Message 20
Before we go on to consider the final conflict between God and Pharaoh, we need to consider Pharaoh’s subtle bargaining. Pharaoh signifies not only Satan, but also the self and the natural man. In addition, our relatives or friends can also be a Pharaoh to us today. Furthermore, our natural mind, will, or emotion may be a Pharaoh who rebels against God or who bargains subtly with Him.
God’s demand of Pharaoh is stated in 5:1. According to this verse, the Lord spoke to Pharaoh through Moses and Aaron, “Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.” Furthermore, the Lord required His people to take a three days’ journey into the wilderness and to sacrifice unto Him (Exo. 5:3). Not only does this journey of three days signify a long distance; it also signifies burial and resurrection. In the Bible the third day signifies resurrection. The Lord Jesus was resurrected on the third day, and, according to Genesis 1, the dry land, a type of Christ in resurrection, appeared on the third day. Therefore, the three days’ journey here signifies burial and resurrection. The natural man had to be buried so that God’s people could be raised up from death into resurrection. The crossing of the Red Sea signified the process of burial and resurrection. In the eyes of both God and Satan, the children of Israel passed through the burial of the Red Sea and entered into resurrection. As God’s called and chosen people, we also must pass through such a process of burial and resurrection. This means that we must travel a three days’ journey in order to be buried and resurrected. By means of such a journey, God’s people not only come out of Egypt, but they also enter, in resurrection, into a new environment.
Negatively the wilderness signifies a place of wandering, but positively it signifies a realm of separation. When the children of Israel entered into the wilderness, they were separated from everything Egyptian, from everything worldly. This separation is related to burial and resurrection. Once we were in Egypt, that is, in the world. But through burial and resurrection we have passed out of the world into the wilderness, where we are separated to the Lord. In His dealing with Pharaoh, God demanded such a separation for His people.
Separation, however, is not the goal. God’s goal was that the children of Israel would hold a feast to Him. He wanted them to be happy with Him in His presence. To hold a feast unto God is to enjoy God with God. Everyone who has truly been saved has experienced times of overflowing with joy in the Lord’s presence. Such times are real holidays. If you have not enjoyed such a feast with the Lord but have only been happy when participating in worldly amusements, then perhaps you have not yet been saved. Being saved does not depend upon having such an enjoyment. Nevertheless, everyone who is saved will have the experience, at least once in his Christian life, of holding a feast to the Lord, of enjoying the Lord in His presence. Sometimes I have been so beside myself with joy in the Lord that it seemed as if I were dancing before Him. This is not doctrine or theory, but a marvelous enjoyment of our salvation.
Furthermore, the children of Israel were to sacrifice unto the Lord. According to our experience, when we hold a feast unto the Lord, enjoying Him in His presence, our heart is deeply touched by the Lord Jesus. He becomes so dear and precious to us, and we have a fresh love for Him. We simply have no words to utter how sweet He is to us. He touches the depths of our being, and we respond by thanking the Father for His dear Son. This is to offer sacrifice unto God, to present the precious Christ to God as a sacrifice. As we offer Christ to the Father, the Father is pleased, happy, and satisfied by us through our sacrifice of Christ. Therefore, God’s demand of Pharaoh was to let His people go a three days’ journey into the wilderness so that they could hold a feast to Him and sacrifice unto Him. This is the enjoyment of God’s salvation.
At first Pharaoh rejected God’s demand and said, “Who is Jehovah, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not Jehovah, neither will I let Israel go” (5:2, Heb.). Satan is subtle. The self and natural man, whether of ourselves or of others, are also subtle. Moreover, our natural mind, will, and emotion are subtle. In fact, anything natural is subtle. By this we see that Pharaoh is to be found everywhere. Pharaoh denies God and ignores His demand to let the children of Israel go.
I do not believe that Pharaoh actually did not know that there was such a God as Jehovah. On the contrary, Pharaoh must have known of Jehovah’s existence, but he purposely denied Him. He insolently asked why he had to listen to God’s word. The natural man does the same thing today. For example, a brother’s wife may know that there is a God, but she may reject His demand. The brother may tell his wife that he has received a call from the Lord. The wife may react and say, “Who is God? Why should I heed His call to you?” At such a time, she is a Pharaoh rejecting God and His demand.
Actually, it was Satan in Pharaoh who denied God. Satan knew very well that there was a God, for at one time he was in God’s presence. Nevertheless, Satan worked in Pharaoh to deny God and to refuse to listen to Him. This was the first stage of Pharaoh’s subtle bargaining.
Many saved ones bargained with the Lord in this way when they first heard the gospel. Deep within, they said, “Who is God? Why must I listen to Him? Why doesn’t He listen to me? Why do I need Him? He is the one who needs me. As far as I’m concerned, the heavens and the earth should be mine.” Many have reasoned with God in this way.
