The Old Testament Offerings part eight

 The Israelite nation, liberated from slavery in Egypt, represented the entire human race whom God will save either by His grace or by His fiery wrath against evil. The deaths of the Egyptian firstborn and the drowning of the Egyptian army in the Red Sea represented all of the spiritual dead that Christ will cast into the lake of fire. Most of the priests represented those humans who will obtain salvation by grace except that some rebellious priests represented the apostates within Christianity.

The half shekel of silver that the Lord commanded all of the Israelites above the age of twenty to pay for their redemption represented the living souls and spirits of all humans whom God will raise from the dead in Revelation 20:5. Exodus 30:11-16. The half shekel of silver could not represent salvation by grace because God provides grace without works. Ephesians 2:8-9. The half shekel of silver represented the good works that God has given to all living humans that He will recover and raise from the dead for Him to recreate. John 5:28-29; Revelation 21:5. These resurrected living humans will give their good works back to God, who gave them to them in the first place, and He will give them rewards for their good works when He recreates them to live righteous lives on His recreated earth. Revelation 22:11-12.

God commanded that the half shekel of silver should not be paid by anyone under twenty years old. God commanded that the second generation of Israelites should conquer the Promised Land. This second generation represented all humans who would obtain salvation by God's grace. All of the first generation of Israelites, except for Joshua and Caleb, died in the wilderness which represented all who die while not in a state of grace. The Promised Land did not represent Heaven. The Promised Land represented the state of grace and sanctification, but every believer must fight the forces of evil well to win a personal victory over sin and evil in their own lives. Believers saved by grace who win the victory will achieve a state of rest while in the state of grace. Hebrews 3:7-11; Hebrews 3:17-19; Hebrews 4:9-11. But those believers who fail to fight evil well and who do not find rest from the fight will nevertheless never lose their state of grace. Christ has promised that He will cause all living humans saved by grace to become thoroughly cleansed and forgiven before He allows them to enter into Heaven. Ephesians 5:25-27. The whole book of Joshua represents the battles that every believer saved by grace has with the forces of evil in their own lives. Hebrews 4:1-11.