Observation: The Lord has chosen to "redeem" the firstborn sons of Israel by taking the Levites into service for the Lord. There is a very small imbalance, and he accepts money as redemption for those numbers.
However, Israel is camping in the wilderness, and they will be for more than 40 years ... and God knows this. During that time, they will remain outside of any other communities, denied even passage across the lands of established nations. They will live off quail and manna and whatever else they can produce during their extended stays in specific camps. In other words, their money is completely and utterly worthless. They have nothing they ever need to buy, and no one they could ever buy it from.
Likewise, even claiming Levi as a tribe for service is worthless. Someone was going to need to take care of the tabernacle and all its responsibilities. They could have found any number of people for service. They could have just assigned all the firstborn of all Israel. Instead, the Lord makes a trade, and the people "give" something to the Lord.
What the people give ... their firstborn, redeemed by an entire tribe, along with money ... seems to have rather significant value in worldly terms. However, in truth what was given had little actual value, and in the eyes of the Lord it is the act of giving and the trust that comes with it that matters.
Application: Next week, we will have a conversation with several families about their long-term giving, both to the church specifically, and to general causes through faithful generosity. I am more and more convinced that God views generosity completely through the lens of faith.
The more we understand that what we give away - money that seems to have the power to help us live - is actually worthless within the kingdom of God, the closer we come to understanding the Lord.
Prayer: Lord, may I continue to be generous with the blessings you have given to us, and all the more so as my life continues. Amen.
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