The Divine, it seems, knows the feeling. According to Shemot Rabbah, the great collection of Midrashic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, God felt a similar pang of regret about the honor bestowed upon Egypt.
We find this idea tucked away in Shemot Rabbah 18, a passage exploring the verse, "The Lord will pass to smite Egypt..." (Exodus 12:23). Rabbi Levi, unpacking the Hebrew word ve’avar (וְעָבַר), meaning "pass," offers a striking interpretation. He suggests that God isn't just passing through to inflict punishment, but rather, that God is saying, "I will renege on what I said." Think of it as divine backtracking, a cosmic "undo" button.
The Midrash illustrates this with a parable. Imagine a king whose son ventures into a foreign, "barbaric" land. These foreigners, surprisingly, welcome the prince and crown him as their king. Overjoyed, the king thinks, "What honor can I possibly bestow upon these people who have so exalted my son?" So, he decides to name the province after his son, elevating their status.
But, alas, the honeymoon doesn't last. The foreigners eventually turn against the prince, cursing and enslaving him. The king, enraged and heartbroken, declares, "I will renege on the honor that I accorded them! I will wage war against them and rescue my son!"
This parable, the Midrash argues, mirrors God's relationship with Egypt. Joseph, Jacob's beloved son, descends to Egypt and rises to power. As Genesis 42:6 tells us, "Joseph was the ruler over the land." The Egyptians welcome him, and through him, they indirectly honor Jacob himself. We read in Genesis 50:3 that "Egypt wept for him seventy days," a testament to Jacob’s impact on the land.
Seeing this, the Holy One, blessed be He, decides to honor Egypt in turn. "What honor will I accord Egypt?" God asks, according to the Midrash. And the answer? "I will call it by the name of the Garden of Eden." The verse, "Like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt" (Genesis 13:10), becomes a testament to this divine favor. Egypt, for a time, enjoys a status akin to paradise.
But as we know, the story doesn't end there. The Egyptians "changed their minds and enslaved [the Israelites]," the Midrash continues, betraying the trust and honor bestowed upon them. This is where the "reneging" comes in. God declares, "I will pass through the land of Egypt" (Exodus 12:12). This isn't just a physical passing; it's a revocation of the previous honor. "I am reneging on that honor," God says, "and I will render it desolation." And as the prophet Joel foretells (Joel 4:19), "Egypt will become desolation."
So, what are we to take away from this? It's a potent reminder that even divine favor can be conditional. It's about choices, about how we treat each other, and about the consequences of betrayal. The story of Egypt isn’t just a historical account; it’s a timeless lesson about responsibility, gratitude, and the enduring power of choice. It makes you wonder: what honors have we been given, and how are we using them? What might we be in danger of losing?