Exodus Reminders

When we freely give in obedience, there is always more than enough.

I’ve been reading an online Bible study on the Book of Exodus. Exodus is one of those books with lots of action. There are ten plagues; the Red Sea parts; manna falls from Heaven and the Ten Commandments are given, just to name some highlights.

There are accounts in Exodus that people just never forget no matter how young they may be when they hear them.

As I get older and read Exodus, the more subtle details jump out at me. In Chapter 12, the Israelites are leaving in a hurry. They grabbed their dough before they even added yeast or had time to bake it. Yet, Moses tells them to go and ask their neighbors for silver, gold and clothing.

Moses was just following orders. God told him back in Chapter 3, “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.” Exodus 3:22

Then in Exodus 11:2, “Tell the people that men and women alike are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold.”

These people were finally getting out of slavery. Moses was leading them to the Promised Land. I just find it odd that God wanted them to take the time it took to knock on their neighbor’s doors, (their neighbors who had just lost their first born son) and ask for silver and gold and clothes.

But, God is not a God of haste or panic. He is always working and always has a plan. The Israelites obeyed and they took all of that silver and gold and eventually took it across the Red Sea and into the desert.

What in the world were they going to do with those things in the desert?

When I read Chapter 36, the dots all connected. God had plans for a tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant and they were elaborate and ornate. Moses asked the Israelites who were willing, to bring their jewelry of all kinds and linen and yarn and the text says they gave freely day after day. The skilled workers told Moses they had more than enough and and Moses commanded them to stop.

I’ll have to admit, I have skimmed over this chapter in the past.

There are quite a few chapters that give exact measurements for every nook and cranny including the clothes for the priests and I found it kind of boring, but two things really spoke to me this time.

The first is that God always has a plan. Even when we think that we are performing mundane or ridiculous tasks, He will use our obedience for His glory. The second is that all that we have is His. The Israelites wouldn’t have even had all of that plunder without God’s intervention, but they didn’t hold on tightly to it. They gave it freely, day after day and there was more than enough.

These are lessons worth remembering. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