All who cross over, those twenty years old or more, are to give an offering to the Lord. The age requirement — twenty years and older — is the same age requirement for military service in Numbers 1. Those counted in the military census and those paying the ransom tax are the same population: the men of fighting age who bear the community's covenant responsibilities. The ransom that covers the fighting man also covers the community he defends. Matthew 17:24–27 records the temple tax collectors asking Peter whether Jesus pays the half-shekel temple tax — Jesus pays it, though he is the Son of the one the tax supports. The one who owns the temple pays the tax for the temple.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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