"…not be a hoof shall be left behind…” Exodus 10:26
The devil seeks to compromise the full vision of God as revealed to his children. He’s good that way.
Here we have Pharaoh finally considering the possibility of releasing the Israelites to worship their God on the Sinai Peninsula. Their release from the land would pretty much destroy the slave workforce, tip the economy, halt the construction, and make life quite uneasy for the thriving culture.
All the same, Pharaoh was willing to release himself to God’s Promise.
We are often apprehensive about fully giving into the Promise, aren’t we? We think that if we give it all to God worlds will collide. And they will. Nothing is ever, ever the same.
That’s when the voice of comprise raises its slimy head. It says, “Why don’t you head in God’s general direction – nothing too radical, of course - and not throw your eggs into one basket. And then, just incase things don’t work out for you, you’ll still have a piece of your heart here (your ‘herds and cattle’). You can always come home, you know. We’ll leave the light on for ya…”
I call that Preventative Theology.
In the face of Pharaoh’s compromise, “Go, worship the Lord… only leave your flocks and herds behind…” (Gen. 10:24) the original Call of God came to the forefront of Moses’ mind. He knew that, when God calls, he demands everything. There is no spare tire – no room for “Preventative Theology” – in the call of the God.
No, he asserts. “Not a hoof shall be left behind.” Moses might as well be saying, “Here’s the deal, chump. You either release us into the full, uncompressing, unyielding, complete will of God or we’re going to be dealing with a few more plagues around here until you finally get a clue and give into what he wants to do in your life.”
Perhaps there is a similar conversation going on inside of your mind, and inside of mind. While we know it’s God’s best to completely get out of Egypt, our flesh – our lord over Egypt – in its fear and rebellion and hardness of hard cries out, seeking to keep something, anything – even a hoof, if need be – in the land of our past. And today, as it was with Moses, the call is all consuming. It demands everything. There can be no back-up plan for one who sets his eyes on the Mountain of God.
