Friday, November 24, 2023
Nada. Zip. Zero.
“All our livestock must go with us, too; not a hoof can be left behind. We must choose our sacrifices for the Lord our God from among these animals. And we won’t know how we are to worship the Lord until we get there.” (Exodus 10:26 NLT)
The hail was hard to face. Pharaoh was cracking. After God sent a plague that brought disease upon the Egyptians’ livestock, the boils followed, afflicting all the Egyptians and their animals. Still, Pharoah refused to let the Israelites go.
So God sent hail, the seventh plague, which not only killed people and animals, but it also destroyed the plants. In fact, the Bible says, “it left all of Egypt in ruins” (Exodus 9:25 NLT).
Even Pharaoh’s magicians weren’t able to intervene at this point. They could no longer imitate the miracles, and they were so overpowered by the boils, they were immobilized (see Exodus 9:11).
Eventually, Pharaoh brought in Moses and Aaron and said, “Go and worship the Lord your God. But who exactly will be going with you?” (Exodus 10:8 NLT).
Moses told him, “We will all go—young and old, our sons and daughters, and our flocks and herds” (verse 9 NLT). In other words, they were taking everyone.
Then Pharaoh attempted a compromise. He said they could go, but the women and children needed to stay behind. But Moses refused.
After two more plagues, the hard-hearted Pharaoh tried one more compromise: “‘Go and worship the Lord,’ he said. ‘But leave your flocks and herds here. You may even take your little ones with you’” (verse 24 NLT).
He was fighting for every inch. Why would Pharaoh care about their animals? It was a victory, albeit a small one, and a foot in the door.
Imagine how tempting this would have been for Moses. He could have said, “You want our animals? And then you will let the rest of us go? It’s a deal.”
Instead, Moses told him, “All our livestock must go with us, too; not a hoof can be left behind” (verse 26 NLT).
In other words, “Pharaoh, read my lips: You get nada, zip, zero, nothing. You don’t get an inch. We’re taking everyone and everything, and we’re leaving, whether you like it or not.”
As Christians, that is what we need to say when the devil tempts us to compromise. He whispers, “All right, I can’t have all of your life, so let me have this one area. It won’t go any further.”
Like Moses, we need to say, “No, you get nothing.”
Little things lead to big things. That’s why we can’t make deals with the devil. We can’t negotiate with Satan. There can be no compromise. If you are not prepared to go far away from him, then you’re never going to make it, because he will manipulate you. It’s time to break free.
Is there an area of your life that you need to deal with? It is a problem and a potential weakness. God brings these things to our attention for a reason. It isn’t to drive us away in despair and guilt. Rather, it’s because He wants us to deal with them.
Identify that area of your life where you’re compromising, and then take action. Make a decision to dedicate it to God.
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