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SEPARATION OR COMPROMISE-WHICH?

You remember that when God would bring His people out of Egypt, Pharaoh wanted to compromise-of course by that compromise to keep the people as his slaves. Three separate offers he makes to Moses, each of which would have prevented salvation being, according to God's thought of it, salvation at all. The first com- promise was, "Worship in the land."

"And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land." And still the world asks, Why need you go outside it? You are entitled to your opinions, but why be so extreme? Why three days' journey into the wilder- ness? Why separate from what you were brought up in, and from people as good as you? Ah, they do not know what that three days' journey implies, and that the death and resurrection of Christ place you where you are no more of the world than He is! Egypt- luxurious, civilised, self-satisfied, idolatrous Egypt -and the wilderness! What contrast! Yet only in the wilderness can you sacrifice to God.

Then he tries another stratagem:

"And he said unto them, Go serve the Lord your God; BUT WHO ARE THEY THAT SHALL GO?

"And 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 we will go; for we must hold a feast unto the Lord.

"And he said unto them, Let the Lord be so with you, as I will let you go, and your little ones: look to it; for evil is before you. Not so: go now ye that are men, and serve the Lord; for that ye did desire." By their little ones he had them safe, of course-a perfectly good security that they would not go far away. And so it is still. How many are brought back into the world by the children they did not bring with them out of the world.

One last hope remains for Pharaoh:

"And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, Go ye, serve the Lord; ONLY LET YOUR FLOCKS AND YOUR HERDS BE STAYED; let your little ones also go with you."

"Leave your possessions," he says: and how many leave their possessions! Themselves are saved; but their business, their occupation, these are still not sacred things, they are secular: what have these things to do with the salvation of the soul? But God says, No: bring them all out of Egypt: yourselves, your families, your property, all are to be Mine. And, in point of fact, His they must be if we would ourselves keep them, for we cannot keep them of ourselves.

Until you are clean delivered in these three respects you cannot be happy with God, or even safe; whatever you have that is not Christ's, that is the world's still, will drag you back into the world. Can you go to your business and shut the door upon Him and He not feel it, and you not feel it? Can you say to Him: Lord, Sunday is yours, and Monday is mine; or, Lord, there is your tenth, and these nine are mine-and feel perfectly satisfied that all is right with Him?

How few there are without some secret corner in their hearts which they would not like to have searched out by Him! That corner must be searched out, for He must be a Saviour after His own fashion; and if we would not have it searched, we can have little apprehended the fulness and reality of His salvation. Not alone does He save from wrath-He saves from sin. It is in subjection to His yoke that we find rest. God grant it to us for His name's sake even now.-Great Commission Prayer League, 808 N. La Salle St., Chicago.

* * * *

"I, Me, My,
The devil's name is I;
Whene'er you see the I, Me, My,
Be sure the devil you descry;
He spells his name with a big black I,-
I,-Me,-My!"

-Booth Tucker.

© Southern Cross College, 2003