26 September 2026 — No One Gets Left Behind

I. INTRODUCTION — BURIED, BUT NOT LEFT BEHIND

On July 15, 1976, school bus driver Ed Ray was taking 26 children home from summer school near Chowchilla, California, when three armed men stopped the bus. The kidnappers transferred Ray and the children to vans, drove them for hours, then forced them into a moving trailer buried beneath a quarry near Livermore. Dirt was piled over the roof; ventilation was poor; the children were frightened, sick, and trapped underground. Ray tried to keep them calm while fourteen-year-old Mike Marshall and others searched for a way out. The question was no longer whether some might escape, but whether all twenty-seven could get out together.

Inside that buried trailer, Ray, Marshall, and the older children stacked mattresses beneath the entry opening and worked against a steel plate held down by heavy batteries. In the heat and darkness, they kept pushing until the plate shifted and they opened a path to the surface. One by one, the children climbed out; after about sixteen hours underground, every child and Ed Ray escaped alive. Years later, Ray was remembered as a hero, but what moves me is the picture of that escape: the way out was not complete while somebody was still buried. Exodus 10 places us before a greater Deliverer, and when God calls His people out of bondage, He does not negotiate a partial rescue.

I. INTRODUCTION — NO ONE GETS LEFT BEHIND

By the time we reach Exodus 10, Egypt is battered, Pharaoh is exposed, and everyone around him can see what he refuses to admit. The Nile has turned to blood, frogs have invaded the land, insects have swarmed, livestock have died, boils have broken out, and hail has shattered what was left in the fields. Pharaoh has even confessed, “I have sinned,” yet when the storm passed he hardened his heart again.

Now God sends Moses back once more, but this time the passage turns our attention in two directions at the same time. God looks backward at what He has already done and says, in effect, “Tell your children about this.” Then He looks forward and confronts Pharaoh with another question: “How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me?” The same events that harden one man are meant to become faith-building testimony for generations.

That contrast is at the center of Exodus 10:1–11. Pharaoh wants to control who may worship, how far obedience may go, and what Israel must leave behind. God insists that His people belong to Him completely: young and old, sons and daughters, flocks and herds. This is not merely a struggle over travel permits. It is a struggle over worship, memory, freedom, and whether God will be obeyed on Pharaoh’s terms or His own. And the answer of Moses is clear: when God calls His people out of bondage, no one gets left behind. Not our children, not our possessions, nobody.

II - Tell Your Children

Before God tells Moses what to say to Pharaoh, He tells Moses what Israel must remember. Exodus 10:1 says,

Exodus 10:1 ESV

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them,

The first thing we have to notice is that God is not improvising. Pharaoh’s resistance has not pushed God off course. Even Pharaoh’s stubbornness is being taken up into a larger purpose: God is making Himself known.

That does not mean God is forcing Pharaoh to rebel. Earlier Pharaoh hardened his own heart. He saw the evidence, confessed his sin, received mercy, and then chose resistance again. God’s hardening does not erase Pharaoh’s freedom; it confirms the direction Pharaoh has persistently chosen and allows that rebellion to expose itself fully. This fits the larger cosmic conflict. The issue is not merely who has more power. The issue is whether God is truly worthy of trust. In a conflict over God’s character, sheer force cannot produce love or loyalty. God acts openly, gives evidence, and allows rebellion to reveal what it really is. His signs become a public demonstration before Egypt, Israel, and the watching universe.

And those signs were not random disasters. They struck at the very structure of Egyptian religion. Egypt trusted gods connected with the Nile, fertility, livestock, health, crops, weather, and royal power. Peckham notes that the plagues functioned as judgments against Egypt’s gods and the spiritual powers represented behind them. By the time the locust plague arrives, even the gods associated with agriculture—such as Seth, Sekhmet, and Nepri—will be shown powerless. The LORD is not merely rescuing slaves from a king. He is revealing that Egypt’s gods cannot save, Pharaoh is not divine, and the God of Israel alone is Lord. 

Then verse 2 turns from Egypt to the home:

Exodus 10:2 ESV

and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, that you may know that I am the Lord.”

Notice the purpose. God does not want His mighty acts to become yesterday’s news. Deliverance must become testimony. What one generation sees, the next generation must hear.