God’s response to this subtle bargaining is to send a plague. I have seen this many times. For example, an intelligent medical student may reason with God when he hears the word of the gospel. He may argue with God and tell Him that he has no intention of listening to Him. Instead of arguing in return, God sends some type of plague, perhaps an illness that no physician can diagnose, in order to bring this young man to repentance and to faith in Christ. In sending such a plague, God exercises His finger. The Egyptian magicians recognized that one of the plagues was brought about by the finger of God (8:19). Pharaoh reasoned with God until the plagues began to come. However, as soon as each plague was over, Pharaoh began once again to reason with the Lord. Therefore, God sent one plague after another.
Very few receive the gospel without hesitation or consideration. In order to deal with this kind of bargaining, God sends plagues again and again.
The second stage of Pharaoh’s bargaining is seen in his telling Moses and Aaron, “Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land” (8:25). Here Pharaoh was telling them that they could sacrifice to their God provided that they stay in the land of Egypt. There was no need for them to make a journey into the wilderness. Pharaoh admitted that there was a God and that His people were required to serve Him and sacrifice to Him. But he was not willing for them to leave his country. They could sacrifice to God, provided that they remained in Egypt.
To this subtle proposal Moses replied, “It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to Jehovah our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us?” (8:26). Moses knew that what God’s people would sacrifice to the Lord would be an abomination to the Egyptians. What God accepted, the Egyptians would reject. Therefore, they could not sacrifice to God in Egypt.
Hardening his heart, Pharaoh refused to hearken to Moses. Then God sent another plague. Surely Satan and the natural man should see the futility of arguing with God! He is great, and He has a way to deal with us. When we have finished reasoning with Him, He simply exercises His finger to deal with us by means of another plague.
In the third stage of his subtle bargaining, Pharaoh said, “I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to Jehovah your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away” (8:28, Heb.). If the children of Israel had agreed not to go very far away, Pharaoh could have reached them whenever he wanted them. Sometimes today’s Pharaohs will allow us to believe in the Lord Jesus, just as long as we do not go to what they regard as an extreme. They encourage us to be balanced and not to go too far. For example, parents may say to their children, “When I was young, I also believed in Jesus. But you are too extreme in following the Lord. You don’t need to go to meetings several times a week. Isn’t an hour on Sunday morning enough? It’s all right to believe in Jesus, but don’t be fanatical about it.”
After Pharaoh reasoned with God in this way, the Lord sent still another plague. He does the same with today’s Pharaohs. When the natural man strives against God, God sends a plague upon him.
Unable to bear the plagues, Pharaoh became willing to let the men of Israel go to serve their God, but not with the young and the old (10:8-11). When Pharaoh asked who would go to serve the Lord, Moses said, “We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go” (10:9). Then Pharaoh began to reason once more, saying that evil was before them (v. 10). Pharaoh went on to say, “Not so: go now ye that are men, and serve Jehovah” (v. 11, Heb.). Pharaoh was claiming that he loved them, cared for them, and wanted no evil to befall them. How subtle!
Many are like this today. The parents of a young person may say to him, “As an older one, I know the trials of human life. You don’t know what evil lies before you in the future. Therefore, I counsel you to believe in the Lord Jesus and to follow Him, but not in a full way. If you follow wholeheartedly, you don’t know what will happen to you.” Here Pharaoh used love to keep people from the Lord. As long as Pharaoh could still hold the wives, the young ones, and the elderly, the men would not truly leave Egypt, for their hearts would still be in Egypt. Because Pharaoh refused to let the children of Israel go in a full way, a more severe plague, the plague of the locusts, came upon the Egyptians.
The plague of the locusts forced Pharaoh to bargain with the Lord once more. This time he said, “Go ye, serve Jehovah; only let your flocks and your herds remain: let your little ones also go with you” (10:24, Heb.). This suggestion was also subtle. Moses answered Pharaoh in an excellent way: “Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice unto Jehovah our God. Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not a hoof be left behind; for thereof must we take to serve Jehovah our God” (10:25-26, Heb.). Moses did not say that the people needed cattle for their living; the cattle were needed to provide something to sacrifice to the Lord. This indicates that Moses was concerned not for the people’s living, but for having something to offer to God. They cared for God’s need, not for their own need. Therefore, they would not agree that their flocks and herds remain in Egypt. Angered by Moses’ reply, Pharaoh forbade them to come again.
