Numbers 3:47
Thou shalt even take five shekels apiece by the poll, after the shekel of the sanctuary shalt thou take them: (the shekel is twenty gerahs:) Thou shalt even take five shekels apiece by the poll, after the shekel of the sanctuary shalt thou take them: (the shekel is twenty gerahs:)
The verse belongs to the instructions about redeeming Israel's firstborn, among the ceremonies in Numbers' opening chapters, setting the payment at five sanctuary shekels for each person counted. Every firstborn male child belonged to God, like the first-fruits of the farm, because the firstborn of Israel were preserved from the destroyer who slew the firstborn of the Egyptians. After God chose the tribe of Levi to be the priests and religious teachers in sanctuary service instead of the firstborn sons, each firstborn son was consecrated to God and then redeemed.
The verse sets the required redemption price for each firstborn Israelite counted above the number of the Levites. That consecration and redemption recognized his dedication to God and returned him to his family. The price is five shekels apiece by the poll for each person counted, measured by the shekel of the sanctuary. The same five-shekel payment for redeeming a firstborn son is connected with the presentation of Jesus in the temple.
The sanctuary shekel equals twenty gerahs and served as Israel's standard of weight for valuing the redemption payment. The sanctuary is the Lord's tabernacle, the wilderness tabernacle called the sanctuary as God's dwelling place and center of Israel's worship, belonging to the sanctuary service carried by the Levites during the wilderness journeys. The five-shekel payment was about $2.75. The redemption payment went to the Levites after their appointment to sanctuary service.
Numbers 3 is among the passages describing the Levitical law given to the children of Israel, which is distinct from the law of God and is among the laws abolished by Christ. The verse refers to the law establishing the Aaronic priesthood, which governed the Levitical priestly service during its appointed age until the type met its antitype. The practice teaches parents to consecrate every child to God and keep the child before Him in earnest prayer.