Exodus 3:18: “Thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.”
As New Testament believers, we must not forget the mandate God gave to His people when leaving Egypt. God made it very clear to Moses, even in His first encounter with him at the burning bush, that the children of Israel were to put a THREE DAYS’ JOURNEY gap between them and the Egyptians. This was for the specific purpose of offering sacrifices to God.
God did not want to receive sacrifices from His people while they were still slaves to the bondage of Egypt. God wanted His people to offer sacrifices to Him only after they had put a three day gap between Egypt (which is a type of the world and slavery to sin) for this is bondage. This three day gap was an issue that Pharaoh (representing Satan, the god of this world) continually resisted. Pharaoh tried hard to make Moses compromise.
COMPROMISE NO. 1
Exodus 8:25: “And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land (Egypt).”
What did Moses reply? “We will go THREE DAYS’ JOURNEY into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the LORD our God, as he shall command us” (Exodus 8:27). Moses would not compromise one inch.
Far too many Christians want God to accept their sacrifices while they remain in Egypt, caught up with the love of this world, entertainments, lusts, and perversions. They regard themselves as Christians, but have no understanding of God’s three day gap. Even though they belong to the church, to which they occasionally go, they are still in bondage to Egypt.
They may even offer sacrifices to God of tithes and praise and worship, but can God accept their sacrifices without the three day gap principle being applied to their lives?
Husbands and fathers, we must apply this principle to our own hearts and lives and teach it by example to our children.
We will continue to look at the other ways Pharaoh tried to make Moses compromise.
Be encouraged,
Colin Campbell