The Exodus
As slaves, Israel suffered under the oppressive power of their Egyptian rulers who made their lives bitter with hard bondage (Exod 1:14). We read that God saw their afflictions and heard their cries (Exod 3:7), and we see that His hand continued to bless them (Exod 1:12, 20, 21). God set in motion a plan to save His people from slavery when Moses was born. When the time came for Israel’s redemption to occur, an angel appeared to Moses in a burning bush to reveal that plan. God spoke to Moses about a reversal in Israel`s fortune that would soon come to pass:
“And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed. Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians” (Exod 3:21 NIV).
When we read the account of Israel leaving the land of Egypt we are told that they did just that. They left with not only their own flocks and herds, but also anything else that they asked of the Egyptians:
“The Lord had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians” (Exod 12: 36 NIV).
God blessed Israel with the wealth of Egypt. They left with articles of gold and silver (jewelry, plates, coinage etc.) as well as Egyptian clothing. What a sign that would be to the children of Israel that their God was prepared to protect and care for them on the road ahead. How unfortunate it is to read later on that the children of Israel were using the blessings which the Lord their God had given them to serve another god:
“And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt” (Exod 32: 1-4).
We see that while Moses was away the people reverted to serving false gods which they could see and touch and control. They formed the golden calf out of the jewelry they had plundered from the Egyptians — the very blessings God had provided them through His out-stretched hand.
Back to Egypt
They had physically left Egypt but they had not left it in their minds and hearts. They longed to go back to Egypt, even if it meant going back to slavery. As such, when the road they walked was hard they complained. For example, we read:
`And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick: But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes” (Numb 11:4-6).
It is because they had not fully let go of Egypt that they decided to use the jewelry that God had given them to behave like they had in Egypt, going after false gods and behaving badly. Israel’s reluctance to let go of Egypt was also demonstrated by their fondness for Egyptian ornaments with which they would decorate themselves regularly. We read shortly after Moses had destroyed the golden calf that God said:
`…for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way. And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned: and no man did put on him his ornaments. For the Lord had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiffnecked people: I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee. And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount Horeb” (Exod 33:3-6).
Like so often was the case, Israel responded to threats, rather than being motivated to good works by the hope set before them. The Lord threatened to consume them, and so they fell into line and stripped off their ornaments.
Up to that point Israel had not been wisely using the gifts God had given them. We know that they used the Egyptian jewelry they were wearing to build a golden calf, and we know that they were quite happy to adorn themselves with their ornaments. Some had fine Egyptian robes and we can imagine them being quite content to put them on and enjoy Egyptian luxury.
They had likely established in their minds that the wealth plundered from the Egyptians was meant to be used for their own enrichment and benefit. They may have thought to themselves “What else are we supposed to do with the silver, gold and fine linen that God has given us while we are in the middle of a wilderness?”
In like manner, sometimes we don’t know how best to use the gifts that God gives us. He has blessed us all in different ways and with different abilities. However, as we journey through the spiritual wilderness that is this world, perhaps we choose to use God’s blessings to serve our own selves — not knowing if there is some better use for them.
Wealth in the wilderness
That is an issue that Israel faced as they left Egypt: how were they to use their fine linen, gold and jewels in the middle of a wilderness? The answer to that question became clear shortly thereafter. God told Israel:
“Take ye from among you an offering unto the LORD: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the LORD; gold, and silver, and brass, And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, And rams’ skins dyed red, and badgers’ skins, and shittim wood, And oil for the light, and spices for anointing oil, and for the sweet incense, And onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod, and for the breastplate. And every wise hearted among you shall come, and make all that the LORD hath commanded… And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the LORD’s offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments. And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing hearted, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold: and every man that offered offered an offering of gold unto the LORD. And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, and red skins of rams, and badgers’ skins, brought them. Every one that did offer an offering of silver and brass brought the LORD’s offering: and every man, with whom was found shittim wood for any work of the service, brought it” (Exod 35:5-10, 21-24).
And so we are told that God’s tabernacle, including the utensils and the fine priest’s clothing, were made from the gold, silver, copper, wood and fine linen donated by those Israelites who were of a willing heart.
