And the children of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, and they had asked of the Egyptians utensils of silver, and utensils of gold, and clothing.
Israel leaves Egypt the morning after the Passover. Before they go, they turn to their former masters and ask for silver, gold, and clothing. Older translations say they "borrowed." That one word has made this verse a favourite target for critics. Was God telling His people to cheat? And why would He want them loaded with Egypt's wealth at all?
The objection rests on a translation. Once the right word is in place, the picture is not of a loan never repaid but of a total reversal of position:
Unbelievers have seized on the word "borrow" in verse 22, and objected that it presents God as telling the people to practise deceit by pretending to borrow what they never intended to repay. The word occurs again in Exodus 11:2 and Exodus 12:35. But the word really is "ask," and Darby's version translates it that way. The people had been only slaves, working for barely enough to live on. Now the position was to be completely reversed. Their former masters would fear them and give them what they asked. All they could carry out of Egypt would be a mere fraction of what was really due to them.
Israel asked because Moses told them to, and Moses had his orders from God. What they asked for was payment on a debt centuries old:
The word rendered "borrowed" is really to "ask," and the word rendered "lent" means "gave." The concordance will show that it really means "demanded." The children of Israel had served the Egyptians for 400 years, building the treasure cities for Pharaoh (Ex. 1:11). So God had already said to Moses that they were to demand these things as payment for their labours, Ex. 3:21-22. It was not more than they had a right to. The Egyptians seem to have known this, and that is why they met the demand so eagerly. It was "spoil," but spoil they richly deserved.
Israel neither robbed Egypt nor tricked it. The Egyptians had their own reasons for handing the valuables over:
The context shows that because of God's obvious intervention the children of Israel would be in "favour in the sight of the Egyptians." The Egyptians had been made to feel that Israel had suffered wrong at their hands. So they gladly gave them whatever they wanted, perhaps as a kind of appeasement, knowing full well that they would see the Israelites no more. What they gave was therefore an unconditional gift.
God did not mean His people to leave with nothing. One writer then turns the picture round to the world they left behind:
But God does not intend His people to go out of Egypt empty. They are to leave it rather with the spoil of Egypt in their hands; and yet, in taking this, they take only what is their own. Take out of the world today everything that comes from God's saving work. Take out of it everything Scripture has enriched it with. How poor the world would be left!
The same silver and gold turn up twice more in Exodus. What God marked out for one purpose, Israel could put to another:
God had set apart the wealth that Israel took from Egypt for His own service in the Tabernacle. There was a proper use for it. God's claim rested on the wealth that came out of the land with them. The abuse of it comes out clearly in chapter 32, where the golden calf came before the dancing.
The same principle reaches into a person's own past:
Before God called us, we handled much in this world. We have long thought that under God's providence this shaped us as vessels for serving Him in this world. Moses was raised in the house of Pharaoh's daughter. Paul was raised in the teaching of Judaism. Both are examples of this. … So it was with the children of Israel. It was their wages, willingly given to God to form the Tabernacle.
- Asked — the word behind the old "borrowed" means to ask, or to demand; the matching "lent" means gave. The charge of deceit rests on a translation, not on the text.
- Owed — 400 years of unpaid labour stood behind the asking. What Israel carried out was wages, and only a fraction of what was due.
- Given — God gave His people favour in Egypt's eyes. Egypt handed the treasure over gladly, and asked for nothing back.
- Full — God did not mean them to go out empty, and they took only what was already their own.
- Used — God destined the spoil for the tabernacle, Israel's tent of worship; the same gold became a calf in chapter 32. What comes out of the old life either goes back to God or turns into an idol.
And Jehovah had given the people favour in the eyes of the Egyptians, and they gave to them; and they spoiled the Egyptians.
On the night of the Passover, a slave people walked out of Egypt carrying the wealth of the nation that had held them. Two questions follow: was the taking honest, and what was all that silver and gold for?
Older translations say Israel "borrowed" and the Egyptians "lent." That makes the scene look like theft. The original words say something else, and the history behind them shows why the demand was fair.
It may help first to point out that the word translated "borrowed" really means to "ask," and the word translated "lent" means "gave." The concordance will show that it really means "demanded." The children of Israel had served the Egyptians for 400 years, building the treasure cities for Pharaoh (Ex. 1:11). So God had already told Moses that they were to demand these things as payment for their work (Ex. 3:21-22). It was not more than they had a right to, and it seems the Egyptians knew this, so they appeared eager to answer the demand. It was "spoil," but spoil they richly deserved.
Another writer weighs the two possible senses of the word and calls the taking fair payment.
God directs His people not to go out empty after their long unpaid labour. Every woman should (not "borrow," but) ask for jewels of silver and of gold, and so spoil them, since it was righteous repayment. The word "borrow" is only a secondary sense, and here out of place. "Ask" is the direct and primary sense, and therefore should be kept.
The Egyptians did not part with their treasures grudgingly. Something stood behind that generosity.
Israel did not leave Egypt poor. His people had toiled so long without wages. God told them to demand jewels of silver, jewels of gold, and clothing from the Egyptians. And the terror of the Lord made the Egyptians generous. The captive people became loaded with the spoils of their captors. The "night of the Lord" was never to be forgotten.
Israel walks out loaded, and Egypt keeps nothing. One writer turns that picture on the world we live in now.
God does not intend His people to go out of Egypt empty. They are to leave it rather with the spoil of Egypt in their hands; and yet, in taking this, they take only what is their own. Take out of the world today everything that is the fruit of God's work of salvation, or that goes with it. Take out of it all that Scripture has enriched it with. How poor it would be left! This only shows what the world is: God could not take His people out of it without leaving it empty of all true blessing and light.
Why would God let them carry off wealth that later became a golden calf? He had a use for it, and Israel found a different one.
God had set apart the wealth that Israel took from Egypt for His service in the Tabernacle. It had a proper use. God's claim rested on the wealth that came out of the land with them. The abuse of it comes out clearly in chapter 32, where the golden calf came before the dancing.
The gold came out of Egypt. Can a believer offer God anything he gained before God called him? One answer looks at a whole life, not just at metal.
How does this apply to serving the Lord? We have long thought that much of what we handled in this world, before God called us, shaped us. Under God's providence it made us vessels for serving Him in this world. Moses grew up in the house of Pharaoh's daughter. Paul grew up in the teachings of Judaism. Both are examples of this. … So it was with the children of Israel. It was their wages, willingly given to God to make the Tabernacle.
- Wages, not theft. The word is "ask," not "borrow." Four hundred years of unpaid building work stood behind the demand, and the Egyptians seemed to know it.
- Favour, not skill. The Lord gave the people favour. Fear of Him made the Egyptians generous, and the captives walked out carrying their captors' spoils.
- Full, not empty. God did not mean them to leave empty. What they carried was their own, and Egypt lost what had truly enriched it.
- Sanctuary, not calf. God set the silver and gold apart for the Tabernacle, Israel's tent of worship. Chapter 32 shows the same wealth turned into an idol.
- Given, not kept. Wages earned in Egypt became a free gift to God. As with Moses and Paul, a believer can lay a whole past life at God's feet for His service.