"So Moses and Aaron were brought again to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “Go, serve the Lord your God. Who are the ones that are going?”
And Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old; with our sons and our daughters, with our flocks and our herds we will go, for we must hold a feast to the Lord.” Then he said to them, “The Lord had better be with you when I let you and your little ones go! Beware, for evil is ahead of you. Not so! Go now, you who are men, and serve the Lord, for that is what you desired.” And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.
Then Pharaoh called to Moses and said, “Go, serve the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds be kept back. Let your little ones also go with you.” But Moses said, “You must also give us sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God. Our livestock also shall go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind. For we must take some of them to serve the Lord our God, and even we do not know with what we must serve the Lord until we arrive there.”
But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me! Take heed to yourself and see my face no more! For in the day you see my face you shall die!” So Moses said, “You have spoken well. I will never see your face again.” (Exodus 10:8-11, 24-29 NKJV)
If you are familiar with business negotiations, for example when buying a car, you know how it goes. The salesperson gives the highest price, the sticker price, which is most to his own advantage, hoping the buyer would take it without negotiating. An unseasoned buyer would immediately take the offer without negotiating, but the experienced ones would start beating the price down lower and lower until they get the best deal. In some cases however, where the good is priced appropriately, the seller must remain resolute on the set price, rejecting any further negotiations.
In our text today, we see Pharaoh, who is a type of the enemy occupying the role of the negotiator. Moses had come and presented the demand of God which was to let God's people go, everyone of them, with all their possessions and more. That was the non-negotiable demand.
Pharaoh however tried all he could to have things his way. At first, he was totally unwilling to let Israel go. After a number of severe plagues on Egypt, he seemed ready to let only the men go, leaving their children, wives and possessions behind. After a while, he was ready to let them go if only they would leave their livestock behind. He was negotiating for a deal that would serve his end of keeping Israel in slavery even if it meant letting a portion go.
Moses, however knew what God has said. He refused to negotiate, maintaining his stance that all God's people and their possessions must go. His stance was a no-deal, no-negotiating one regarding what God has said.
What an example for us. In our dealing with the enemy, he will fight tooth and nail to hold on to a part of our lives. He may let you have your family, but he will try to hold on to your health or money. He may relinquish you to your ministry but try to hold down your family. He fights tooth and nail, going about like a roaring lion to see what he can devour. If he can't have all, he will make do with a portion. He knows that the little ground he has- the small foothold could eventually lead to complete do domination again.
This is why the scripture says, we should give no place to the devil (Ephesians 4:27). You must not negotiate with him. Refuse to have less than what the word has promised. Don't capitulate or waver. Settle for nothing less than the promise of God. Resist the enemy steadfastly in faith. Stand on the full promise of God. As you refuse to make a deal with the enemy, he has no choice but to release all the grounds he had taken in your life. Victory is yours.
Decision of the day
I understand that the enemy wants to claim grounds in my life. If he can't get all, he will try to retain some. I will not negotiate the word of God. I stand on what God has said, refusing to waver. I will settle for nothing less.
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