Good Morning.

Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God in the land.” And Moses said, “It is not right to do so, for we would be sacrificing the abomination of the Egyptians to the Lord our God. If we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, then will they not stone us?” (Exodus 8:25-26)

According to the Bible, the land of Egypt was literally corrupted because of the swarms unleashed on the land. At last Pharaoh relented, but with the condition that Israel make a sacrifice unto the LORD in the land of Egypt — not in the wilderness as Moses had prescribed. In other words, he was willing to release them from their work to do this but on his terms –- he still resisting. 

Moses responded by pointing out that it would be improper for them to sacrifice sheep in the sight of the Egyptians because it would incite the people to anger. At the time, sheep were venerated by Egyptians as having a god-like status, which is why shepherds were held in low regard. To do what Pharaoh suggested would amount to a crime as far as the Egyptians were concerned and would result in the stoning of the Hebrews. 

This raises the issue of whether believers should do certain things considered distasteful to the larger part of society if we know it will incite them to anger. It is one thing to sanctify the Name of the Almighty in sight of the heathen when acting righteously. But is it appropriate to do something intended to anger the unbeliever? In this particular case, God is the one who had instructed Israel to do this out of sight of the Egyptians. The point is, there is a difference between obedience to God in order to be a light as opposed to inciting others to anger under the guise of “obedience to God.” 

As His people, we are to be a light, not a blight. It is more important to do what is right in His sight than to be right in our own eyes. Sometimes it may require of us to show  respect to people who are dead wrong. That should not be misconstrued as endorsing wicked men or their actions; it is to say that if we do what is right, we can rely on the fact that our God is our vindicator! In the end, He will make certain that all come to realize that He alone is God and His ways are just.

Blessings and Shalom,  

Bill  

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