Exodus 12:35 and 36 say, “And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they asked of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they gave to them what they asked. And they plundered the Egyptians” (Heb.). Although the children of Israel had no time to prepare leavened bread, they did have time to plunder the Egyptians of their silver, gold, and raiment (3:21-22; 11:2-3). This indicates that in God’s salvation He desires that we plunder the world of its wealth.
God’s economy is different from man’s religion. For example, Buddhism teaches that we should take nothing out of the world. God, on the contrary, commanded His chosen people to ask the Egyptians for silver, gold, and raiment. In this way, His people plundered the Egyptians. This was not robbery; it was a belated payment for a long period of slave labor. God in His righteousness arranged for the Egyptians to pay the children of Israel for their labor in Egypt.
Many saved ones can testify that God’s strong hand has worked in their environment to give them the opportunity to plunder the world of its wealth. God’s goal in doing this is not the enrichment of His people; it is the building of the tabernacle, His dwelling place on earth. The children of Israel needed the gold, silver, and raiment for the building of the tabernacle. For the sake of God’s dwelling place, we should not leave the world as the Buddhists do; we should plunder Egypt of wealth to be used in building the tabernacle.
On the one hand, when Peter and John were asked for money by the beggar, they had no silver or gold to give him (Acts 3:6). But on the other hand, they were among those who had plundered the world of its wealth. When we, the chosen people of God, come out of the world under God’s sovereign hand, we have no time to leaven anything. However, we do have the opportunity to plunder the Egyptians. All those who are raised up by the Lord are those who plunder the world. For the Lord’s purpose, they bring certain riches out of the world and present them to the Lord. For instance, Paul could say, “As poor yet enriching many, as having nothing and possessing all things” (2 Cor. 6:10). This matter of plundering the wealth of the Egyptians can be illustrated and confirmed by the experiences of many Christians.
Apparently, it was unjust for the children of Israel to plunder the Egyptians of their gold, silver, and raiment. As we have pointed out, by plundering the wealth of Egypt, they were actually receiving righteous payment for their forced labor. In a sense, the pay they deserved for their labor had been deposited over the years in the “bank” in Egypt and then was withdrawn at the time of the exodus. Furthermore, God’s people did not take the gold, silver, and raiment for their own use or purpose. On the contrary, the riches of Egypt were used through God’s chosen people for the building of the tabernacle.
The tabernacle was the testimony of God, which typifies Christ with the church. The church today is God’s tabernacle constituted of Christ and the saints. Such a testimony is built with the offerings of God’s people. Therefore, the riches of the Egyptians came through the labor of God’s people and were spent for God’s testimony. This is what it means to plunder the world of its wealth.
The saints in the Lord’s recovery should not be lazy. They should get a good education and then work diligently at a proper job to earn an adequate living. However, the money they earn should not be used only for themselves or for their enjoyment; it should be used for the Lord’s testimony. On the one hand, we must labor in the world and receive just payment for our work. But on the other hand, what we earn should be used for the testimony of God.
Although we work in the world, we do not work for the world. Instead, we work in the world for something that is not of the world, just as the children of Israel labored in Egypt for something that was not of Egypt. Pharaoh forced God’s people to work as slaves. Eventually, they received for their labor the riches of Egypt that were used for the building of the tabernacle, God’s testimony, not for Egypt.
Some may think that because we labor diligently in the world we labor for the world. However, our labor is for God’s testimony. What we receive for our labor in the world is given to the Lord. According to the promise in the New Testament, the more we give to the Lord, the more He will give to us (Luke 6:38). The Lord intends to plunder the world of its wealth through our labor so that we may give this wealth to Him for the building up of His dwelling place.
The experience of a certain brother in England illustrates this. Early in his Christian life, he gave ten percent of his income to the Lord. Because he was faithful in this matter, the Lord caused him to prosper financially. The brother then increased the percentage of his giving from ten percent to fifteen percent. The Lord caused him to prosper even more. As the years went by, this brother gradually increased the percentage of his giving. But no matter how much he gave to the Lord, the Lord always gave even more to him. This brother surely was one who plundered the riches of the world and presented them to the Lord for His testimony.
Another illustration is found in the experience of some brothers in the Lord who opened a tailor shop with the intention of helping the Lord’s people and the Lord’s work. Eventually their business expanded so that they had a hundred chain stores. All the profit they earned from this business went to support the Lord’s testimony. They also plundered the world for the Lord. All those who realize what it means to come out of the world will work diligently not for their own welfare, but for the Lord’s interests.
The building of the meeting hall in Anaheim also illustrates this principle. A great deal of volunteer labor went into the construction of this facility. This labor saved a very large amount of money. Those who worked on the hall plundered the world through their labors. I believe that the Lord has made a record of their faithfulness.
Throughout the years, many of the saints who have been faithful to the Lord have been enriched by Him. However, the crucial matter is what use the saints make of this material increase. If this financial gain is used for the world, this will be a great failure in the eyes of the Lord. But if it is used for God’s testimony, it will be another case of plundering the wealth of the world under the sovereignty of God. To plunder the world is not to take anything from the world unrighteously: it is to labor in the world and to use the gain from our labor for God’s testimony.