9 Moses answered, “We will go with our young and old, with our sons and daughters, and with our flocks and herds, because we are to celebrate a festival to the LORD.”
Everyone worships together. What a lesson for us today. So often worship is not an experience for the whole family. Sometimes, part of the family stays home. It is a powerful thing when everyone goes to church together. I am not saying that there can’t be children’s church and youth group. I am just saying that everyone together is powerful. Although, I am glad we don’t bring our farm animals to church! Today, that might be a bit much. They needed to be fully prepared for worship. They didn’t know the exact form that worship of the Lord would take. They didn’t have the Law yet. The Lord had not given them that block of instruction. So they wanted to be prepared for every contingency. And besides, the Lord was creating the opportunity for complete deliverance from Egypt for His chosen people. Nothing less than complete deliverance is enough. This is true in our lives as well. The Lord wants to bring us completely out of sin and into complete holiness and righteousness. Partway is not enough. The Lord wants full commitment and full exposure. He wants us to put our whole lives in His hands. He doesn’t want us to hold anything back, no reserves. He doesn’t want us to have a diversified spiritual portfolio. He wants us fully vested in Him. He is safe. All others are sure losses. But others we can put our hands on and touch. They are more tangible. They can seem more real because they are physical. Complete deliverance would bring freedom and blessing to the Hebrews. The same is true in our lives. The Lord wants to not just deliver us from bondage, but bring us to freedom in Christ. Some people make a partial journey. I want to encourage you to travel the whole way to freedom.
The Arnold Journey 