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That is, bind the saint of God down to earth by the shackles of worldly possessions.
The love of riches, the cares and riches of this age, the things that so easily entangle us.
Moses replied:
"Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings that we may sacrifice unto the
Lord our God. Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not an hoof be left behind;
for thereof must we take to serve the Lord our God; and we know not with what we must
serve the Lord, until we come thither" (Exod. 10: 25, 26).
Demas was caught in this snare, so also were Ananias and Sapphira. In the parable of
the Sower, the thorns represented the cares, riches and pleasure of this life. The evil is
two-fold. While our possessions remain in Egypt, our hearts are likely to turn back there
too. On the other hand we must be prepared to offer whatever the Lord shall demand.
We may be prepared to offer money, but hold back time. We may be pleased to pray,
but not to labour. That is a spirited expression it would do us good to repeat
occasionally--not an hoof! Separateness must ever be offensive to the world, and will
never be understood or tolerated.
Moses demanded that Israel should serve God:
In the wilderness.
A three days' journey.
All should go.
Not an hoof left behind.
Pharaoh suggested that they could serve their God just as well and with far less
inconvenience if they either remained:
In the land.
Not very far off.
Only men went.
Flocks and herds left behind.
These four items teach us that true worship is connected with a pilgrim walk, is on
resurrection ground, that it comprehends all saints, and embraces all we have and are.
These four items fill out the word `saint', anything less "comes short of the glory of
God".