On Time Publishing - Chapter 2 - Money and Occupations

There are several places in Scripture indicating that scales were used to weigh metals and other items. The Law of Moses, for example, commands Jews not to use dishonest standards, but instead, to use honest scales and honest weights. (See also Deut. 25:13-15; Job 6:2-3; 31:6; Psa. 62:9; Prov. 11:1; 16:11; 20:10, 23; Isa. 40:12; 46:6; and Jer. 32:10).

Use honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah and an honest hin. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt.

Historians who have studied Old Testament money standards believe that scales or balances consisted of two metal pans suspended from a hand-held beam. Discoveries of Egyptian items, as well as fragments of bronze beams, chains, and pans found from ancient sites in Palestine, strongly indicate the use of scales or balances.

In order for money to be an exchangeable equivalent for other commodities in today’s society, there must be a standard in place. Likewise, the Old Testament also had a set standard both prior to the law and during the law. A reference to a pre-law standard is here in Genesis.

Merchants in biblical times traveled from place to place conducting business. In this verse, Abraham was purchasing a piece of land, paying a price of four hundred shekels of silver according to the standard weight current among the merchants. On the other hand, according to the written law, the standard weight for metals was set according to the sanctuary shekel (See also Ex 30:13, 24; 38:24-26; Lev. 5:15; Num. 7:13-86; 18:16).

In addition, 2 Samuel 14:26 shows that the weight standard for the shekel was set by the royal standard. No matter which era in history is studied, there existed a standard for the weight of precious metals.

In the United States today, coined money (i.e., penny, nickel, dime and quarter) is used for certain transactions. There are also several coined metals used as money throughout the Bible. Old Testament historians believe coins made trade simpler and more efficient. Merchants found that they no longer had to weigh the shekel because a royal stamp verified its weight. Below are a few examples of coined money used throughout biblical times.

Daric: One of the first biblical signs of coined money with a description on it was the ‘daric’ or ‘dram.’ The daric was at one time the principal gold coin and weighed 8.4 grams. See 1 Chronicles 29:7 and Ezra 8:27 for references of the daric.

Denarius: The principal coin used by the Roman empire was a silver coin called the ‘denarius.’ It was used to pay taxes (Matt. 22:19), and also appears to be equivalent to one day’s wages for work (Matt. 20:2).

Mite: Another coin is the familiar widow’s ‘mite’ (Mark 12:42) and was a small brass coin worth about 1/5 of a cent (‘cent’ is a United States coin worth 1/100 of a dollar).

Some people claim that business transactions have changed from a bartering society to a monetary society. Therefore, Christians should give 10 percent of their money or income to the local church and call it a tithe. To demonstrate the problem behind the ‘bartering only society’ school of thought, commerce in the Bible involving the exchange of money for goods and services is discussed in this section.

Illustrations that monetary transactions were used throughout the entire Bible are provided. They are sectioned out as follows according to their appearance in the Bible: pre-law (Gen.); as part of the written law; throughout the remaining Old Testament books; during Jesus’ ministry on Earth; and after the earthly ministry of Jesus.

One of the well-known figures of the Old Testament is Abraham, and many already know that he was wealthy (Gen. 13:2). Part of his wealth consisted of precious metals, as well as livestock and servants (Gen. 24:34-35).

In the following passage, Abraham used money (shekels of silver) to purchase some land so he could bury his wife, Sarah. Since coined money was not yet established, notice that the silver was weighed. The weight determined how much silver to use for the purchase, and the standard at the time was the weight current among the merchants.

“Listen to me, my lord; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver, but what is that between me and you? Bury your dead.”

Abraham agreed to Ephron’s terms and weighed out for him the price he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weight current among the merchants.

Other pre-law monetary exchanges for goods and services are also in the book of Genesis. Jacob purchased some land for one hundred pieces of silver (Gen. 33:19), and Genesis chapter 20 illustrates a case where Abraham and his wife used money to handle a particular situation (Gen. 20:16). In addition, Joseph was sold by his brothers to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver (Gen. 37:28). Finally, Joseph’s brothers went to Egypt to buy food with silver during a famine (Gen. 42).

Money was also used throughout the law. For example, God’s people gave money to support the tabernacle (Ex. 30:14-16; 38:24-31). There are many other examples that illustrate money’s place within the written law and indicate that money was indeed a part of everyday life. Exodus 35 provides such an example.

From what you have, take an offering for the LORD. Everyone who is willing is to bring to the LORD an offering of gold, silver and bronze;

and everyone who was willing and whose heart moved him came and brought an offering to the LORD for the work on the Tent of Meeting, for all its service, and for the sacred garments.

