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Topic: A Deceitful Heart?
[DCLM Daily Manna 12 February 2020 Daily Devotional by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi]
Text: Exodus 8:25-32
25 And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land.
26 And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us?
27 We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the LORD our God, as he shall command us.
28 And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: intreat for me.
29 And Moses said, Behold, I go out from thee, and I will intreat the LORD that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, to morrow: but let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD.
30 And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the LORD.
31 And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there remained not one.
32 And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go.
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Key Verse: “And Moses said, Behold, I go out from thee, and I will intreat the LORD that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, to morrow: but let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD” (Exodus 8:29).
MESSAGE:
The Scripture says, “The heart is deceitful above all things…” The assassination of Julius Caesar was the result of a conspiracy by many Roman senators led by Gaius Cassius Longinus. They were said to have stabbed Caesar 23 times. But the stab that pained and surprised the dying Caesar the most was the one made by his trusted ally, Brutus. Man, by nature, is not to be trusted. Pharaoh had proven on several occasions that he was not to be trusted, as he reneged on his agreement with Moses. In the passage under consideration, Moses thought it was wise to tell him his fears and tried to obtain Pharaoh’s authentic assurance. But like every sinner who operates on the dictates of Satan, he could not keep his words.
There are people who enter into agreements they know they cannot keep. Their heart is deceitful. Believers should not be deceitful. Our ‘Yes’ must be ‘Yes’, and our ‘No’ must be ‘No’, regardless of the consequences. We must not honour agreements only when it favours us. We must be honest enough to follow through to our promise, whether written or verbal. Some people slip into a lying mode when they discover that things are not working in their favour.
In his dealings with Pharaoh, Moses offered no compromise with the evil intent of the king. Thus, he demanded that he let his people go so that they would offer their sacrifice to the Lord. Moses knew that if they accepted to do the sacrifices in Egypt, the Egyptians would stone them for sacrificing sacred things in their land.
As believers, we must not behave cowardly in standing for the truth and in defending the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is no room for comprise. Our motives must be pure as we relate with God and fellow men.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Integrity is not something you show others; it is how you behave in their absence.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Mark 4-6
