Exodus 10:3 And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me.
You Don’t Negotiate With God
It is the basic premise of any negotiator that you can only negotiate from a point of strength. So, oftentimes people sit down at a bargaining table and one will compromise one position, the other will compromise another position, and they will come together on a compromise that gives a little and receives a lot. That is the basic idea.
In Exodus 10, we find a man who was the ruler of the known world. His title was Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. He served many gods, and he was now in conflict with the one true God, God Jehovah. It seems as you read his story in Exodus 10-11 that Pharaoh somehow thought he could negotiate with God. Pharaoh thought that he could give a little, compromise a little, and get the major part of what he wanted.
For instance, he said to Moses, “Look, you can go serve your God, but just don’t go far.” Well, with Moses, who was representing God, it was all or nothing. It was either God’s will or Pharaoh’s. Exodus 10:3 says, “And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me.”
The really good question is, “How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me?” That may be a question that God would ask me today. What would keep me from humbling myself before God? Then He says, “Let my people go. They are not your people. You fancy the children of Israel to be your slaves, but they are my people. Let them go that they may serve me alone.”
When you read Pharaoh’s story, it is amazing all the needless pain and destruction that Pharaoh and his people endured because Pharaoh refused to humble himself. You are never going to come to the peace that comes from being in a right relationship with God until you come to the end of yourself, until you humble yourself before God Almighty. You can negotiate with a peer, but when it comes to God, you either humble yourself or fight against the universe.