Many of us have gone through these five steps of bargaining with the Lord. Firstly we denied the Lord, and then we believed but wanted to remain in Egypt. Then we were willing to leave Egypt, but not to go too far. After that followed the negotiation concerning what would be left in Egypt. Pharaoh knows that where one’s riches are, there his heart is also (Matt. 6:21). If Pharaoh can keep our wealth, our hearts will be in his hand.
Many Christians today believe in the Lord Jesus, but they do so without changing their position. They remain in Egypt, in the world. However, if we remain in Egypt after believing in the Lord, our sins may be forgiven, but we shall not be rescued from the tyranny of Satan. To remain in Egypt is to remain under Satan’s tyranny.
Other Christians are willing to move a short distance away from Egypt. In doing this, they may boast of their cleverness, thinking that they are wise and balanced. They are pleased to point out that they are not extremists.
Other Christians are in the third, fourth, or fifth stages of bargaining with God. Satan is willing to let them go, but not their young ones. A great many Christians still have their wealth and possessions in the world. This indicates that they have not yet made an exodus. Their baptism should have been the crossing of the Red Sea, but it was merely a ritual for them to become part of religion. We thank the Lord that the vast majority of those in the Lord’s recovery have made an exodus out of Egypt.
These five stages of bargaining are repeated whenever the gospel is preached. It is rare that someone is saved thoroughly the first time he hears the gospel. Most people struggle, hesitate, and bargain. Eventually the finger of God is exercised on their behalf. We may use our mind to bargain with the Lord and to reason with Him. But God pays no attention to our reasoning. When our bargaining is over, He once again exercises His power over our situation.
No matter how much Pharaoh may bargain with God, God is insistent. Nothing can change Him. Once He has made a demand of us, He will not give in. On the contrary, He will insist that His demand be fulfilled. It is useless to argue with Him. He is patient, sometimes waiting for years until we are willing to submit to His requirements. We may think that after a long period of time the Lord will change His mind, only to discover that the Lord is more insistent than ever. Heaven and earth may pass away, but His will remains. Pharaoh must recognize the fact that God is insistent and will not withdraw His absolute demand.
In His insistence that His demand be carried out, the Lord used the last plague, the slaughter of the firstborn, to force Pharaoh to drive Israel altogether out of Egypt (12:29-33). No matter how stubborn Pharaoh was, he could not stand against this plague. Pharaoh said to Moses and Aaron, “Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve Jehovah, as ye have said” (12:31, Heb.). Furthermore, Pharaoh said to them, “Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone” (v. 32).
Exodus 12:35 and 36 say, “And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they asked of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and Jehovah gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they gave to them what they asked. And they plundered the Egyptians” (Heb.). God made the Egyptians willing to give to Israel these jewels and raiment. In this way, the children of Israel plundered the Egyptians. Therefore, when it was time to build the tabernacle, they had the necessary materials.
Some may think that God was not just in allowing Israel to plunder the Egyptians in this way. Remember, Pharaoh had forced the Israelites to build treasure cities for him. For this labor he did not pay them anything. Hence, the plundering of the Egyptians was actually a clearing of the account. In His justice and righteousness, God had a way to clear the account. How marvelous that the last plague not only forced Pharaoh and the Egyptians to drive out the children of Israel, but also made them willing to give the Israelites whatever they requested!
Even the matter of plundering the Egyptians has an application today. I know of many who first bargained with the Lord and then were truly saved by Him. Having been saved, they thoroughly plundered the world and brought a good number of things with them out of the world for the Lord. Many can testify that after they were called and saved, they left nothing in the world. Instead, everything they had they took out of the world for God’s purpose.
We have pointed out that the materials given to the Israelites by the Egyptians were used in building the tabernacle. The silver was used to make sockets, and the gold was used to overlay the boards and other furnishings in the tabernacle. In the eyes of the Egyptians, such a use of their gold and silver would have been a waste. In the eyes of God, however, this was not a waste. The wealth of Egypt had been plundered for God’s purpose.
Throughout the centuries, many who have been called by the Lord and rescued by Him from the world have brought a great many things to Him to become a waste for His sake and for the sake of His purpose. For example, when Mary anointed the Lord Jesus with costly ointment of spikenard, Judas regarded this as a waste. He said that it could have been sold and the money given to the poor (John 12:3-5). He wondered why so much had been wasted on the Lord Jesus. But all that is plundered from the world should be brought to the Lord Jesus and wasted upon Him. To do this is to be saved to the uttermost. This is a sign of our deep love for the Lord, a sign that we have been thoroughly saved. Eventually, what we plunder from the world is brought together to be used for God’s dwelling place.
This is our experience today. Not only have we ourselves left Egypt, but we will not allow anything related to us to remain in the world. Instead, we plunder the wealth of the world and waste it upon the Lord as a token of our love for Him. This plundered wealth then is used in God’s dwelling place on earth.
