Battling Against Sin: Sin’s Compromise

Introduction

Exodus 10:26 tells us:

“Our livestock also must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we must choose some of them for the worship of the LORD our God, and we will not know what to use to worship the LORD until we arrive there.”

EXODUS

The book of Exodus is a part of the Pentateuch, an important book that joins them together. Besides Genesis, Exodus contains perhaps the most astonishing and amazing works of the Lord Almighty. It continues the genealogy from Adam to Jacob and Joseph who went into Egypt. There, the Israelites settled in the land of Goshen.

As the Israelites had been living in Egypt and were prospering, a king who did not know of Joseph arose. Then, the Israelites came under hard labour. It was from there that the Lord brought his people out of Egypt. Thus the name of the book.

MOSES AND THE ISRAELITES IN EGYPT

Exodus chapters 3 and 4 tells us of the calling of Moses. The Lord called Moses to free the Israelites from their bondage in Egypt. After much haggling, Moses, along with Aaron finally went to Pharaoh as the Lord told them to. Pharaoh, the great ruler of Egypt, considered to be a god and worshipped as one, did not think much of what they had to say. But when the mighty power of God was shown, even Pharaoh had to bend to the will of the Lord.

THE PLAGUES, PHARAOH’S PLAN OF COMPROMISE AND THE WILL OF GOD

We see ten plagues over Egypt – the plagues of blood, frogs, gnats, flies, diseased livestock, boils, thunder and hail, locusts, darkness and death of the firstborn.

Let us look at some of them this way:

• During the plague of frogs, Pharaoh asked of Moses and Aaron, “Pray to the Lord to take away the frogs from me and my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord” (Ex. 8:8). But when the frogs left, Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not listen to them.
• Then came the plague of flies. Pharaoh summoned them and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God within the land… do not go very far away” (Ex. 8:25, 28). As the plague ended, Pharaoh refused to let them go.
• During the plague of hail, Pharaoh said to them, “Enough of God’s thunder and hail! I will let you go; you need stay no longer” (Ex. 9:28). As the plague ended, Pharaoh did not let them go again.
• As the plague of locusts was literally eating Egypt away, even Pharaoh’s officials became worried and advised him to let the Israelites go. Calling Moses and Aaron, Pharaoh wanted to know who will go. Moses replied that everyone must go. Pharaoh became enraged and said, “No, never!” and they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence (Ex. 10:11).
• Then came the plague of darkness. Pharaoh said again, “Go, worship the Lord. Only your flocks and your herds shall remain behind. Even your children may go with you” (Ex. 10:24). Moses said, “Our livestock also must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we must choose some of them for the worship of the LORD our God, and we will not know what to use to worship the LORD until we arrive there” (Ex. 10:26). No more compromises.

As we see here, Pharaoh did not want the Israelites to leave Egypt at all. These five times, Pharaoh sought a way to make compromises so that they will continue to be under his control.

For many of us, it would be easy to fall into Pharaoh’s trap. Many of us might say, “Yes, we will do as you say.” Or, we might even say, “What’s the use of these livestock, if the people could go, then let’s.”

But, this was never God’s plan. Moses, who shuddered when God called him had been strengthened. The man who asked of God, “Who am I?”, “What will I say to them?”, “They will not believe me”, “Send someone else” is now strengthened even before the great Pharaoh. He was adamant in his request because he knew that the Lord was on his side. When we are on the Lord’s side, we gain courage.

Just as Moses demanded, the Israelites left nothing behind, not even a hoof.

US AND SIN

Let us look at two things:

First, the Israelites were in bondage in Egypt. They could not free themselves. Likewise, human beings had been in sin’s bondage, unable to escape.

Through Adam, and because of our own volition, sin entered into this world, severing our ties with God, rendering us dead.

We came under the curse of death, struggling under its bondage. Sin depraved us totally. There was nothing we could do to save ourselves. We were in need of someone to save us as we couldn’t do it ourselves anymore. Romans 3:10 tells us that there is no one who is righteous, not even one. 3:23 continues, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

Second, while we were reeling under sin, we tried being righteous, looking for ways to escape. Then, sin would always find ways to compromise with us, keeping us under its spell and control. The Israelites, even when the mighty hand of God befell upon the Egyptians, continued to be in Egypt through Pharaoh’s compromises – “do not go very far,” “let only the adults go,” or “leave the livestock behind.”

Today, sin continues to make compromises with us, by misleading us, befooling us and tempting us. The youths are continuously led to fall into this trap of sin’s compromise. Unbeknownst to them/us, sin entraps us and makes compromises with us. Sin even allows us to attend church services, to join many other activities of the church, so long as we remain within its grasp. It never allows us to completely leave. It compromises with us through different means or habits including laziness, indifference, false riches and glory, weariness of the truth among many others.