All who were willing, men and women alike, came and brought gold jewelry of all kinds: brooches, earrings, rings and ornaments. They all presented their gold as a wave offering to the LORD.

Under the law, money was sometimes used as part of a penalty. For example, in Deuteronomy chapter 22:28-29 it states that if a man met a virgin who was not pledged to be married, raped her and they were discovered, in addition to marrying her, he was to pay the girl’s father fifty shekels of silver. Leviticus 5:15 is another example of a monetary penalty. In sinning against any of the Lord’s holy items, the guilty person was not only to bring a ram for the sin offering, but he was also required to pay a certain amount in silver.

Bartering was performed throughout the Old Testament as illustrated in Job 41:6 and Ezekiel 27:12-25. The focus of this chapter is on money, therefore, it only demonstrates that money was used to purchase goods and services. One of many examples is in 2 Samuel 24:21-24, when King David wanted to buy something from Araunah, but Araunah was reluctant to sell it to him. Araunah wanted to simply give it to David, but David insisted on paying for it.

But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them.

This verse shows that in order to provide the correct burnt offering, one could ‘buy’ it, but was not allowed to offer actual money as a replacement for it. This concept is covered thoroughly in Chapters 3 and 4.

There are several other verses of Scripture wherein money was used to buy commodities. Solomon had horses and a chariot imported from Egypt. Each horse cost 150 shekels of silver and the chariot cost 600 shekels of silver (1 Ki. 10:28-29; 2 Chr. 1:16-17). In 2 Kings 7:1, flour sold for a shekel.

Purchasing land, like Abraham did before the law, was also paid for in shekels of silver or gold in later times. In 1 Chronicles 21:25, a piece of land cost David 600 shekels of gold, and in 1 Kings 16:24, Omri bought the hill of Samaria for two talents of silver. Notice the similarity of Jeremiah’s land acquisition below with that of buying property or a house in today’s society.

so I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel and weighed out for him seventeen shekels of silver.

I signed and sealed the deed, had it witnessed, and weighed out the silver on the scales.

I took the deed of purchase—the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions, as well as the unsealed copy—

Jeremiah used money to pay for land, and money today is used to pay for land and houses. Jeremiah signed and sealed a deed, and home owners today also sign a Deed of Trust. His deed contained terms and conditions, and today’s deeds also contain terms and conditions. It appears that real estate purchases have not changed over the past few thousand years!

Everyone probably knows that silver and gold, when invested, yield a profit over time. In addition, Psalms 15:5 talks about lending money without interest. Proverbs 3:13-14 states, “Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold.” This passage from Proverbs would not make sense if money, profit, and interest, were not already understood in biblical times. This further substantiates the commonplace of money throughout the Old Testament.

The use of money continued during the time of Jesus’ ministry in the flesh. Some of the many examples include the widow who gave an offering of two small copper coins (Mk. 12:42-44); Jesus sending his disciples out two by two, instructing them not to take any money with them on their journey (Mk. 6:7-10); and Jesus declaring in Matthew 6:24, “You cannot serve both God and Money.”

Parables also show that money was a part of society during the first four books of the New Testament. One parable is told in Matthew 18:23-34, where a servant who owed a king ten thousand talents. Another parable, in Matthew 25:15-18, involves servants who received varying amounts of talents. One received five talents, another received two, and a third received one. In both parables, the talents spoken of refer to money because the person who received one talent “hid his master’s money” (Matt 25:18). Whereas he could have at least put the money into a bank and earned interest (Matt. 25:27).

The authors are not implying that the word ‘talent’ cannot be used symbolically. The word talent is, in fact, used symbolically by some to mean special abilities such as singing. But in order to understand the parables, one must know the actual meaning of the word talent in order for the parables to make sense.

Money was so prevalent during the time of Jesus’ ministry in the flesh that there were even money changers. The book of Mark shows that money changers were present in the temple areas when Jesus overturned the tables and benches.

On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the benches of those selling doves,

And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: “ ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’ ? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’ ”

Money changers were equivalent to bankers (see Matt. 25:27) and exchanged certain forms of currency for local shekels, adding a fee of four to eight percent. Some also believe money changers played a role in transactions involving sacrificial animals. The passage above shows an example of corruption in the temple areas - “You have made it ‘a den of robbers.’ ”

One final examples of money used during the ministry of Jesus was the betrayal of Jesus. Similar to what goes on today, money was used to encourage lies, to kill, and to do other evil works as a result of the greed for it. As a part of God’s plan of reconciliation, money played a critical role in the crucifixion of Jesus.

