Divine Transfer

            Approximately thirty-five hundred years ago, God was arranging to rescue His people from Egyptian slavery. Exodus chapter 12 gives the account of the last plague inflicted on the Egyptians - the death of the firstborn son of every Egyptian family, including Pharaoh, as well as of the animals. “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord” (Exodus 12:12 NIV). After this occurred, Pharaoh told the Israelites to leave the country.
           
        Afraid they would all die, the Egyptians urged the children of Israel to leave quickly. Moses instructed the people to ask them for articles of silver, gold, and clothing. “The Lord had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians” (Exodus 12:36 NIV).
           

       In the above narrative, a divine transfer took place. Proverbs 13:22 CJB says, "A good man leaves an inheritance to his grandchildren, but the wealth of a sinner is stored up for the righteous." The wealth of the Egyptians was transferred to the Israelites. It was wealth earned on the backs of Israelite slaves and God was giving it back to His people. The wealth provided provision for their journey, as well as the materials to build the Tabernacle in the wilderness.
           
        There are other examples in the Bible of divine transfer. In the book of Nehemiah, we learn Nehemiah was cupbearer to the king (Artaxerxes 1 of Persia), living in exile. People arrived from Judah and told him the wall of Jerusalem, Nehemiah’s home city, was broken down and its gates burned.
           
       Nehemiah mourned over what he heard and wanted to go back and rebuild the walls. But it seemed impossible. He didn’t have the funds, materials, or expertise. However, nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37). God used a pagan king to provide Nehemiah with what he needed. The king allowed him to return home and wrote letters guaranteeing him safe passage and requesting the people of the land to provide the required materials. It should have taken Nehemiah years to rebuild the walls, but he did it in fifty-two days! I call that divine transfer – transfer of funds, favour, materials, and influence.
           
       Then there’s the example of Ruth. In the book of her name, we read how she and her mother-in-law, Naomi, returned from Moab to Bethlehem in the land of Judah, widowed and poverty-stricken. Things looked pretty dismal. Naomi even told everyone not to call her by her given name, which means pleasantness, but by Mara, which means bitter.

          But our God is the God of the impossible (Matthew 19:26).  God provided a kinsman-redeemer in the person of Boaz, who not only provided for Ruth and Naomi, but married Ruth, and put her in the genealogy of Jesus, the Messiah.

        And when the children of Israel went into the Promised Land, God gave them “…cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant…” (Deuteronomy 6:10-11 NIV). Another example of divine transfer.

          Why have I given you these examples? Because I want to encourage you. To remind you we serve a God Who owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10), treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places (Isaiah 45:3). There is nothing we require He cannot get to us. He’s promised to provide everything we need (Philippians 4:19). My prayer for 2023 is that we learn to trust Him for EVERYTHING.