7/12/2004 10:42:56 AM|||Laura|||And the sons of Israel did according to the word of Moses. And they asked articles of silver, and articles of gold, and clothing from the Egyptians. And Jehovah gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, and they granted their request, and they plundered the Egyptians. (Exodus 12:35-36)
The culmination of all the plagues - their children were dead. The Egyptions at that point would hand over whatever was requested, just to get rid of the Hebrews. But don't feel too sorry for them - Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on this section: Exo 12:29-36 - The Egyptians had been for three days and nights kept in anxiety and horror by the darkness; now their rest is broken by a far more terrible calamity. The plague struck their first-born, the joy and hope of their families. They had slain the Hebrews' children, now God slew theirs. It reached from the throne to the dungeon: prince and peasant stand upon the same level before God's judgments.
Here's what "got" me: God provided Israel with loads of material possessions. He didn't give them any instructions at this point on what to do with them. But if you keep reading, he starts handing out instructions later, on building things for His service and worship. Tents, priests' clothing, the ark of the covenant, various ceremonial doo-dads... made with precious metals and fine fabrics and loaded down with jewels. Not items you expect slaves to have, and there's no mention of God delivering these things like manna, so it's safe to conclude that this is the stuff they got from the Egyptians. The moral of this story? God doesn't especially want us all to drive a Mercedes and live in a mansion. He may or may not be against the concept of a Mercedes, what do I know? But when he gives his children an abundance of wealth, maybe we should hang onto it a while (note: NOT "hoard" it!) and see if we get some instructions on how to spend it in His service. Just because we don't receive the wealth WITH the instructions doesn't make it any less His money and doesn't give us the freedom to blow it on what we please. So the next time I have more in the bank than my bills will consume, I think I'll drive on past the ATM instead of stopping. Just in case...|||108964955614396836|||How fast can I blow this cash?