Numbers 3: Government Registration

"The Lord told Moses: "Register every firstborn male of the Israelites one month old or more, and list their names."

Numbers 3:40

Twenty two thousand Levites of one month or older.  Twenty two thousand two hundred seventy three firstborns among the rest of the Israelite camps.  We remember that God claims all firstborns for Himself, but here He says that He will take the Levites instead of the firstborns.  One problem - there are 273 more firstborns than there are Levites.

God demands a redemption fee of five shekels from each of the 273 excess firstborns.  It is unclear how Moses determined which of the firstborns were the "excess" ones that had to pay this burden.

Thinking of this and the Israelite census in chapter 1 reminds me of the census in our own country.  There are several differences, of course, but there are also some frightening similarities.

In past posts, I've contrasted America's foundation on free society against the theocratic state of Israel.  This theme continues.  The census in the United States originated as a means of determining how many representatives each state is allowed in the House of Representatives.  Constitutionally, that is the only purpose of the census.  However, it is currently used as a sort of government registration process designed to give the federal government much more information than it needs to know.

The registration described in the quoted text above is one of the many ways in which the Israelite governance used personal information about its citizens to administer some form of authoritarian rule.  In this case, it was a tax on firstborn children.  A modern equivalent would be the US government's choice to tax us based on how many children we have, which they do in the form of deductions and exemptions.  I personally enjoy this benefit: a tax break because I have a son.  However, it comes at great expense: the loss of liberty for those who don't have children.

Question of the Day:

In a free society (and more importantly, one not ruled by the omnipotent Lord), what right should the government have to gather personal information and make policy decisions based on that personal information?

Prayer of the Day:

Lord, help the people of the USA to win back our liberties and cast out all those who have sought to destroy our God-given rights.  Amen.