That becomes a pattern throughout Scripture. Moses later tells Israel,

Deuteronomy 4:9 ESV

“Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children—

Psalm 78 says,

Psalm 78:4 ESV

We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.

Why does God insist on this? Because faith has a memory. The SDA Bible Commentary points out that the plagues were not only meant to confront Pharaoh but to convince Israel in every generation that the LORD is the true God. Human beings forget. We forget answered prayers. We forget deliverance. We forget how God carried us when we had no strength. And when the memory of grace fades, trust begins to fade with it.

So God says, Tell your children. Tell them what I did. Tell them where I found you. Tell them what had you in bondage. Tell them how I opened a way when there was no way. Parents are not merely passing on information; we are passing on a testimony. The church is not merely preserving doctrines; we are preserving the memory of God’s acts so that the next generation can know Him for themselves.

And notice the last words of verse 2:

Exodus 10:2 ESV

… that you may know that I am the Lord.”

The telling is not only for the children. Every time Israel retells the story, the parents are reminded too. The testimony strengthens the faith of the one who speaks it. God’s deliverance is meant to live from generation to generation, until children who never saw Egypt can still say with conviction, “The LORD is our God, and He is faithful.”

III. How Long Will You Refuse to Humble Yourself?

The God whose mighty acts are to be remembered now brings the issue to Pharaoh. He has seen enough evidence. The question is what he will do with the light he has received.

Exodus 10:3 ESV

So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me.

“How long?” Those words are both an accusation and an appeal. Pharaoh has already said, “I have sinned,” but confession without surrender is not repentance. The SDA Bible Commentary notes that God was not looking for a profession of humility but for action that matched it. Ellen White makes the same point: Pharaoh acknowledged his sin when he wanted the punishment removed, then returned to defiance when relief came. His problem was not that he lacked evidence. His problem was that he would not yield.

Notice what God does not ask. He does not ask, “How long will you fail to understand?” Pharaoh understands enough. He does not ask, “How long until you feel bad?” Pharaoh has already felt bad. The question is about humility: When will your will finally bow before Mine? Repentance reaches the will.

That is why humility is at the center of the verse. Pharaoh had spent years humbling Israel under forced labor. Now God calls Pharaoh to humble himself. He can bow willingly, or pride will eventually bring humiliation.  Scripture says,

1 Peter 5:5–6 ESV

… “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,

Biblical humility is not saying the right words while keeping control. It is surrendering control to God. Pharaoh wants relief without surrender, but God is calling him to something deeper than regret over consequences.

Exodus 10:4–5 ESV

For if you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country, and they shall cover the face of the land, so that no one can see the land. And they shall eat what is left to you after the hail, and they shall eat every tree of yours that grows in the field,

The hail had shattered Egypt, but something remained. Now even that remnant was threatened. Locusts would finish what the hail had spared. Peckham points out that this plague struck directly at the Egyptian gods associated with agriculture, including Seth, Sekhmet, and Nepri. Egypt depended on its crops not only for food but also for commerce, and the gods who were supposed to protect that abundance would be shown powerless.

Again, this is more than a contest of raw power. In the cosmic conflict, God’s character and government have been challenged, and force alone cannot create trust. God gives evidence. He warns beforehand. He names the judgment, names the time—“tomorrow”—and gives Pharaoh another opportunity to choose. The plague exposes the emptiness of Egypt’s gods while Pharaoh’s repeated refusal exposes the character of rebellion.

Exodus 10:6 ESV

and they shall fill your houses and the houses of all your servants and of all the Egyptians, as neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day they came on earth to this day.’ ” Then he turned and went out from Pharaoh.

The warning reaches from the field to the house. No palace wall, no social rank, no Egyptian deity will be able to keep the consequences of Pharaoh’s pride outside. Yet even here there is mercy in the warning. God tells Pharaoh what is coming before it comes. Judgment is not sprung upon him without opportunity to turn.

And then Moses leaves. He does not bargain or soften the demand. The question remains hanging in Pharaoh’s court: “How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me?”

IV - Do You Not Yet Understand?

Moses walks out, but his words do not leave the room. The question, “How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me?” is still hanging in Pharaoh’s court. Almost immediately, Pharaoh’s own servants turn a similar question back on their king.

Exodus 10:7 ESV

Then Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?”

