Pharaoh wanted to make sure that the children of Israel do not go too far for the Lord.  The devil has the same goal for us today.  He is okay with us serving God a little bit.

Exodus 8:28 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.

Do Not Go Too Far for the Lord

Pharaoh wanted to make sure that the children of Israel do not go too far for the Lord.  The devil has the same goal for us today.  He is okay with us serving God a little bit.  The devil does not mind you going to church on Sunday and making a little religious show of the flesh.  He just does not want you to go very far away from the world the rest of the week.  A quick religious excursion out into the desert is about the only thing many saved people do.  Living a separated, dedicated life for the Lord is a whole different story.  The wilderness, away from the world, is where the Lord wants to fellowship with us.  You need live away from the world as much as you can.  That is why having devotions where you spend time seeking the Lord and mediating on His word is so important.  The Lord desires that consecrated, separated life in prayer where you fellowship and commune with the Lord in a heart felt manner.  The Lord desires our love above all things.

Making Deals With God

Pharaoh wanted Moses to intreat for him to God so he could make a deal with Him.  You don’t make deals with God.  He makes the deals with us.  When you try talking someone out of what they just told you to do, that is rebellion.  The reason we don’t like being told what to do is simply rebellion.  Pharaoh really like the free labor he was getting from the children of Israel.  He liked it so much he was will to put up with many plagues and was still at the point of bargaining with God.  He had not learned his lesson.  He knew that once the children of Israel had a true taste of freedom, they would soon find out they did not like their task master all that much.  For some reason it is hard for people to turn against the devil even though he has them in the bondage of slavery down in Egypt.  They have been faithful too him so long, they just don’t know what else to do.  They have grown comfortable with an occasional leek or melon thrown their way as bait to stay in his trap.  Are you going to go all out for the Lord and leave the land of bondage today or are you going to make deals with Pharaoh and the devil and stay in the world?