And we made ordinances for us, to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God. Nehemiah 10:32
A third of a shekel? But was the amount given in the law by Moses not half a shekel (Exodus 30:13)? The half-shekel spoken of by the Lord to Moses was to be identified as atonement money, and was appointed for the service of the tabernacle. This amount was collected every year from every man in the nation who was above the age of 20. When the tabernacle was replaced by the temple in the days of King Solomon, the half-shekel was to provide for the service of that house of God. This money would cover the expenses of the upkeep of the building and other costs associated with maintaining the worship of God. But when the Israelites returned from the Babylonian captivity, rebuilt the temple, and restored the worship of God, they set a new amount, a lesser amount. Why the difference? Note that in later years, the amount was restored to the half-shekel, which amount was levied in the time of Christ. It was the half-shekel that the Lord Jesus paid for himself and Peter with the coin that Peter found in the fish’s mouth.
The third shekel speaks of a day of great difficulty. Life was not easy for the Israelites who had returned from captivity. Expenses were high, enemies were all about them to give them problems, and the land and buildings had to be restored from the disrepair and damage of earlier destruction. These poor people had less money to spare, and the difference between a third and a half shekel was significant. The rebuilt temple was not nearly as large or lavish as the one built by Solomon, and so would require less funds to maintain it. For these reasons, the levy was set at a third-shekel. But note that this amount was not set by God but by the people themselves. They recognized that there was a limit to what they could contribute, and a limit to what was needed. And that they paid. Have we set a limit today to what we contribute to the service of the house of our God?
Our Assemblies, which are identified in Scripture as the house of God (1 Timothy 3:15), require a contribution from each of us. I am not referring specifically to the weekly offering that we place in the bag or box on Lord’s Day morning, although it certainly includes that. It also includes the time we spend during the week preparing for the meetings, the time we spend attending (and travelling to and from) each of the meetings, the effort we put into each meeting, the contribution that we make to the work involved in the Assembly activities such as conferences, Gospel meetings, and work around the Gospel Hall, the fellowship we give to preachers and missionaries, the time we spend helping other Christians in various ways, and the time spent in personal devotion and prayer. And that list is not all inclusive. That is our contribution.
Do we limit ourselves to the third-shekel of spiritual hard times, or do we contribute the half-shekel that the Lord really wants from us? -Jim MacIntosh