Why did God have the Israelites ask the Egyptians of their silver and gold jewelry?
Some preachers keep saying God is against jewelry such as earrings and other forms. Is it Biblical?
Exodus 11:2
ESV - 2 Speak now in the hearing of the people, that they ask, every man of his neighbor and every woman of her neighbor, for silver and gold jewelry.
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Asked September 10 2013
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Cletus Austine
Supporter
Community answers are sorted based on votes. The higher the vote, the further up an answer is.
Gregory Tomlinson
Supporter
It was done to full fill the promise to Abraham in chapter 15 of genesis13] And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; [14] And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. This is the first mention I can find. The Exodus spoiling is the full filling of that promise and beginning of the earnest or down payment to receiving their inheritance.
Dorcas Sitali
Supporter
the children of israelites were slaves to the egyptians for a long time without being paid there due hence this was God's way of paying them there dues for what they had worked for.
Sunny Eshiotse
Supporter
The Bible records that the children of Israel had given four hundred and thirty years of slave labour to the Egyptian economy. The Bible equally states categorically that the labourer deserves his wages. Thus, I am of the opinion that what happened was God's way of ensuring that children got equitably indemnified for their great-grand parents' contributions to building Egyptian science, technology and economy.
Anonymous
Israelites would need gold and silver to build tabernacle in the wilderness and furniture for it. God provided a way for them to get silver and gold in abundance
Robert Beaulieu
Supporter
They had spent 430 years as slaves God wanted to make an example of Egypt. These were his children and the enemy was using them to hide the symbols that he had built there before man entered the picture. Jeremiah 4:22-27 God will not be mocked! The enemy built the very symbols of the battle Father only had to name his appropriately..." The Lion of the Tribe of Judah." The tribe of Judah Is set outside the eastern gate in the wilderness tabernacle facing the sunrise. What symbol in Egypt faces east? The shadow of Satan's symbol falls on that symbol. The Son of God does not belong in the dirt or in anyone's shadow. Keep in mind it was he who wanted to play king of the hill. This is part of God's harvest strategy for the end revealing the whole truth. And exposing his creatures reality. He was covered in ornate precious stones Ezekiel 28:13 his vanity is to gather wealth back unto himself. He came to STEAL, Kill and destroy. He likes positions of power and wealth. The weak link that destroyed his Egyptian power base was the death of their first born. God was slapping the enemy in the proverbial face where it hurt the most. Satan would make sure that in his next lair and place to gather wealth he would not be weak or allow weakness so he eliminated children from the equation. Now his power base remains safe no one will get his wealth, so he thinks. He is not omnipresent every dragon has a lair. Revelation 2:13
Chuma Emmanuel
Supporter
My opinion is that the Isrealites had worked for these precious jewels all these donkey years while it is in the keeping of the Egyptian who rob them what is due to them , but they won't have it forever, so at the appointed time God in his own mysterious ways gave them back what was theirs!
Leona Brown
Supporter
I believe that God was testing the children of Israel and even though God knew what they would do; they did not. They saw the miracle of the Red Sea and praised God; Mirian even wrote a song. Yet they turned around and worship the golden calf. They had no faith or patience. I believe we are being tested today in a similar manner.
A Lamb
Supporter
The amazing thing is that God gave specific instructions to the Israelites and they followed it. Having to go and ask for someone else's wealth is not an easy thing to do but after asking they took everything. The Bible says that the wealth of sinners is laid up for the just. (Pro 13:22) So the smaller picture to the question of 'why' would be to find out if the Israelites were willing to follow God's instructions to go and ask. The bigger picture is that God wanted to use his people to be a blessing to the nations and the world. How? Whatever is given to God will be given back with interest. The same is true today for us. God gives us then we give to God and He blesses us even more. (Luke 6:38)
Christabel Onuoha
Supporter
in all of history, God has proven Himself a keeper of His word. when He makes a promise He keeps it, when He speaks, He MAKES it happen. God had made Abram a promise in Genesis 15 concerning His descendants, when the fullness of time came, He MADE that promise happen, bur first He would require the cooperation of the children of Israel, by getting them to do the asking (in order to legitimize on earth what He had already finished in heaven). God took care of business in the invisible realm, while He sent the children of Israel to take care of business in the physical. In order for God's word to be fulfilled, there has to be partnership and agreement with God. (Mary said "be it unto me according to your word..." she partnered with God.) sometimes this partnership might require and action like the children of Israel did in Egypt. So God sent them to ask as a sign of their partnership with Him, and as a requirement for His promise to Abram to come to pass.
Steven Gompers
Supporter
That Israel left with goods and "plunder" is certainly prophetic fulfillment of a promise and God's continued judgement on the nation, yes. Why the Egyptian people said yes to this unusual request and gave them lots of it- that is a question that deserves an explanation. It one thing to ask for it; it's one thing that God promised it would happen. These ancient Egyptians were real people who had just suffered real loss in the death of the firstborn of each family. What would compel them to give the Jews all kinds of loot?
It is reasonable to tie this response to the response of the Philistine lords in 1 Samuel 6. After months of suffering the priests of the Philistines instructed that a gift be offered to God as a payment, a "peace offering" of sorts. This gift of golden tumors and golden rats (most historians agree this was indeed the case) was neither prescribed by God, nor informed by Jewish law. The ancient Philistines, like the ancient Egyptians, acknowledged God was at the source of their suffering, and the reasonable response was to make a peace offering. It can be surmised that this notion is hard wired into the cultures of the day.
What makes this beautiful is that in 1 John 2, Jesus is called the "propitiation" for our sins. The word propitiation implies a means of forgiveness through an offering for offense. (Strongs #2434)
In a way, both the Egyptians in Exodus and the Philistines of 1 Samuel 6 were attempting to make propitiation for their sins the offering of a gift to appease God's wrath. That the Apostle John calls Jesus the perfect gift which appeases the wrath of God for the sins of the inhabitants of the "entire kosmos" (whole world) displays his superiority over the inferior gifts of gold. That God's wrath was satiated by these gifts, in a way, displays His grace in the Old Testament- but the propitiation was incomplete and not coupled with repentance.
None of this is meant to take away from Jesus fulfillment of the OT covenant sacrificial system, as He is the perfect lamb of God. This explanation merely points out the consistency of Scripture and explains the mindset of one who seems to inherently know that a "guilt offering" must be paid to the superior God.
The problem is that those gifts were insufficient and not coupled with a repentance from following after those foreign gods ("Dagon" in the case of the Philistines and "Hapi" a bull-like god of the Nile in the case of the Egytians, among others).
I contend that the gifts of the Egyptians are an attempt at propitiation - appeasement of guilt. But only in Christ do we find an example to follow (repent), the sufficient propitiation (appeasement) and the indwelling of the Spirit (John 14:17) which helps us not sin in light of the glorious nature of the perfect propitiation.
Stephen Ventura
Supporter
I believe that God caused the Egyptians to hand over their jewelry to the Israelites as plunder.
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