Men have assigned a high value to money, giving it a remarkable power to transform. Because of its proclivity to make men compromise for it, it has been also called a common whore. Money can answer everything, making everything wrong right. Money actually does not make right, but paints over defects, giving a false appearance. Unfortunately, money has the power to deceive people, giving them a false sense of their actual worth, puffing them up. Ephraim (a synecdoche for the northern tribes of Israel) has been characterized as a swindling merchant, not seeing himself in the true light, hiding his blind spots. When money talks, it changes character. When God challenges us to not come before Him empty handed, He is testing our character, seeing whether we worship ourselves and our security more than God.