nations mightier and greater than you, greater
than you. How come? Verse six. For thou art and holy
people under the Lord, thy God. Holy. How come? Because he chose
you. How come? Because he separated
you from the rest of the world. You're a holy people under the
Lord your God. The Lord thy God has chosen thee
to be a special people unto himself. Special to God. Oh, my soul. Special to God. Special to God. Did you hear
that? above all people that are upon
the face of the earth. Folks mockingly say, you folks
think you're the elect elite. No, I don't think it. God just
said it. Right there it is. The elect elite, special to God,
above all the people of the earth. Well, Brother Don, folks are
offended by that. Good. Let them be. The Lord did not
set his love on thee. He didn't love you, nor choose
you, because you were more in number than my people. For you
were the fewest of all people. But because the Lord loved you,
and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto
your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand and
redeemed you out of the house of Badman from the hand of Pharaoh,
king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord
thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and
mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to
a thousand generations. Oh, how we ought to rejoice in
God's electing love. He chose us in Christ. one with Christ. He chose us
in everlasting love because he loved us. He chose us before
the world began. And having chosen us in Christ
in love before the world began unto salvation, he blessed us
with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ,
gave us all the fullness of salvation in the hands of our representative,
our surety, Christ Jesus, the Lord, before the world began.
That election of which we speak, that election of which this book
speaks constantly is the source and cause of all true blessedness. The psalmist said, blessed is
the man whom thou choosest and causes to approach unto thee.
All right, here's the second thing. This atonement money was paid
For the sum, that is the total number of the children of Israel.
That's the first thing. For the transgression of my people
was he stricken. Here's the second thing. The
ransom price was determined by God. The ransom price was determined
by divine measure. Those who were redeemed, we're
told in verse 13, were redeemed with a half shekel after the
shekel of the sanctuary. Reckon why he said that. Half
shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary. And just in case you
guess, well, I wonder how much that is. A shekel is 20 giras. You redeem the children of Israel,
everyone brings a half shekel. Not after the shekel of the commerce.
Not a half shekel that with trade value may go up or down. Not
a shekel that may vary according to use or according to trade
or according to buying and selling of men. A half shekel according
to the shekel of the sanctuary. That's the only thing fit to
be brought to me. That which I require and that which I alone
can give, you'll bring to me. A half shekel after the shekel
of the sanctuary. This measure given by the demand
of the law is that which would meet the demand of the law. This
shekel, this half shekel, is that which God required of his
children. And he says, he said, bring this redemption money as
I have appointed it. In other words, we come to God
with that which God demands. which alone can satisfy his law
and satisfy his justice. That which alone meets every
demand of God himself is that which God gives and God accepts. That's the blood and righteousness
of his own dear son. Nothing more, nothing less. The ransom of Christ is perfection. From it, there's no variant. It is the price that satisfies
God's demand and satisfies it to the full. And this ransom
price, appointed by God, effectually redeemed all for whom the price
was paid. I'm going to camp here for a
minute, deliberately. Most everybody in this world,
in the religious world, thinks about the sacrifice of Christ
upon the cursed tree in a horribly blasphemous way, trampling under
their feet the blood of the Son of God, for they declare that
the blood of Jesus Christ is really a worthless thing. If
Christ shed his blood for the multitudes who are damned anyway,
then those for whom he shed his blood consider his blood and
find his blood to be a worthless thing. And if there's any distinction
made between the damned and the saved, the distinction is not
the blood of Christ, but the distinction is something that
men chose to do, their will, their work, or their worth. The
scriptures declare otherwise. We preach that the particular
and effectual redemption of God's chosen as it is revealed in this
book and nothing else honors God. Nothing else gives hope
to sinners. Nothing else honors God's law.
Nothing else satisfies the types and pictures of the Old Testament.
Nothing else gives certain freedom from all possible curse. The
atonement money was paid so that those who brought the atonement
might have no curse upon them. That is that they might have
no plague in their midst. No plague in the whole totality
of them. No plague. No possibility of
any remnant of the fall. No possibility of any remnant
of God's curse. No plague amongst them. Listen
to this. The wise man says there shall
no evil happen to the just. There shall no evil befall thee,
the psalmist saying, neither shall any plague come nigh thy
dwelling. We not only read those things
in the scriptures, but we read that the children of Israel being
numbered were numbered just twice in scripture. Just twice. Those who think about this numbering
of the children of Israel as an annual thing are mistaken.
It's nowhere commanded of God that they number the children
of Israel. Nowhere. Except this one time where God commands it.
