The African Exodus will be marked by a return with plunder. This will be a time for repatriation of both human and material resources.
Africa’s plundering has gone on for so long; for years, resources have been taken from Africa to Asia, Europe and America, depleting both our natural and human resources. Meanwhile though Africa receives about $162Bn in aid, $230Bn goes out through repatriation of profits, illegal tax havens and costs imposed through adaptation and mitigation.

There is need to divinely recover what belongs to Africa. Divine recovery is connected to divine justice. While we use the term “plunder”, it should be viewed as a positive attribute in this case where there is evidence of returning with substance that has been attained through work.
Exodus 3:21-22, Exodus 11:2-3
These examples in the Bible clearly describe the aspect of returning with substance;

  1. The capture of Abraham’s cousin Lot stirred him up to mobilize his army and pursue Lot’s enemies. Abraham used the resources at his disposal and trained a skilled army which pursued the enemy through the night. Abraham was able to recover all that had been taken; he did not defile himself, earned a blessing and he paid tithe on the plunder. Gen 14:14-20
  2. Esau who despised his birth rite and sold it for a platter of food. Gen: 25:31-32. Eventually Esau lost his blessing to his brother Jacob and the promise was that only through restlessness would he be released to throw off the yoke of his brother from his neck. Gen 27:40. African leaders, like Esau, have sold the birth rite of Africa through slavery and disposal of its vast resources for little value in return. African’s mindset on slavery must change and skilled Africans should return to the land, having acquired decent vocations and their own resources to develop Africa. The yoke of slavery and service without pay must be broken. When Jacob returned, Esau never needed aid – he had acquired enough.
  3. Exodus 1:8-14. There arose a Pharaoh who knew nothing about Joseph, feared the potential power of the Israelites and chose to enslave them. We have many leaders in the rest of the world who know nothing about Africa. They do not know that part of what their nations are today is based on what Africa sacrificed through slave trade and direct stealing of resources. Africa from biblical times was a place of refuge to many people who were treated with dignity and increased in wealth and number while in the continent. So just as the Israelites left Egypt with plunder (Psalm 105:37), it is time for Africans in the diaspora that went willingly or unwillingly, to come home with divine plunder.

    Questions
    What is your role as an African regarding the return with plunder and how can you partner with God to bring this about?
    Will you open your boundaries to become a place of refuge and how does the story of Israel change your view on how we should treat people seeking refuge?

    Prayer points
    Pray for a new identity for Africa, away from the slavery mentality.
    Pray that whatever resources were plundered from Africa, God will return and develop Africa.
    By Rev. Jasper Tumuhimbise
Devotional - Returning with substance: Our Turn to Plunder

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