Tally Sticks

“Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, ‘Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there’.” [Revelation 11:1]

We hear a lot these days about banking corruption, but the problem isn’t new. In eleventh-century England, people were plagued by the dishonesty of creditors. To overcome this abuse, in the year A.D. 1100, Henry I, son of William the Conqueror, started a system known as the “tally,” from the Latin word for “stick.” A tally stick was about nine feet long and a half inch wide. Every time money changed hands, lines were drawn across the face of a stick, indicating the amount of the loan. On two sides, the value of the “tally” was carved into the wood. It was then split lengthwise and each person received a half of the stick as proof of the transaction, with the creditor retaining one half and the debtor getting the other, an exact “carbon copy.”

It was practically impossible to counterfeit a tally, and those who tried lost their heads! The wood grain was as unique as a fingerprint. Notches and ink inscriptions had to match. This could only happen if both pieces came from the same split tally stick. When compared they had to “tally,” which is where we get the word for reckoning. The British Empire used tally sticks for over 700 years. Then in 1843, because a new banking system and currency were introduced, all the tally sticks in England were collected and burned. Yet the term lives on, since it is from the German word for “stick” that we get the word “stock,” a security for creditors of a business we hear about on Wall Street.

The book of Revelation speaks of God’s people being measured with a stick. What is the Lord’s “tally stick”? James writes, “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:10). If we are preparing for Jesus’ soon coming, then “when He is revealed, we shall be like Him” (1 John 3:2). In other words, God’s law and our hearts will tally!

Before Jesus comes let us take stock of our lives. He covered the debt of our sin that we might receive the free gift of salvation. As we come closer to Jesus our characters will be a copy of His. It’s a transaction that can never be counterfeited.