“And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us?”
In this verse, Moses is speaking to Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt, during the time when God sent various plagues upon Egypt to demonstrate His power and demand the release of the Israelites from slavery.
To understand the context, we need to look at the preceding events. In Exodus 7-11, God unleashed ten plagues on Egypt because Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites go. These plagues included turning the Nile into blood, infesting the land with frogs, lice, flies, livestock disease, boils, hail, locusts, darkness, and finally, the death of the firstborn.
In Exodus 8, specifically, the second plague is described, which involves an abundance of frogs. Pharaoh had asked Moses to intercede with God to remove the frogs from Egypt, and Moses agreed to do so. However, when Pharaoh saw that the frogs were gone, he hardened his heart and did not keep his promise to let the Israelites go. This leads to the dialogue captured in Exodus 8:26.
In his response to Pharaoh’s proposal to allow the Israelites to sacrifice to their God within Egypt, Moses rejects the idea. He states, “It is not meet so to do,” meaning it is not right or appropriate to sacrifice in the land of Egypt. Moses expresses concern that if the Israelites were to offer their sacrifices in the presence of the Egyptians, who considered these animals sacred or abominable, the Egyptians might react violently and stone them.
Moses acknowledges that the animals the Israelites would offer as sacrifices were considered abominations by the Egyptians, as they worshiped different gods and had different customs. By sacrificing these animals to the Lord, the God of Israel, Moses knew it would likely provoke the Egyptians.
This verse illustrates Moses’ understanding of the cultural and religious differences between the Israelites and the Egyptians. It also reveals his awareness that the worship of the true God, Yahweh, required separation from the practices and beliefs of other nations.
In summary, Exodus 8:26 portrays Moses’ refusal to sacrifice to God in the presence of the Egyptians, knowing that it would offend their religious customs and potentially lead to harm. It highlights the tension between the Israelites’ devotion to their God and the religious practices of the Egyptians, setting the stage for the ongoing struggle between Moses and Pharaoh as God’s plagues continue to intensify.
