As the Hebrews left Egypt, God compelled the Egyptians to deck His people with the spoil of war. God had won the victory and after years of misery under the tyranny of Pharaoh, God loads their arms full with the treasure of the greatest empire of the time.
That gold along with much of the rest of the plunder ended up having at least two end results. First, much of it was used in rebellion. The Golden Calf was fashioned out of this plunder, to depict the god they were willing to ascribe their deliverance to. The Israelites hands were full of the treasure which Yahweh had given them, and they repurpose it into an idol in place of Yahweh. How great the sinful heart of man?!
Conversely, much of the plunder eventually was used by the artisans who crafted the furniture and weavings of the tabernacle. The people freely gave of the wealth God had given them to build God’s house.
The same gold. Two diametrically opposed purposes. One for the exaltation of man and his vanity, lusts, and pride; the other for the service and magnification of God Almighty. As we gather around the Lord’s Table this is a needful reminder. The same hands which receive the blood of Christ must not be hands which shed innocent blood. The same mouths which consume this bread must not be mouths that devour widows’ houses. Your body isn’t the problem, but rather who your body is in service to.
You can’t be both a living stone in the house of our God, and a part of the tower of Babel reconstruction project. You’ve been delivered from the bondage of sin, and been given liberty. Now use that liberty, by the grace of your union with Christ, to serve the Lord entirely.
So come in faith and welcome to Jesus Christ…