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This is not up for negotiation!
By Ned Kelly
30th January 2012 | Category: Join the Journey 2012
Key Verse
“The king had Moses and Aaron brought back, and he said, “All right, you may go and worship the LORD your God. But first tell me who will be going." “Everyone, young and old," Moses answered. “We will even take our sheep, goats, and cattle, because we want to hold a celebration in honour of the LORD." The king replied, “The LORD had better watch over you on the day I let you leave with your families! You're up to no good.”
Main Content
As we read the account of Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh, and the plagues that God brought on Egypt, we see a cycle of sin, repentance, stop for a while but, at the same time, bargain or negotiate the actual terms of the promises made in desperation when sin had caused calamity. Just look at how many times Pharaoh promised to let the Israelites go and then either completely reneged or tried shifting the goal-posts by refusing permission for the women and children or the flocks and herds to travel. We can look back through the lens of history and say, “Wasn’t Pharaoh stupid, how did he think he could get away with it?” But often we go right ahead and do just the same, pushing the boundaries and negotiating with God over the interpretation of words like “holiness,” “sanctification” or even a simple one like “obedience.”
As I write this I think back on my day’s work, preparing a bid for an engineering project in Afghanistan. The requirements were not very clear and there were some very real risks, commercial and physical, that needed to be carefully considered. I spent some time examining the contract, thinking of potential difficulties and working on a carefully worded statement to make the company’s position clear, limit our liability and avoid exposing us to un-manageable and un-acceptable risk. I was negotiating, making a pitch, playing the contractual game.
Of course this is ok in business most of the time, so long as we stick to the rules. I was being careful and professional, but that’s not how we’re supposed to be with God; that’s not the kind of relationship he wants with us. He is a loving Father, who wants the very best for us, and when he rebukes and corrects it really is for our own good; for the protection of our hearts and souls. And God doesn’t treat us this way either; by his outrageous grace his generosity far exceeds what we could ever call our right. In Matt 20:1-16 we are given a wonderful picture of God’s heart towards us but imagine how the story would read if the workers had been paid according to the precise number of hours each had worked.
Manoeuvring and negotiating may be the currency of good business but in the economy of the Kingdom, abandonment and obedience are the strategies that produce real growth and dividends.
Consider:
How has bargaining or negotiating with God over a matter of obedience impacted your life, the decisions you’ve taken and the choices you’ve made?
Is there anything in this passage that stirs you to seek God’s forgiveness and His power to change?
Ned Kelly
I’m Ned Kelly; father to Joel, who’s 16, and husband to Jackie, who I’ve known since before I was 16. They’re my favourite people in the whole world. I’m an engineer and my job often takes me abroad, which means that every time I get to our Connect Group, it’s like being there for the first time! Earlier this year I attended a conference called “A Stumbling Journey.” It’s a privilege to share a bit of mine with you.