The irony is striking. In verse 3 Moses asked Pharaoh, “How long?” Now Pharaoh’s advisers ask him, “How long?” These are Egyptian officials whose position and security were tied to Pharaoh’s throne. Yet even they can no longer pretend that his policy is working. Ellen White describes them as standing aghast at Egypt’s losses: livestock destroyed, people killed by hail, forests broken down, crops ruined, and the land threatened with starvation.

They call Moses “a snare,” but Moses is not Egypt’s real problem. Pharaoh’s refusal is. Pride has reached the point where preserving control matters more than preserving his country. That is what sin does when it hardens the heart: evidence can become overwhelming while surrender still feels impossible.

And notice something important. Earlier the text said that the hearts of Pharaoh’s servants had also been hardened. Yet here they recognize what Pharaoh refuses to recognize. They understand that Israel must be allowed to serve the LORD. Their hardening has not turned them into puppets without thought or choice. The evidence is before them, and they respond to it.

That fits the larger cosmic conflict. God does not need to force creatures to say that He is right. He acts so that truth is brought into the open and rebellion exposes itself. Now Pharaoh’s own court is becoming a witness against Pharaoh.

“Do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?” The question reaches beyond economics. Egypt had trusted gods connected with nature, protection, and abundance. Yet plague after plague had exposed those claims, and the threatened locusts would strike what remained of Egypt’s agriculture and commerce. The gods could not protect Egypt from the LORD.

But notice that even the advisers say, “Let the men go.” They see the danger, yet still speak in terms of limitation. Pharaoh now calls Moses and Aaron back, but listening is not surrender. He is about to negotiate how much obedience God will receive.

V - We Will Go With Our Young and Our Old

Pharaoh’s advisers have finally admitted that Egypt is ruined, and now Moses and Aaron are brought back. But Pharaoh still has not learned the lesson. He is willing to talk about obedience, as long as he gets to define its limits.

Exodus 10:8 ESV

So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. And he said to them, “Go, serve the Lord your God. But which ones are to go?”

That question exposes Pharaoh’s heart. “Which ones are to go?” He is still acting as though Israel belongs to him. He assumes that he can decide how much obedience God will receive and how much of the family can be released. After everything Egypt has suffered, and after the gods associated with Egypt’s agriculture have been shown powerless, Pharaoh still wants to negotiate the terms of worship.

But Moses does not negotiate.

Exodus 10:9 ESV

Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old. We will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds, for we must hold a feast to the Lord.”

Listen to the repetition: “We will go.” Moses names the young and the old, the sons and the daughters, the flocks and the herds. Nobody is missing. Nothing that belongs to the covenant community remains under Pharaoh’s control. The festival itself required the participation of the whole community, and the animals were necessary for sacrifice. Worship was not an event for a select group of adult men while everybody else stayed behind. It belonged to the whole people of God.

Later Moses would give Israel the same pattern for its festivals.

Deuteronomy 16:11 ESV

And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your towns, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are among you, at the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell there.

That matters because the struggle in Exodus is ultimately about allegiance. Pharaoh claims Israel as his labor force; the LORD claims Israel as His covenant people. In the larger cosmic conflict, God’s people are repeatedly tempted or pressured to give their loyalty to other powers and other gods. But God is not rescuing only part of His people. He is bringing the whole covenant community out from under Egypt’s claim.

And there is something deeply pastoral here for us. We must never become satisfied with a faith that leaves the next generation in Egypt. Our children are not an interruption to worship; they belong in the worshiping community. We teach them, bring them, pray with them, and tell them what God has done because they, too, are being called to know the LORD.

And Moses even includes the flocks and herds. What Israel possesses will also come under God’s claim and be used in His service. Pharaoh wants to determine what may leave Egypt. Moses refuses. And that insistence—that everyone and everything under God’s claim will go—is precisely what Pharaoh cannot accept.

VI - Pharaoh’s Compromise

Pharaoh has heard Moses clearly. Everyone is going. But instead of surrendering, he answers with sarcasm and a threat.

Exodus 10:10–11 ESV

But he said to them, “The Lord be with you, if ever I let you and your little ones go! Look, you have some evil purpose in mind. No! Go, the men among you, and serve the Lord, for that is what you are asking.” And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.

