Verse for the Day, 30 June 2014.

Exodus 10:7-11  Then Pharaoh's servants said to him, "How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God. Do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?"  (8)  So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. And he said to them, "Go, serve the LORD your God. But which ones are to go?"  (9)  Moses said, "We will go with our young and our old. We will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds, for we must hold a feast to the LORD."  (10)  But he said to them, "The LORD be with you, if ever I let you and your little ones go! Look, you have some evil purpose in mind.  (11)  No! Go, the men among you, and serve the LORD, for that is what you are asking." And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence.

Pharaoh’s servants implore Pharaoh to reconsider his constant refusal to allow the Israelites to go. They urge Pharaoh to look at the land of Egypt, to look at the state, the misery of his people and to then swallow his pride and let the Israelites go, before any more disaster should come upon them.

Pharaoh listens to them, but not completely, and he seeks to negotiate with Moses, giving permission only for the men to go. When Moses tells him that there are no terms of negotiation, Pharaoh’s anger and pride rears its ugly head and he accuses Moses of evil, which is to indirectly accuse God, the God of the Israelites, the God of Moses, of evil.

Simply put, this passage teaches us that God’s sovereign will and purpose is not negotiable, nor is obedience to God negotiable. We cannot dictate to God what we will, or will not do, we cannot strike a compromise with God, and we cannot think that God will be satisfied with lesser obedience.

When God reveals His will and purpose to us, when God gives us a command, our response is not to question or doubt, but to obey, joyfully, willingly and without hesitation. Chapters 3-12 of Exodus serve as a great example and lesson to us of the great differences between obedience to the will of God and refusal. Pharaoh in refusing to obey comes under the hand of God’s judgement and punishment, the longer he refuses and maintains his pride, the greater the punishment, until Pharaoh’s pride is broken and humbled. By contrast, Moses’ obedience, which was reluctant at first, becomes all the more courageous and he comes to know the faithfulness, presence, power and protection of God, upon himself, Aaron and the people of Israel. Moses receives the blessing that comes with obedience, seeing God’s sovereign purposes accomplished and the blessing of be part of that which God used to bring His purpose about.

We can often times be guilty of trying to strike a compromise with God, trying to negotiate the terms and the level of our obedience to His revealed will, Word and commands. Our obedience can be slow, reluctant and proud, and sometimes absent altogether. If we continue on in such a manner, whilst we will remain God’s children and remain in His grace and love, we will be disciplined by Him until we learn obedience. We should not be reluctant to be obedient towards God, because we believe that He is all-wise and good, therefore He can be trusted to only command us to do what is wise, right and good. Furthermore we should be willing to obey, even when that obedience may be difficult, bringing us into persecution or opposition, because we can learn from men like Moses, that when we walk in obedience, God will uphold, protect, preserve and provide for us, and God will be faithful to us. To question God’s commands, or to be slow to obey, is to in fact doubt and question God’s wisdom, goodness, faithfulness and sovereignty. Thus we have every reason, motivation and encouragement to obey God, for it leads to the increase of His glory, the expansion of His Kingdom and to our good.

Lord God, we believe that You are a God who is both all-wise and good, yet in our sinfulness we can often question Your will and what You call upon us to do. We pray that You will help us to turn away from sinful pride and the folly of our own wisdom and respond to You with joyful, willing and quick obedience. Keep us from becoming like Pharaoh, our hearts becoming hard towards Your Word, make us like Moses becoming increasingly obedient and courageous for You. Amen.