MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Exodus 10:24-26
THE RELUCTANCE WITH WHICH MEN YIELD A COMPLETE OBEDIENCE TO THE IMPERATIVE CLAIMS OF GOD
I. The fact of this reluctance on the part of man to yield complete obedience to the claims of God.
1. This reluctance is seen in the judgments that are sent to overcome it. What judgments were sent to overcome the reluctance of Pharaoh to a complete surrender to the claims of God! How varied! How numerous! How afflictive! And yet all in vain. He continued to defy the servants of heaven. He sought to make a compromise with God and duty. There are many like him in our own times. They are afflicted by a providence designed to bring them to the performance of duty; yet they refuse subjection to the will of heaven.
2. This reluctance is seen in the mercy that is despised.
3. This reluctance is seen in the faithful ministries that are rejected. Moses and Aaron were many times sent to urge the king to compliance with the commands of God; but in vain. How many faithful and persuasive appeals have been made to us to give up all sin, and to render an unreserved service to the King of heaven! That men resist these judgments, these ministries, and the abundant mercy of God, is complete evidence of their great reluctance to surrender all for Him.
(1.) This reluctance is a matter of revelation.
(2.) This reluctance is a matter of history.
(3.) This reluctance is a matter of experience.
II. The reasons of this reluctance on the part of man to yield complete obedience to the claims of God. These reasons are obvious:—
1. Depravity of nature. Man is depraved in soul. He has fallen away from God. He has lost the love of God from his heart. Hence he has an aversion to the Divine service. He is at enmity with the Being who demands obedience. This is one reason of man’s reluctance.
2. Pride of heart. Man is proud and does not like to be humiliated by surrendering all to God. Pharaoh likes to keep his slaves. He fancies that they augment his importance, and the prowess of his nation. Men imagine that sin is an exaltation; hence they are unwilling to give it up.
3. Selfishness of motive. Pharaoh was selfish. He would not give up the wealth brought to his treasury by the energies of his slaves. Men imagine that sin is a gain and a profit; hence they are reluctant to make an entire surrender of it at the call of heaven.
4. Obstinate in will. Pharaoh was obstinate. He did not wish to yield to Jehovah, of whom he had but little knowledge. Men obstinately resist a fancied invasion of their rights, and hence will not yield to the claims of God.
III. The folly of this reluctance on the part of man to yield complete obedience to the claims of God.
1. Because it provokes painful judgments.
2. Because it is useless to contend with God.
3. Because final overthrow is its certain outcome. Surely we see the folly of this reluctance in the case of Pharaoh, in the plagues it brought on him and his people, in the useless conflict he conducted with the Infinite, and in his final overthrow in the Red Sea. Men who will not yield to the claims of God are ultimately overtaken with sad calamity. Are we reluctant to yield entire obedience to the claims of duty? LESSONS:—
1. That man will consent to any terms rather than yield a complete submission to the will of God.
2. That God will only be satisfied by an entire surrender to His will.
THE WAY IN WHICH MEN ENDEAVOUR TO COMPROMISE THE SERVICE OF GOD
I. That men endeavour to compromise the service of God by nominal allegiance. Pharaoh consented that Moses and the Israelites should worship God in the land of Egypt (Exodus 8:25). He would then have rendered any assistance for the service; as it would not much have interfered with his selfish and despotic purpose. After the worship the slaves could have returned to their bondage and toil. There are many who seek thus to compromise the service of God. They consent to the worship of God, but they wish to do it in their own way, and at their own time, and so to nullify its design. They seek to pay homage to heaven and yet to retain their sins. Their homage is only nominal. It is the outcome of fear or policy.
II. That men endeavour to compromise the service of God by an occasional performance of duty. Pharaoh told Moses that Israel might go into the wilderness and sacrifice, provided they did not go very far away; so that they might afterwards return. And so some people try to satisfy the claims of God by going occasionally into the wilderness to sacrifice to Him. They go to the wilderness for this purpose once a month, and then spend all the rest of their time in rejection of the Divine will. This is mockery. It shows that men know better, but that they have not sufficient moral resolution to do better. The service of heaven cannot be compromised in this manner. Men cannot serve God and Satan.
III. That men endeavour to compromise the service of God by a public profession of it accompanied with private reservations. Pharaoh gave permission for the men to go with Moses to sacrifice to God (Exodus 10:10-11). But the little ones were to remain in bondage. Thus he hoped to satisfy the Divine claims upon him. He no doubt thought this a great concession. And there are people who seek to be religious by letting their great sins go, but they reserve their little faults. They make outwardly a great pretence of goodness, whereas inwardly there are reservations of heart displeasing to God.
IV. That men endeavour to compromise the service of God by excluding it from their worldly pursuits. Pharaoh gave Moses permission to go and sacrifice to God, only he was to leave the flocks and herds behind, in the possession of the tyrant. And how many business men, who feel the claims of God’s service resting upon them, seek to let all go but the flocks and the herds! They are not willing to bring religion into their business. They think that they would suffer loss by so doing. Such a compromise can never be allowed. LESSONS:—
1. That men must not compromise the service of God.
2. That ministers must warn men against compromising the service of God.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Exodus 10:24-26. God’s instruments of redemption seek not only liberty of persons but of means to serve Him.
True worship and true sacrifice to God, is the duty of God’s redeemed people.
God’s ministers must be resolute, and not abate a jot of what God requires.
All the exactions of ministers must be made for God’s service.
God’s servants know not themselves, but depend upon His discovery for what they must offer to Him.
THE PICTURE OF AN UNREGENERATE SOUL
I. It is opposed to the service of God.
II. It is loath to part with its evil possessions.
III. It is slow to heed the voice of the servants of Truth.
“Every hoof to be brought out”—part of Exodus 10:26. Evil personified in Pharaoh. Egypt our sinful condition that clings around us, and brings us into bondage. God’s will is that we should be completely set free. This will be accomplished. Repeated conflicts first.
I. The truth suggested that our deliverance will be complete.
(1.) Our natures will be entirely freed from the thraldom of sin. Every power of body, mind, and soul will ultimately escape from the dominion of evil. The body shall be delivered from the grave. Every faculty—even the lowliest—shall be set free for God. Not a hoof, &c.
(2.) Our families shall be saved. Often there is much anxiety about the wayward and the fallen; but every truly pious parent should expect the salvation of his children. No child that is sincerely prayed for and worked for will be left to perish in Egypt.
(3.) The whole Church will be saved. Christ will deliver all who believe in Him. Not one of His true followers shall finally be left in the bondage of evil. The weakest, the most desponding, the poorest and most insignificant, shall all escape. Not one faithful soul shall be missing: for Not a hoof, &c.
II. The encouragement that may be derived from this truth. We need encouragement. The bondage is often bitter, and hope fails. The enslavers powerful and the chains strong. We groan to be delivered from our bondage, and deliverance is delayed. But a deliverance, complete, triumphant, and eternal, is sure. This ought to lead us—
1. To live in the expectation of perfect freedom from all evil.
2. To continue to strive, believe, and pray for it.
3. To pray and labour zealously for the salvation of our families.
4. To sympathise with and aid the weak and lowly in the Church. Nothing is too hard for God; He can overthrow the most direful bondage. He has declared by His servants that He will bring His people, and all that they possess, out of the land of Egypt.
W. Osborne Lilley.