Moonlight Flight

The wealth of the world belongs to God–this is easy to say but much harder to believe. Members of my church are trembling at the huge repair bill we face and wondering whether we can ask people who don’t belong to the congregation to contribute to the fund. Here God, through Moses, urges the people to be bold and ask Egyptian neighbors for donations of gold and clothing so that they can set out well-dressed and beautiful as they go to worship the Lord in the desert.

There is an element of natural justice about it, considering their years of poorly rewarded service, but that is unlikely to have been in the minds of ordinary Egyptians. Upset and fearful (33), they give wildly generous donations (35,36), no doubt inwardly echoing Pharaoh’s parting words, “And also bless me” (32). Their response could not have been predicted. It was God, we are told, who made them favorably disposed (36). The recipients will soon be reminded, however, that all wealth is held in trust from God. They will be invited to give these material gifts generously back to God to decorate the tabernacle (Exod. 35:20-29).

Finally, after centuries in Egypt, the descendants of Jacob are on the move towards the land that Abraham had been promised. The text offers us alternative ways of looking at their departure. They are the Lord’s army (40) marching forward, carrying the spoils of his victory (36). They are also the slaves Pharaoh reluctantly freed, leaving in haste by night with their unleavened dough (39). This contrast is something we frequently experience as we oscillate between the great themes we own and sing about in our public worship and the spiritual struggles of our daily lives.

Where are you right now in your spiritual journey? Rejoicing in the spoils of victory, or leaving in haste by night with unleavened dough? In other words, are you on top of things or struggling? How can the experience of the Israelites help you?