Jesus and His disciples used money as illustrated in John 13:29, wherein Judas was in charge of the money. Judas, like the other disciples, was one of the closest people to Jesus and had teachings and fellowship with Jesus that the average person did not have. Yet, his love for money was stronger than his love for Jesus.

During the end of Jesus’ ministry on Earth, the chief priests and elders were eager to get their hands on Jesus to kill Him. They conspired with Judas to capture Jesus for thirty silver coins. (For individuals who are into prophecies, look up Zechariah 11:12-13. Some say the price of thirty pieces of silver was actually prophesied in that passage.)

Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests

and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty silver coins.

Sometime later, Judas found the opportunity to hand Jesus over to the authorities. This is an example of exchanging money for goods - in this case, Jesus. Subsequently, in Matthew chapter 27, the deadly results of the greed for money is evident. Judas returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders and committed suicide by hanging himself (Matt. 27:3-7). Although they used the money to kill Jesus, these highly religious people - chief priests and elders - said it was against the law to put blood money into the treasury. So they bought land for a burial place instead.

These priests and elders were not finished yet. They accomplished one thing so far with the power that money has over people - the death and burial of Jesus. However, they did not anticipate Jesus rising from the dead. Observe the conspiracy of the priests and elders to dispute the resurrection of Jesus.

When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money,

telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ ”

The chief priests and elders gave the soldiers a large sum of money to lie about what actually happened. It is obvious that the priests and elders knew the value of money even back then.

After the resurrection of Jesus, monetary transactions in the Bible continued, and even mirror today’s society. Acts chapter 8 shows an example of trying to purchase a gift of God. One day Peter and John placed their hands on some people so they might receive the Holy Spirit. Simon saw what happened and offered to pay Peter and John for the gift so that he, too, could lay hands on people and have them receive the Spirit.

Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money

and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!

People also begged for money in Bible days just like some are forced to do today. In Acts 3:1-6, Peter and John were about to enter the temple courts when a crippled man asked them for money. Some say the poor were required to position themselves at certain locations in order that others may have the opportunity to give to them. Therefore, this man was placed at the entrance of the temple courts every day to receive money.

Money was also used for good works. An example of this occurs in the Book of Acts where provisions for the needy were allocated from the sales of land and houses (Acts 4:34-35). “There were no needy persons among them. From time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.” This type of giving displayed in the early church is covered in Chapter 9.

Taxes have been collected throughout the Bible and have been in the form of produce, livestock, and money. Depending on the translation of the Bible, the word ‘tax’ appears differently, either as tribute, levy, or duty. Numbers 31:26-41 provides an example of a tribute unto the Lord that included items other than money. The focus of this section, however, is to provide Bible verses illustrating that money was commonly used to pay taxes.

A tax is defined as a contribution for government support, or as a fee assessed to members of an organization to meet its expenses. Both kinds of taxes were used throughout the Bible and examples of each are provided. Money was used when appropriate to pay taxes and, at times, money, was the only option for payment.

There are several places throughout the Old Testament where money was used to pay taxes. The first example shows the children of Israel being taxed to support the tabernacle.

“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.”

This tax is defined as a fee put on its members to support an organization. Some teach this as being the temple tax of Matthew 17:24-27 and is discussed in the next subsection (See also 2 Chr. 24:6-9).

This next example illustrates the use of a monetary tax on land similar to property taxes of today needed to support a government.

Pharaoh Neco put him in chains at Riblah in the land of Hamath so that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and he imposed on Judah a levy of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.

Jehoiakim paid Pharaoh Neco the silver and gold he demanded. In order to do so, he taxed the land and exacted the silver and gold from the people of the land according to their assessments.

Notice here, like the previous example, that the levy imposed on the people involved money - a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold (see also 2 Chr. 36:3).

Ezra 4:12-13 shows that a king was about to lose his revenues since the children of Israel were going back to Jerusalem to rebuild the city. The king was informed that if this happened, he would no longer receive taxes, tribute, or duty. (See also Ezra 7:24). Some people can probably relate to Nehemiah 5:4, wherein some people, “had to borrow money to pay the king’s tax.”

Today, if taxes are not paid on time, then everyone can expect a collection agency to try to acquire it. This also happened in the Old Testament. Daniel 11:20 reads, “His successor will send out a tax collector to maintain the royal splendor.” There were tax collectors then, and there are tax collectors now. Some things just do not change when money is involved!