This is Pharaoh’s compromise: worship, but on my terms. Go, but not all of you. Serve the LORD, but leave your families behind. Ellen White points out that Pharaoh’s real purpose was to keep the women and children as security for the men’s return. This was not freedom. It was a leash long enough to permit worship while keeping Israel under Egypt’s claim.

And notice the irony. Pharaoh says, “The LORD be with you,” but he says it sarcastically. The gods associated with Egypt’s fields and harvests have already been exposed as powerless, yet Pharaoh still speaks as though he can decide whether the LORD’s people may go. He has lost the argument, but he has not surrendered control.

That is what compromise with sin tries to do. It rarely says, “Do not worship God at all.” More often it says, “Worship God, but leave something behind.” Give God your Sabbath, but not your schedule. Give Him your prayers, but not your plans. Give Him your beliefs, but not your habits. Pharaoh’s offer sounds religious because he says, “serve the LORD.” But partial surrender is still refusal when God has asked for all.

Jesus later said,

Matthew 6:24 ESV

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

That is the deeper conflict in Pharaoh’s palace. Who owns Israel? Who decides the terms of worship? In the cosmic conflict, rulership is inseparable from worship and allegiance. Pharaoh is acting like a master who still has the right to keep part of God’s people under his authority. Peckham shows how Scripture connects the larger conflict over rulership with earthly kingdoms, worship, and the powers opposing God’s people.

So Moses and Aaron are driven from Pharaoh’s presence. Pharaoh will tolerate religion only if he can control it. Moses will not accept that bargain. God has said, “Let my people go,” and no compromise that leaves part of them behind can satisfy that command.

VII. CONCLUSION — TELL THEM WHAT GOD HAS DONE

Exodus 10:1–11 leaves us with questions. What story will we tell the next generation, and how long will we refuse to humble ourselves before God? Pharaoh keeps bargaining because he wants freedom on his terms; God calls for surrender.

Moses’ answer is faith: young and old, sons and daughters, flocks and herds—we all go. Nothing remains under Pharaoh’s claim. Christ does not merely improve bondage; He calls us out of it. So tell your children what God has done, humble yourself before Him, and follow where He leads. When God gives freedom, no one gets left behind.

CLOSING STORY — BUS 963

On November 8, 2018, the Camp Fire raced into Paradise, California, so quickly that families were scattered and roads became choked with people trying to escape. At Ponderosa Elementary School, bus driver Kevin McKay pulled up for twenty-two children whose parents had not been able to reach them, and teachers Mary Ludwig and Abbie Davis climbed aboard with them. Smoke darkened the sky, embers blew across the roads, and traffic repeatedly trapped the bus while fire burned around them. McKay kept driving, while the teachers took attendance, paired older children with younger ones, passed out water, and used damp cloths to help them breathe. Everyone on that bus had become one responsibility.

For more than six hours, the bus worked its way through a town that was disappearing in fire. McKay had his own family to think about, and both teachers had homes and loved ones somewhere beyond the smoke, but they stayed with the children entrusted to them. Eventually Bus 963 reached Biggs, about twenty-five miles south, and the children were brought inside an elementary school there. Parents who had spent hours not knowing whether their children were alive finally learned that the names on that handwritten manifest had made it out. Their town had suffered terrible loss, but on that bus the mission was complete: every child entrusted to them arrived safely.

APPEAL — NO MORE BARGAINING

Church, Pharaoh’s compromise is still tempting because it sounds so reasonable: follow God, but keep one room of the heart locked; worship Him, but treat your children’s faith as someone else’s responsibility; surrender the obvious sins, but keep the habits, ambitions, possessions, and relationships we do not want Him to touch. Moses refuses that kind of religion. “We will go with our young and our old.” God is not asking for a weekend pass from Egypt; He is calling us into freedom.

So the decision today is not merely, “Do I believe God exists?” The decision is, “Will I stop bargaining with Him?” Will I tell the next generation what He has done, humble myself where pride has resisted Him, and place my whole life under His claim? Christ did not come merely to make slavery more comfortable. He came to set captives free.

I want to pray for you. If any of you want to say with me… “Lord, I will stop bargaining with You; I surrender myself, my home, and all that I have to You, and by Your grace I will faithfully call my family to follow You—no one and nothing willingly left under Pharaoh’s claim.”

END

May you taste and see that the Lord is good. May He bless you as you take refuge in Him, and may His goodness follow you all the days of your life. Amen. (Psalm 34:8)