The Tabernacle Experience - Golden Boards & Silver Bases

Then the Lord said to Moses, "When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay the Lord a ransom for his life at the time he is counted. Then no plague will come on them when you number them. Each one who crosses over to those already counted is to give a half shekel. . . This half shekel is an offering to the Lord. All who cross over, those twenty years old or more, are to give an offering to the Lord. The rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less when you make the offering to the Lord to atone for your lives. Receive the atonement money from the Israelites and use it for the service of the Tent of Meeting. It will be a memorial for the Israelites before the Lord, making atonement for your lives.
~Exodus 30: 11 - 16

The ransom money mentioned in the above verses was used to fashion the golden boards (acacia wood covered in gold like the rest of the furnishings of the Tabernacle) and the 48 silver foundations which supported the boards.

Note, God's command required the same amount as a ransom from everyone, regardless of their status. Every Israelite, whether rich or poor was required to give a half shekel to atone their lives. God has not changed. He still demands the exact same ransom from each and every one of us. When it comes to atonment for our sinful lives, we are all on equal footing.

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
~1 Peter 1:18-19

Gold and silver can not even come close to comparing to the worth of our Savior's blood shed for us. This is the price the Lord demands for our lives. Jesus willing paid it for us. We should never take this for granted. Our redemption may be a free gift from God, but we must not lose sight of what He did to redeem us. Are you living your life in a way to show what this atonement price means to you. I know my life could use some improvement in this area.