It was only done twice. God commanded it here. We see
it again, the same numbering in the book of Numbers, but it
was only done two times in the whole history of the nation of
Israel. God never commanded it as a perpetual
thing. He said, when you number, this
is what you do. You number the children of Israel
after their males, you number those 20 years old and upward,
and you bring each man a half shekel after the shekel of the
sanctuary. This numbering took place in the book of 2 Samuel. Remember, we read it a few minutes
ago. David numbered the children of Israel. Even the reprobate Joab knew
better. He said, David, what are you
doing? This is God's business, it's not yours. This is God's
business, it's not yours. Don't try to count up who belongs
to God and who doesn't. Don't try to count up who it
is under your rule and under your domain that belongs to God
and who doesn't. That's God's doing. But the word
of the king prevails. And Joab went out and numbered
the children of Israel. Took him nearly 10 months to
do it. Came back and gave the report.
Next morning, David got a message from God. His prophet came to
him and said, take your choice. God's fixing to visit you in
judgment. And David said, let me fall to
the hands of God, not to the hands of men. And God sent three
days' pestilence upon the nation. But if you'll turn to the book
of Numbers, chapter 1, I don't think I ever realized
until preparing this message why the book of Numbers is called
the book of Numbers. It's about the numbering of the
children of Israel. Numbering Israel according to
the sacrifice God required and God accepted. Numbers chapter
1, verse 1. The Lord spake unto Moses in
the wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of the congregation
on the first day of the second month in the second year after
they will come out of the land of Egypt, saying, Take ye the
son. There's that word again. I think
it means the same thing. Count them all. Count all of
them. Of all the congregation of the
children of Israel, after their families, by the house of their
fathers, with the number of their names, every male by their poles. Chapter 26 of Numbers, verse
2. We're still numbering them. Take
all the sum, take the sum of all the congregation of the children
of Israel from 20 years old and upward throughout their father's
house, all that are able to go to war in Israel, And Moses and
Eliezer the priest spake with them in the plains of Moab by
Jordan near Jericho saying, take the sum of the people from 20
years old and upward as the Lord commanded Moses and the children
of Israel which went forth out of Egypt. And then I read of
one more numbering of Israel, not the physical seed, but the
spiritual. Turn to Revelation chapter 7. like this numbering given in
the book of Numbers where there's atonement money paid. So in Revelation
chapter 7 we read of the numbering of Israel. The numbering of Israel
on the Canaan side of Jordan. And they're saved from every
plague because of the atonement that was made. Revelation 7 verse
4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed and there were
sealed and hundred and forty and four thousand of all the
tribes of the children of Israel. Verse nine. And after this I
beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of
all the nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood
before the throne, and before the Lamb clothed with white robes,
and palms in their hands, and cried with a loud voice, saying,
Salvation to our God, which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the
Lamb. And the angel stood round about
the throne. and about the elders and the
four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and
worshiped God, saying, Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom
and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be unto our God
forever and ever. Amen. And one of the elders answered,
saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes?
Whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou
knowest. He said unto me, These are they
which came out of great tribulation. And it washed their robes and
made them white with a half shekel of silver
in the blood of the lamb. Toplady wrote a great hymn. Complete
atonement thou hast made and to the utmost farthing paid whate'er
thy people owed. How then can wrath on me take
place if sheltered in thy righteousness and sprinkled with thy blood?
If thou hast my discharge procured and freely in my room endured
the whole of wrath divine, payment God cannot twice demand, first
at my bleeding surety's hand and then again at mine. Turn
then my soul unto thy rest. The merits of thy great high
priest speak peace and liberty. trust in his efficacious blood. No fear thy banishment from God,
since Jesus died for thee. Here's the third thing. In Romans
3 23, the Apostle Paul speaks to us of faith in his blood. And in our text, we read that
these children of Israel were required when they were numbered
to bring a half shekel of silver each one in his hand. The atonement price was to be
personally accepted by the one who brought it. I'm the only son in my family.
