Your Gold is for What?

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But I know that the king of Egypt won't let you go unless something forces him to.  So I will use my mighty power to perform all kinds of miracles and strike down the Egyptians. Then the king will send you away.  After I punish the Egyptians, they will be so afraid of you that they will give you anything you want. You are my people, and I will let you take many things with you when you leave the land of Egypt.  Every Israelite woman will go to her Egyptian neighbors or to any Egyptian woman living in her house. She will ask them for gold and silver jewelry and for their finest clothes. The Egyptians will give them to you, and you will put these fine things on your sons and daughters. You will carry all this away when you leave Egypt.

Exodus 3: 19 - 22

What did the Israelites do with the Gold that they took from their neighbors just before they left Egypt and crossed the Red Sea into the desert?  For the most part Gold is not a useful commodity in the desert.  But for those who were led by Moses out of Egyptian slavery the Gold would be used for one of two things.  It would either provide the covering for the Ark of the Covenant or it would be the stuff for making the Golden Calf that they worshipped while Moses was on the Mountain, getting the Ten Commandments!

The Ark of the Covenant was a glorious use of the Gold and the other was a ghastly perversion of what God desired!

So when you begin your journey as a follower of Jesus, you, like the children of Israel have a choice of what to do with the Gold that God has given you as you cross the Red Sea into the Desert.  You can use your wealth to Glorify God or you can make a Golden Calf and worship it on your journey to the Promised Land.  

Like the Israelites, the Golden Calf will bring much suffering and trouble to your life, but letting your Gold be used to cover the Ark will fill your heart with the Peace of God no matter what happens!

“Lord Jesus, show me today how to use the Gold that You have given me to Glorify and Praise Your Holy Name.  Amen.”