IT’S TAX DAY!

IT’S TAX DAY!

1 Sam 8:10-18

10 And Samuel told all the words of the Lord  unto the people that asked of him a king.

11 And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.

12 And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.

13 And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.

14 And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.

15 And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.

16 And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.

17 He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.

18 And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the Lord  will not hear you in that day.

          Today is “tax day” in America. It is the deadline for filing personal income taxes with the federal (and most states) government. I know of no one who enjoys this process but it would be easy enough to find someone on this day to willingly curse it.

           The very first mention of any kind of tax is found in Exodus 30:11-16. Every Jew from 20 years old and upward was to pay one half shekel annually for the upkeep of the sanctuary. “Maimonides writes (Laws of Shekalim 1:5) that the half shekel mentioned in the Torah – the annual tithe every Jew was required to give to the Temple coffers – is equal to 160 grains of barley, which, in modern measurements, would be approximately eight grams of silver. It is impossible to know silver's value in biblical times. At today's rate of approximately 17 US dollars per ounce, 8 grams of silver is around five dollars. Rabbi Eliezer Posner

          Tax collectors challenged Peter and Jesus regarding the annual tax (please read Matthew 17:24-27). Jesus launched the idea of exemption from and compliance with the tax. Having no money, he sent Peter to cast a hook and draw out a fish. Inside the fish’s mouth would be a “piece of money” sufficient to pay for both Peter and Jesus! We wish it were that simple today!

          We understand the need for a fair and equitable tax. “The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel.” Ex 30:15 We understand the need to insure domestic tranquility and to provide for the common defense. Mostly we just want to be left alone! If Patrick Henry thought taxation without representation was bad, he should see it with representation!

Prov 29:2

2 When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.

Ezra 8:21

21 Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.

Dear Lord, provide for your taxpaying children today. Put down wicked rulers and restrain their evil deeds. Give us a heart to know you and to love you. Give us leaders after your own heart. AMEN