At first it would not have been clear how God wanted Israel to use some of these gifts He had given them, but at the right time He made it known to them; the fine linen, silver, gold and jewels could be used in the work of building a tabernacle for the worship of The Lord. So the people who were wise took off their Egyptian jewels and ornaments, of which they had become so fond, and they threw them into a furnace to be melted down into gold, silver and copper for God’s service. These metals would be used to build such things as the altars, the candlestick, the lavers, the utensils, the bases for the posts and even the ark of the testimony itself.
Similarly, the wise in heart gave up their fine linen Egyptian robes and cloth to be destroyed and taken apart for the blue, purple, and scarlet thread used in the tabernacle cloth and priest’s garments. So the tabernacle was built from wealth that came from the land of Egypt. However, though it was clear that God’s hand had directly provided that wealth, any decision by the people to give it back for the tabernacle was strictly voluntary. Those who chose to retain their Egyptian wealth could do so. On the other hand, those who chose to completely forsake it were also free to do so.
A family which had some silver Egyptian plates, gold coinage and fine linen robes was free to keep those Egyptian goods if they valued them. They would also have to deal with any burden which may have come from carrying them along as they wandered in a wilderness where many of those things would have had little use. On the other hand, the same family was also free to unburden themselves of those Egyptian memories and put them to meaningful use in God’s tabernacle. They would suffer no ill effects due to lightening the load from unnecessary things and trusting in God who would provide for their needs such as food (Exod 16:35) and clothing (Deut 29:5).
And so, the tabernacle and the articles of service were built with these voluntary gifts from people of a willing heart. The children of Israel may not have understood at first the purpose of their Egyptian wealth, but God revealed His higher purpose to them at the proper time. Those who chose to give saw their gifts melted down and taken apart, into a state in which they were no longer recognizable as Egyptian, and then refashioned into something fit for use in the worship of God. They witnessed a wonderful transformation from something worldly into something that was spiritual and good.
Our blessings
We can consider these examples in the light of our current lives. Like the Israelites, God has given us worldly blessings to varying degrees. Some of us may have exceptional abilities or skills, others may have intelligence or strength and yet others, material goods such as land or business wealth. The lesson from Israel’s exodus is that just as they were not supposed to use their livestock, their fine linen, their gold and their jewels merely for their own pleasure, neither are we supposed to be using our blessings simply to serve ourselves.
We should consider how our blessings are being employed and whether or not we could do better, both for our families and for ourselves, by ‘lightening the burden’ caused by ‘carrying around’ worldly excess and other things we don’t really need. There are many good spiritual goals to which we can devote our resources. We may not always know exactly what God’s plan is for our lives, or how God wants us to use the abilities and gifts He gives us, but God certainly does have a purpose for each of us if we are willing to be patient and put our trust in Him.
God was able to take the gold of Egypt and melt it into lavers, tables and furniture for worship in His tabernacle. God was able to take the flocks and herds which had fattened and multiplied in Egypt and put them to use in tabernacle sacrifices. God was able to take the fine colored linen of Egypt and to pull it apart, re-forming it into cloth for the tabernacle’s curtains and garments for the priests. In like manner He can work with each of us and put our blessings to use in His service, if we have a heart that is willing.
Over time we ourselves can be transformed from people of the world into children of God who are fit for His service. We are all works in progress whereby the old worldly person must be transformed into a new creation in Jesus Christ — just as the gold had to be melted and re-formed into a new object, and the linen pulled apart and woven into new cloth. Hopefully as the transformation takes place something new and spiritual emerges while the appearance of the former world fades and vanishes.
In a figurative sense God is re-forming a temple in Christ Jesus. We are called to leave slavery to sin and to be baptized into Christ Jesus. After baptism, if we are not careful, there is the risk of looking back to our old worldly ways, and sin when life is hard and temptation is strong. However, it is important for us instead to look ahead, driven and sustained by faith and hope towards the Promised Land, making the choice to work at building a temple of worship to God that brings us closer to Him.
God is calling us to re-form ourselves into part of His new temple built on Jesus Christ, as the apostle Paul wrote:
“Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord” (Eph 2:19-21).
With this exhortation in mind, let us contend diligently to keep our faith and hope strong and to transform ourselves, after the example of Jesus, into new creations fit for use in God’s living temple.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One