Tax collectors continued their line of work in the New Testament (Matt. 5:46; 9:10-11; 21:31-32; Mk. 2:15; Lk. 18:10-14), and they were often in the company of Jesus. Matthew 17 contains a well-known example of paying tax collectors with money. Some believe Matthew 17 is referring to the atonement money of Exodus 30:11-16 and Exodus 38:24-26. Notice that coined money was used to pay this tax.

After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”

..., go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”

Another well-known example of a monetary tax is in Matthew 22 involving whether or not to pay taxes to Caesar. Notice again that coined money was used to pay this tax.

Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me?

“Caesar’s,” they replied. Then he said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

Many people tend to focus on verse 21, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” What Christians usually miss in this example, as well as in the previous example, is that money was used. In this example, Jesus says, “Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” The previous tax was for the temple, which is similar to a fee used to support an organization. This tax, on the other hand, was for Caesar and is similar to a government tax.

In most societies, money is used to obtain the finer things in life, as well as the basic necessities for that matter. Because of the benefits of having money, it is also used by the church for tithing today. In verse 21 above, however, Caesar claimed ownership of the denarius by having his inscription and portrait put on it. Today’s currency is also owned by someone as indicated by the markings on it. So if Jesus was here in the flesh and took a look at the money used today, He would probably tell the church what He said in the passage above. “Give to the owner what is the owner’s, and to God what is God’s.”

Proverbs 3:9 (KJV) is a very familiar verse of Scripture: “Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase.” Many are taught that the money earned from their occupations is their firstfruit since there has been a change in occupations from biblical times to now; most people do not raise crops or livestock.

The focus of this section is to verify whether or not this occupational change in society has really taken place - and if so, when. Before listing the various jobs and occupations of biblical times, a couple of definitions are given here.

Job: An action or task that needs completing. Also, something that is done regularly for payment.

A person’s occupation may consist of one or more jobs or tasks. Many people, however, use the words ‘job’ and ‘occupation’ interchangeably.

The Bible shows that work is normal and expected. The origin of work goes all the way back to Genesis before the fall - before Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit.

The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

Man was put in the Garden to work it and take care of it. This was carried on even the after eating of the forbidden fruit (Gen. 3:23). Cain and Abel continued this form of work in Genesis chapter 4, where Abel was a shepherd and Cain worked the soil. Notice that the original occupation was to take care of the different plants and crops in the garden first, then outside the garden. Cain followed suit while Abel functioned in the second occupation on record - a shepherd.

As the population increased, so did the number of varying occupations. This is evident in Genesis 11:1-5, where some men decided to build a city with a tower that reaches to heaven.

They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar.

Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building.

These verses indicate that not all occupations were related to farming. If all people worked as farmers or shepherds, then how could they build this tower? Instead, they learned how to make bricks and use tar for mortar in order to build this tower. In the New Testament, work is also commanded for people who are idle.

For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.”

Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat.

Several occupations located throughout the Bible are listed here and are those outside of farming or shepherding.

Carpenter: 2 Sam. 5:11; 2 Ki. 12:11; 2 Chr. 24:12; Ezra 3:7; Isa. 44:13; Matt. 13:55; Mk. 6:3

Merchant - Trader: Gen. 23:16; 37:28; 1 Ki. 10:15; Neh. 13:20; Ezek. 27:3, 22-23; Matt. 13:45

Prostitute: Gen. 38:15-24; Lev. 21:14; Josh. 6:17, 25; Judg. 11:1; 16:1; Jer. 3:1; Joel 3:3; Matt. 21:31-32; Lk. 15:30; 1 Cor. 6:15-16; Jas. 2:25

Scribe - Teacher of the law: 1 Chr. 2:55; 1 Chr. 24:6; 27:32; Neh. 8:1; 13:13; Jer. 36:26; Matt. 2:4; Mk. 2:6; Acts 4:5

Most Christians agree that Old Testament tithes and firstfruits consist of produce and livestock. Can Christians assume that people with the occupations listed above received crops and livestock as wages so they could participate in giving tithes and firstfruits? If not, then did these workers also have farming related jobs as second occupations so they could participate in these rituals?

If people do not raise crops or livestock themselves, then they cannot partake in giving of the firstfruit since they do not have the legitimate substance. There is no biblical indication that the firstfruit can be purchased. Likewise, the workers of the occupations above cannot tithe the required items for the same reason. The required items for tithing are listed in Chapter 4, “Tithing Defined,” and the required items of the firstfruit are listed in Chapter 5, “Firstfruit Defined.”