We have become inured by the daily routine of the church. Everything has become habitual and routine-like. As a result, many of us have missed the real thing behind it all. The Israelites had not completed the building of the temple of the Lord and have become accustomed to their situation. The Prophet Haggai told them, “Is it a time for you yourselves to live in panelled houses, while this house lies in ruins?” (Hag. 1:4).

What about us? Our church buildings look beautiful and grand from the inside. What about the church inside? Let us consider our ways too (Hag. 1:5).

Are we not increasingly looking for earthly riches and wealth all the more? The Israelites, before they entered the Promised Land, were warned not to forget the Lord their God (Dt. 8:14). As they became wealthy, they soon forgot the Lord their God. Hosea 12:8 says, “Ephraim has said, ‘Ah, I am rich, I have gained wealth for myself.’” Therefore, the Lord implored, “Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity” (Hos. 14:1).

If we seek earthly riches and wealth, beyond what the Lord gives us, we need to rethink what our condition is before we take the another step.

It is no longer the time to dwell into our situation anymore. It is now time to think of the future of the church, not the time to dwell on useless things anymore. On what foundation is the church today standing upon? Is it on earthly riches or upon the rock?

Riches and all the glitters of the world, the lure of authority and glory are some of the commonest tools of sin. The Bible tells us that the Father in heaven knows all that we need. Therefore, we must first seek his kingdom and all the others things shall be given to us (Mat. 6:33).

Second Timothy also warned that there will come a time when people will not put up with sound doctrine but have itching ears and they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires (2 Tim. 4:3). That time has come.

There are many other instances of sin’s compromise. The Christian needs to be careful all the time. “Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:8).

TWO LESSONS

We’ve had quite a treatment on our subject so far. Let us look at it this way, so we can arrive at the two lessons we intended to teach and learn:

A. We cannot compromise with sin

We see all sorts of evils around us today. Shouldn’t we do something about them? Our parents, our elders alone cannot bring about much change anymore. Everyone need to be involved.

Moses said not a hoof shall be left behind. What little hooves do we still leave behind in sin? Many of our problems in Christianity today lie in our leaving behind hooves for sin to exploit. We need to leave with everything we’ve got.

B. We must battle against sin, for the battle belongs to the Lord

King Jehosaphat, when he was about to go to war against the Moabites and the Ammonites, received the word of the Lord, “Do not fear or be dismayed at this great multitude; for the battle is not yours but God’s” (2 Chron. 20:15). For those who are on God’s side, victory is secured and promised. If we battle sin, the Lord will always help us and give us the courage, strength and victory.

Moses, when he started out, was frightened. He spat out so many excuses as well. But when he was strengthened, he became the great leader of the people of God.

King David was confident of this. To Goliath, he said, “The battle is the Lord’s and he will give you into our hand” (1 Sam. 17:47).

Gideon, when he was about to go to battle against the Midianites, had 32,000 men with him. But the Lord said to Gideon, “The troops with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand. Israel would only take the credit away from me saying, ‘My own hand has delivered me’” (Jdg. 7:2). Therefore, God asked Gideon to let all those who tremble return to their homes. Then, 22,000 went away. Now, only 10,000 men were left with Gideon. Meanwhile, the Midianites were “without number, countless as the sand on the seashore” (Jdg. 7:12). Even then, the Lord said, the 10,000 are still too many and selected only 300 in the end. 300 against a countless army! And their weapon? Empty jars with torches inside them! What? Empty jars and torches inside the jars! The battle belonging to the Lord, the Midianites were defeated.

Do you still think you are weak? Do you still think you could not leave behind your sin? Just look at the weapons Gideon had. They were not weapons of war. But he was obedient to the Lord and trusted in him. Instead of thinking, “I cannot do this”, just be obedient to the will of the Lord, you will overcome your difficulties. Most of our difficulties arise because we often think that the battle belongs to us. No, the battle belongs to the Lord; and victory belongs to the Lord (Ps. 3:8).

Anyway, have we ever struggled against sin to the point of shedding our blood?

CONCLUSION

The Israelites’ exodus from Egypt also tells us of the absolute victory over sin that we have because of the blood of Christ. The Bible tells us, “for freedom, Christ has set us free” (Gal. 5:1).

The Lord who brought the Israelites out of Egypt is still the Lord that we worship today. He never changes. Let us leave behind our ‘Egypts’ leaving nothing behind.