That would make me the elder son. And were I an elder son
in the family in Israel, My father on the day when Israel was numbered
would say to me, son, you got to go to God's house. For Israel
is about to be numbered. But the only way you can go to
God's house is to take this half shekel after the shekel of the
sanctuary. God won't accept you any other
way. What's this all about, daddy? Well, our father Abraham told
us about one who's coming who's his seed. And he shall redeem
Israel from all her sins. And this Redeemer who's coming
is represented in this atonement money. It is he whom God requires
and he whom God looks upon with pleasure and he and he alone
whom God will receive. And the son says, well, all right,
give me that. and starts reaching around in
his own pocket. And he puts with that half shekel of silver three
gold coins of his own. And he goes to Aaron, and Aaron
sends him away to the slaughter. He dare not take less, and he
dare not take more. Takes the half shekel. That's
a picture of faith in Christ Jesus the Lord. Everyone who
comes to God must come to God, believing on his son, the Lord
Jesus Christ, and trusting his son alone as Savior and Lord,
as our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.
Not only is that the case, but all who come to God, trusting
Christ Jesus the Lord, are received and saved from all plague forever. Here's a fourth thing. The rich shall not give more
and the poor shall not give less than half shekel. See that in
verse 15? When they give an offering to
the Lord to make atonement for your souls. All Israel was fully redeemed. and all Israel
was equally redeemed. Redeemed with atonement money
that could be had by any, rich or poor. Even the beggar sitting
on a beggar's stool begging alms could manage a half shekel any
time at the door of the tabernacle or at the temple. They're all
equal. Coming to God with a half shekel. Who do you reckon is most valuable
in the kingdom of God? I think of a man like Enoch who
walked with God and was not because God took him. David Burge, what a man he must
have been. Abraham, was the friend of God. God spoke to Abraham as a man
speaks to his own friend. Oh, what a man of faith Abraham
must have been. Elijah, that great prophet, taken
to God in a whirlwind. Oh, how valuable they are. Just
as valuable to God as David Byrd. you and me, valued by God as
he values all his saints in all the ages, indeed, as he values
his own darling son. All equally loved by Christ,
all equally redeemed to the same inheritance, all equally secure,
bought by the same price of his son's precious blood, equally
accepted, and all equally respected. You see, God is no respecter
of persons, for his righteousness is unto all and upon all that
believe, for there is no difference. Now, I said we'd get to chapter
38 for just a minute. Turn there if you will. Here's the fifth thing. You remember back in Exodus 26,
We looked at those boards standing up around the tabernacle. Got
the model over here. Each of those boards are sitting
in sockets of silver, two sockets for each board. The sockets are
joined together going all the way around that inner court of
the tabernacle so that those sockets of silver form the foundation
of everything. form the foundation of all the
service of the tabernacle, all the worship of God, and form
the foundation into which each board is fitted and stands permanent. Where did those sockets of silver
come from? Exodus 38 verse 25. And the silver
of them that were numbered that one time, that one time of the
congregation was 100 talents and 1,700, three score, 15 shekels
after the shekel of the sanctuary. A becca for every man, that is
a half shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary for everyone
that went to be numbered from 20 years old and upward. For
600,000 and 3,550 men. And of the hundred talents of
silver were cast the sockets of the sanctuary, and the sockets
of the veil, and hundred sockets of the hundred talents, a talent
for a socket. Ron, the foundation of everything
in the worship of God. The foundation of everything
in the faith of Christ. the foundation of everything
in all service to God, the foundation of everything in the house of
God is blood atonement, the redemption of God's elect, effectual redemption
by Jesus Christ the Lord. Oh, bless God. Redemption is
everything. I love that story I've told you
so many times. A.J. Gordon, who was pastor of Clarendon
Street Church in Boston, Massachusetts many years ago, walking down
the street one day in the wintertime, and he looked down the alley,
and he saw these boys out there and kind of figured they were
probably up to no good, and he walked back there, and little
old boys had called him a blackbird. And he said, boys, what y'all
doing? He's playing with his blackbird.
What are you going to do with it? I'll preach it's just an
old black bird. We're going to play with him
a little while. Then we'll probably kill him. Dr. Gordon said, I'll tell you what,
I'll buy that bird from you. He preached it's just a black
bird. Who wants to buy a black bird? They're dirty. They're
worthless. He said, I'll give you $2 for
that one black bird cage and all. $2? So he took the $2 and
took off. And he picked up that cage with
that blackbird in it. And he said, Blackbird, you're
mine. I bought you. I redeemed you. And he opened the door and shoot
him out of the cage and said, I set you free. He said, I could
almost hear that blackbird sing as he went up through the sky
in that narrow alleyway, redeemed how I love to proclaim it. redeemed
by the blood of the land, redeemed through his infinite mercy, his
child, and forever I am redeemed. There's nothing like it. Redeemed. That's everything in the house
of God, everything to the people of God, everything to the glory
of God. Amen.