From the list of occupations above, it is apparent there were many occupations throughout the Bible as far back as Genesis. The idea of occupations changing over time does not seem valid, since all of the occupations listed above exist in today’s society. However, there may actually be a greater variety of occupations today due to technological advances.

Now that the various occupations have been listed, it is time to investigate monetary compensation. Not all people were paid with money. For example, Jacob worked a total of fourteen years and his wages included two women - Leah and Rachel (Gen. 29:15-30). He also received sheep and goats for his labor (Gen. 30:32). The focus of this section is on the role of money in paying wages.

One of the main questions answered by this book is, “If people in the Old Testament were paid monetary wages, were they required to tithe from their money like Christians are required to do today?” Chapter 4, “Tithing Defined,” provides this answer. However, this section brings focus to the fact that people were, indeed, paid monetary wages regularly.

There are several instances where money was used to pay wages in the Old Testament. Notice in Second Kings that the workers who repaired the temple were paid with money.

“Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him get ready the money that has been brought into the temple of the LORD, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people.

Have them entrust it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. And have these men pay the workers who repair the temple of the LORD --

the carpenters, the builders and the masons. Also have them purchase timber and dressed stone to repair the temple.

But they need not account for the money entrusted to them, because they are acting faithfully.”

The people here that received monetary wages include carpenters, builders and masons. There were probably other crafts involved since the temple had many different aspects to it like that of modern day buildings. See also 2 Chronicles 34:8-13, 2 Kings 12:13-15 and Ezra 3:6-7.

Another good example is in First Samuel, where money was paid to sharpen some tools.

Not a blacksmith could be found in the whole land of Israel, because the Philistines had said, “Otherwise the Hebrews will make swords or spears!”

So all Israel went down to the Philistines to have their plowshares, mattocks, axes and sickles sharpened.

The price was two thirds of a shekel for sharpening plowshares and mattocks, and a third of a shekel for sharpening forks and axes and for repointing goads.

Further examples of monetary payments in the Old Testament include the seduction of Delilah and the hiring of mercenaries or ‘hit-men.’ First, Judges 16:4-6 is an account of Delilah receiving eleven hundred shekels of silver by each ruler of the Philistines! What did she do to earn this? All she did was obtain the secret to Samson’s strength so they could overpower him. Second, Judges 9:3-5 is an account of men that were hired to partake in the murdering of seventy people - all of whom were brothers (see also 2 Sam 10:6 and Jer. 46:21).

A couple of parables that Jesus told are used to illustrate the use of monetary wages during His time on Earth. Someone may argue that parables are simply stories, but this is not the case. Many parables contained common events of the day to explain spiritual events or to symbolically describe other actual events. If workers did not earn money from their labor, then parables containing such examples would confuse everyone.

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard.

If it was not common to pay laborers money for a day’s work, then should one also assume it was not common for a landowner to go out early in the morning to hire workers? It would be confusing to have a parable contain realistic events followed by unrealistic events. In any case, the denarius - a Roman silver coin - was used in this parable to compensate the workers.

The Good Samaritan is another parable. When the Samaritan found a man beaten and robbed, he took this man to an inn. Not only did the Samaritan bandage this man’s wounds, but he took care of the man’s expenses with money.

He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him.

The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

The Samaritan used two silver coins in exchange for a service. Again, if it was not common for an innkeeper to accept money, then this parable would confuse the people to whom Jesus was talking. A similar passage referencing money includes the parable of the workers in the vineyard in Matthew 20:8-10.

Another illustration of monetary wages is in the Book of Acts. A great deal of money was made in this occupation and it is still being performed today. See also James 4:13.

Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.

Has society changed from a bartering system to a monetary system? The Bible clearly indicates that this is not the case. The Bible also reveals that a monetary standard has existed since the time of Abraham, and that money is used in exchange for goods and services. The Bible shows that money exchanges for goods and services took place before the law, was an integral part of the written law, and continued throughout the Old and New Testaments.

Have jobs and occupations changed over time? Once again, the Bible clearly indicates that this is not the case. The Bible demonstrates that not all people had work relating to that of a farmer. There were varying occupations, and many of them were compensated through monetary wages, as is the case today.

Money has always been an integral part of societies throughout the world and throughout time. All biblical references from this study indicate business as usual.

“Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him get ready the money that has been brought into the temple of the LORD, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people.

Have them entrust it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. And have these men pay the workers who repair the temple of the LORD --

the carpenters, the builders and the masons. Also have them purchase timber and dressed stone to repair the temple.

But they need not account for the money entrusted to them, because they are acting faithfully”