The Lord had used the ten plagues to introduce himself to the Hebrew and Egyptian people. Egypt now knew who the Lord was and they were “favorably disposed” towards the Lord’s people. Moses had originally been ridiculed, rejected and banished from Pharaoh’s court, but because he was Yahweh’s spokesman he had become highly regarded by the court officials and the citizens of Egypt.

The series of events that had transpired over the last 10 months or so in Egypt had convinced the people of Egypt and the Hebrew slaves that Yahweh was a God that was to be feared and honored. (The Mishnah in Eduyos 2:10 says the plagues lasted for 12 months; some guess that they lasted only a month, others say 40 days; another estimate is 4-5 months; no one teaches that the plagues lasted more than a year since Moses arrived in Egypt when he was 80, Ex. 7:7, led Israel for 40 years in the wilderness, Ex. 16:35, Num. 14:33, and then died at 120 in Dt. 34:7. This leaves room for only about a year in Egypt for the plagues to occur while Moses was 80-81 years old.)

“Favorably disposed” is the translation of the Hebrew natan hen which literally means “gave grace.” The Lord made the Egyptians give grace to the Hebrews. This “favor” or “grace” was manifested when the Egyptians gave the Hebrews articles of silver and gold when the Hebrews asked for them after the tenth plague. (Ex.11:2)

Moses the man had developed a very impressive reputation among the social classes of Egypt. Not only was Moses “highly regarded” (gadol me’od) by the Egyptian people, but Moses was also recognized by the leaders:

1. The Magicians knew Moses was dealing with divine power when they attributed his miracles to God saying, “This is the finger of God.” (Exodus 8:18-19)
2. The Court Officials “feared the word of the Lord” (Ex.9:20) spoken by Moses and challenged Pharaoh’s refusal to recognize Moses’ superiority when they said, “How long will this man be a snare to us?” (Ex. 10:7)
3. Pharaoh himself admitted his sin on two separate occasions (Ex.9:27; 10:16) for resisting Moses’ demands. Pharaoh admitted he was guilty of being in the wrong, not Moses (Ex.10:16)

When it came time to leave Egypt the Hebrews did what Moses and the Lord told them to do. They asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing. Instead of plundering the Egyptians by force with swords and theft, the Hebrews had favor with the Egyptians who simply gave the Hebrews what they asked for:

“The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for 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 12:35-36

"Can you imagine a
life with no fear?
What if faith, not fear, was your default reaction
to threats?”

- Max Lucado