The characteristics of a ransom offering are that it is compulsory before the age of 20; it is collected only when a census is taken for the purpose of nation-building; it is an equal amount for all and it is for the maintenance of the tabernacle. A ransom offering is for God to remind the church of her humble and small beginnings. We all need the story of the Tabernacle. Only what is illustrated in the Tabernacle of God's redemptive work on our behalf can ransom us.