By the end of the 10th plague in this week’s Torah portion, God had seized the attention of Pharaoh and the Egyptians. Now they were dying to be rid of their Hebrew slaves. But God didn’t want the Israelites to leave Egypt empty-handed. After all, they had 400 years of back wages due them. So the Israelites asked their former masters for articles of silver, gold, and clothing, and they got them. Exodus 12:36 says that “The Lord had disposed the Egyptians favorably toward the people and they let them have their request….”
It wasn’t long, however, until our ancestors fell into idolatry. In parasha Ki Tisa They used their gold to make a golden calf, which they worshiped while Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the 10 Commandments (32:1-4).
This tragic experience highlights the tension that we are required to maintain regarding our possessions. There is much in our society that we enjoy, but material things also pose grave dangers when we use them thoughtlessly. Author Os Guinness captures the Jewish approach to material goods. He says that we are “free to utilize” but “forbidden to idolize.” We must not become so enamored with “the riches of Egypt” that we grow complacent and forget our true mission to perfect this world as God’s partners.
Are we using our material
blessings to serve the Lord? Or have we become slaves to them?
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