oming afraid and so he proposed to compromise.

In his fright he tells Moses that he will obey. He will let the people
go. That is, he said, "I will let part of them go. I will let the men
go. Leave the children here." Pharaoh knew that just so long as he
kept the children in Egypt, just so long would Israel remain in
bondage. And the devil knows to-day just so long as our homes remain
unchristianized, just so long will the world remain unchristianized.
We will never bring in the Kingdom by simply seeking to save an adult
generation. We must give God a chance at the children or the cause of
righteousness is going to be defeated. But if we will save the child,
we will surely save the world.

Then Pharaoh offered a second compromise. He said, "I will let you and
the children go, but you must leave your cattle and your sheep. You
must leave all your flocks and your herds." That is, you may go into
Canaan if you must, but leave your business in Egypt. And the devil
to-day is perfectly willing that you and I be just as pious and
prayerful as we want to be on Sunday, provided we forget all about such
things on Monday. He is willing for you to be devoutly religious if
you will only confine your religion to the church. But a religion that
does not permeate and purify and uplift and sanctify business and
business relations is not the religion of Jesus Christ.

And then Pharaoh offered a third compromise. He said, "I will let the
people go, but they must not go far." Why was that? For the very
human reason that he wanted the privilege of getting them back. He
said, for instance, "I will obey God, but I do not want to promise to
make my obedience permanent." You have seen plenty of instances of
that. Here is a man who has decided to be a Christian, but he won't
join the church. He wants to see how he gets along first. Such a man
is already making provision for going back. "Take up thy bed," said
the Master to the paralyzed man whom He had healed. He ever wants us
to make a complete break with the past.

But the plagues grow worse. Pharaoh is becoming more and more
frightened. While the scare is on he promises again and again that he
will obey the Lord unconditionally. There was a terrible storm, you
remember. The hail stones fell like shrapnel and the lightning dropped
from the clouds and fairly played along the earth, and terror gripped
the King's heart. And he sends for Moses. When Moses comes he