Let my people go!!

Got that "Pharoah, Pharoah" song stuck in my head ... dang it!  Really, who ever thought that was a good idea???

Until today, I thought the sole reason God brought the Israelites out of Egypt was because they were miserable.  I mean, He did tell Moses such when He called Him to go to Pharoah.  And it is His character, He is concerned with our misery (and man, am I glad He is!!)  He also had other plans for them ... long before they were even born or made their first Egyptian brick, God planned for them to go into the Promised Land ...

 "The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.  So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.  And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt."   Exodus 3:7-10

But then today, I saw this verse ... and with a little help from Priscilla, gained a new perspective on God's plan for bringing His people out of Egypt ...


"Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and say to him, 'This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: "Let my people go, so that they may worship me."  Exodus 9:1
 
Let my people go ... not just so they can move on to a better land, not just because I said so, not just because you are being mean to them and I'm tired of it ... but so they can worship me.  I am pretty sure the the work schedule Pharoah had them on didn't leave much time for worship.  Pretty sure there was no Sabbath and no Sunday lunch ... they didn't have the time or energy to worship God the way He intended. 
 
Anyone else feeling that way? I for one, am.  Because you know what?  They are not the only ones working for Pharoah.  To borrow from Priscilla, we are all in slavery to a Pharoah ... maybe busyness, maybe unhealthy relationships, maybe perfectionism or comparison, maybe past mistakes or frustrating circumstances, maybe fear or illness or depression ... but most of us have allowed something to come into our life that takes the time and energy we COULD spend in worship.  Now, I don't mean, the Sunday morning service that we otherwise call worship ... I mean the Romans 12, take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering...  worship,  that centering of our life and priority on Him kind of worship.
 
God wants to set us free from whatever enslaves us so we can WORSHIP Him ... because He does care about us and our misery.  He does hear our cries and knows our hearts.  But to worship Him wholeheartedly as He desires, we've got to pack our bags and get out of Egypt and stay out of Egypt. So for a little traveling music ...
 
Pharaoh, Pharaoh, Oh baby

Let my people go! Huh
Yeah yeah yeah... (2x)

Well, the burning bush told me just the other day
That I should come over here and say
Got to get my people out of Pharaoh's hand
And lead them on over to the promised land.

Well, all of God's people came to the Red Sea
With Pharaoh's army coming after me
I raised my rod, stuck it in the sand
And all of God's people walked across dry land.

Well all of Pharaoh's army was coming too
So what do you think that I did do?
I raised my rod and cleared my throat
And all of Pharaoh's army did the dead man's float.