“Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold.”
Tell the people that men and women alike are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold. The instruction to ask for silver and gold from Egyptian neighbors is the fulfillment of God's promise in Exodus 3:21–22 and the fulfillment of the covenant promise to Abraham in Genesis 15:14: they will come out with great possessions. The asking is not theft; it is compensation, and God has arranged for the Egyptians to be favorably disposed. The favor that God creates among the Egyptians toward Israel at this moment is one of the clearest examples of God working through human hearts without overriding human freedom. He does not force the Egyptians to give; He makes Israel favorable in their sight, and the Egyptians respond out of their own compassion and fear. Providence works through the ordinary social dynamics of neighbor-to-neighbor generosity.
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