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.
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.