And I will give this people favour in the eyes of the Egyptians, and it shall come to pass, when ye go out, that ye shall not go out empty;
God gives this promise to Moses at the burning bush, long before the first plague falls. He settles two things in advance: how the Egyptians will treat Israel, and what Israel will carry out of Egypt.
The promise is not new. God had made it long before Moses was born, and one writer points to where.
Then comes the commission to Moses. Jehovah tells him beforehand that the king of Egypt would not let them go. He also promises Moses that He would strike Egypt, and that when the exodus takes place they were not to go empty-handed. This is in fulfillment of a previous promise (Genesis 15:14).
So what Moses hears at the bush is not a new plan. God is acting on a promise He had already bound Himself to.
Israel does not win this goodwill. God says He will give it. And the change in the Egyptians goes deeper than politeness: in the end they want Israel to go, and to go loaded.
In the end there was nothing the people, and even the king of Egypt, were unwilling to give up. Later on, keeping the children of Israel was in their own interest. Even so, they were willing and eager that Israel should go, and that they should not go away empty. Their proud will was broken, although their hearts were by no means with God.
Israel is told to ask the Egyptians for what they need. Older translations said "borrow," as if the goods were taken on loan. One writer explains what the word really means.
There is no idea of "borrowing" in it. It means simply "to ask." The context shows why. God stepped in so plainly that the children of Israel had "favour in the sight of the Egyptians." The Egyptians were made to feel that they had wronged Israel. So they gladly gave them whatever they asked, perhaps as a way of making peace, knowing full well that they would never see the Israelites again. What they gave was therefore an unconditional gift.
This was justice, not just kindness. Israel had worked for centuries without pay. One writer treats the demand as a bill at last presented.
The children of Israel had served the Egyptians for 400 years, building the storage cities for Pharaoh (Exodus 1:11). So God had already told Moses that they were to demand these things as payment for their labours (Exodus 3:21-22). It was no more than they had a right to. The Egyptians seem to have known this, and that is why they answered the demand so eagerly. It was "spoil," but spoil they had earned.
God announces the whole story — Pharaoh's refusal, and Israel's loaded departure — before any of it happens. One writer draws comfort from that.
These instructions are important for all time, because they place the exact foreknowledge of God beyond doubt. He knew who He was dealing with, the resistance He would meet, and how it was to be overcome. He saw all things from the beginning to the end. How comforting for our weak hearts! No difficulty or trial can come to us that our God has not foreseen, and for which in His grace He has not made provision.
The silver and gold had a purpose beyond the journey. One writer shows what God meant it for, and what Israel did with it instead.
God had set apart the wealth that Israel took out of Egypt for His service in the Tabernacle. It had a proper use. God's claim was on the wealth that came out of the land with them. The misuse of it shows up in chapter 32, where the golden calf came before the dancing.
There was one more thing God wanted Israel to learn: who really owned the silver and gold.
Of course, in their years of slavery they had earned every bit of this. And God would also impress on them that the silver and gold were His. So they could receive these things as from His own hand.
- Promised — "you shall not go empty" is God keeping a promise He made long before Moses was born.
- Given — God gives the favour; Israel does not win it. Egypt's proud will broke, though their hearts stayed far from Him.
- Asked — the word is "ask," not "borrow." The Egyptians gave gladly, with no strings, knowing they would never see Israel again.
- Owed — 400 years of unpaid work lay behind the demand. It was spoil, but spoil Israel had earned.
- Returned — the silver and gold were God's all along, set apart for the tabernacle. Israel used them for a golden calf instead.
but every woman shall ask of her neighbour, and of her that is the inmate of her house, utensils of silver, and utensils of gold, and clothing; and ye shall put [them] on your sons and on your daughters, and shall spoil the Egyptians.
God's last word from the burning bush is not about the escape itself, but about what Israel would carry out: silver, gold and clothing from the people who had crushed them. For centuries readers have asked whether that was theft by God's command, and what all that wealth was for.
Much of the difficulty comes from the older word "borrow." One writer notes who was to do the asking, and says the wages were owed already:
In truth their wages were long overdue, never having been paid. It is mere folly to suppose there was any, even the smallest, breach of what was right and proper. Every woman was simply to ask her neighbour for objects of silver and gold, along with clothing, and these were to be put on Israel's sons and daughters. It was to spoil their oppressors by divine authority, and no question whatever of deceit or dishonesty. The impression of "borrowing" given in the Authorized Version is by no means necessary, nor does the connection justify it.
The word "spoil" sounds like plunder taken by force. Read against Israel's work record, it reads instead as a bill finally settled:
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. That explains the eager way in which they seemed to answer this demand. It was "spoil," but spoil they richly deserved.
Egypt handed the valuables over willingly. God had changed how the Egyptians saw Israel:
The context shows that God's clear intervention would put the children of Israel in "favour in the sight of the Egyptians." Feeling that Israel had suffered wrong at their hands, the Egyptians gladly gave them whatever they asked for — perhaps as a kind of appeasement — knowing full well that they would never see the Israelites again. What they gave was therefore an unconditional gift.
The promise reached beyond that one night. One writer traces it from the exodus to Israel's future:
God's promise included His judging the nation that oppressed Israel. He would not only set Israel free, but bless them with great substance. This was true at the exodus (Ex. 12:35-36). It also pictures the great blessing Israel will receive when the nation at last receives their Messiah. He will free them from the bondage to sin that has enslaved them for centuries.
The same gold later shows up in two very different places: the tabernacle and the golden calf. One writer faces that tension:
But why did God allow what later helped to produce the terrible sin of chapter 32? Chapter 25 throws much light on this question. God had set apart the wealth that Israel took out of Egypt for His service in the tabernacle. There was a proper use for it. God had a claim on the wealth that came out of the land with them. The abuse of it comes out clearly in the 32nd chapter, where the golden calf preceded the dancing.
Read as a picture, the transfer runs in one direction only. What is valuable does not stay behind with the oppressor:
But God does not intend His people to go out of Egypt empty. Instead, they are to leave it with the spoil of Egypt in their hands. 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 all that Scripture has enriched it with. How poor it would be left!
- Ask — the older word "borrow" misleads. The command was to ask, and what Egypt handed over was an unconditional gift, not a loan.
- Owed — Israel built Pharaoh's treasure cities for four hundred years. They received no more than their right: spoil, but spoil they deserved.
- Given — God gave Israel favour in Egyptian eyes. Egypt gave gladly, feeling it had wronged them.
- Promised — God kept His word to judge Egypt and to send Israel out rich. The same promise pictures the blessing Israel will yet receive under their Messiah.
- Destined — the gold had a use already appointed: God's service in the tabernacle. Chapter 32 shows the alternative, when the same gold became a calf.