The showdown between Moses and Pharaoh was nothing short of amazing. Pharaoh’s refusal to let Israel go had led to four plagues. By this point it seemed like Pharaoh had enough. Pharaoh told Moses, “Go, sacrifice to your God here in the land” (Ex. 8:25) Pharaoh wanted a compromise, but sacrificing in Egypt wasn’t in the cards for Israel. Moses understood that the Egyptians would abhor the Israelite’s form of worship. Pharaoh relented and said, “I will let you go to offer sacrifices to the Lord your God in the wilderness, but you must not go very far. Now pray for me” (Ex. 8:28).
Moses agreed to pray for relief. Moses was the wiser, knowing that Pharaoh wouldn’t keep his end of the bargain. And he was right, Pharaoh didn’t let the people go, he hardened his heart, and a fifth plague of flies brought more destruction.
Moses warned Pharaoh of a sixth plague, a plague of locusts. Pharaoh was willing to let Israel go, but he questioned Moses, “Tell me who will be going?” Moses replied, “We will go with our old, with our sons and our daughters, and with our flocks and herds, because we are to celebrate a festival to the Lord” (Ex. 10:8-9). Everyone and everything was to go with Israel to worship. Pharaoh had something else in mind: “The Lord be with you – if I let you go, along with your women and children! Clearly you are bent on evil. No! Have only the men go and worship the Lord, since that’s what you have been asking for” (Ex. 10:10-11). Moses denied Pharaoh’s offer. What followed was the plague of locusts and the plague of darkness. Afterwards, Pharaoh proposed to let everyone go, but Israel was to go without their cattle and livestock. Moses, once more, refused.
Keep in mind that Pharaoh is a type of the devil. He’s willing to let you worship as long as it’s near to him. But the world abhors true Christian worship and commitment. The devil doesn’t mind if you’re dedicated to God, but just don’t go too far. Just as there was a distinction between Israel and Egypt, there should be a distinction between Christians and the world. Finally, Moses wasn’t going to leave the women and children behind in Egypt. An entire generation would have never learned how to worship if Moses left them behind in Egypt. Worship must be multi-generational.
Finally, It wasn’t enough for Israel to leave Egypt. They were going to need to offer something in sacrifice. Dear reader, it is never enough to just show up for church, you will need to offer your life as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God (Rom. 12:1).