Jump Start # 909

Exodus 10:20 “But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the sons of Israel go.”

A friend at church recently asked me to write a Jump Start about God hardening Pharaoh’s heart. So, I’ll take a stab at this. What makes this passage tough to understand is that this flies in face of all we know about God. He is about saving not casting away. He wants people to come to Him and follow Him, not send them away. God hardening anyone seems out of character with what we know about God.

Here is something else that we need to know.

• In Exodus, there are 14 references to the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart.
• Five times, the expression “the Lord hardened” is used.
• Five times, following Pharaoh’s hardened heart, we read, “he did not listen”
• Six times, following Pharaoh’s hardened heart, we find, “he did not let the people go.”
• Three times, following Pharaoh’s hardened heart, it says, “he sinned.”

All of these passages surround the encounters between Moses, Pharaoh, the ten plagues and the release of God’s people from Egyptian captivity. The slaves of Israel were a large work force in the Egyptian economy. Pharaoh was gaining nothing by releasing them. He didn’t want them to go. In an environment of multiple gods, the one God of Israel didn’t seem like a threat to Pharaoh. God showed otherwise. He was the one true God of all Heaven and Earth, not just for Israel, but for all creation. He wasn’t God only to those who believed, He was God of all. The plagues seem to be a directed hit against the Egyptian gods. They worshipped the Nile. It turned to blood. They worshipped the sun. It became dark. They worshipped harvest. Hail destroyed the crops. One by one, Jehovah was showing that He was more powerful than these made up pagan deities. There was nothing Pharaoh could do. His gods were worthless and incapable of stopping Jehovah.

It seems, after each plague, Pharaoh was struck down. But then, he rallied and refused to let the people go. Pharaoh was stubborn. I grew up hearing the expression, “Bull-headed.” Pharaoh was not going to give in to a bunch of slaves. No way. After each plague, he dug his heels in more. The more he resisted, the harder the next plague. In the battle of the wills, God is not matched. God will not be defeated. The final blow was the death of the first born. There was no turning back from death. All the plagues were temporary, except the last. The sun shines today in Egypt. The Nile river looks like any other river today. But those first born that died in the last plague, never came back to life again. To this day, they have remained dead. Pharaoh was crushed, defeated and conquered.

The hardening of Pharaoh’s heart was not something that God did independent of Pharaoh. His heart was hardened because he refused to listen, he refused to let the people go, he sinned, he was stubborn. The more God did, the more Pharaoh refused. God was behind the plagues. Pharaoh was behind his hardened heart.

How then, did “the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart?” The plagues were sent by God. Moses was sent by God. The words Moses spoke were from God. It was those things that made Pharaoh even more resistant and stubborn. Some folks do not want to change, period. It doesn’t matter how many nice things you do for them. It doesn’t matter, as some parents see at home, how many times you threaten; it doesn’t matter how many times you warn, they will not change. For some, it seems the more you do, the more stubborn they become. That’s Pharaoh. Who ultimately is responsible for his hardened heart? Himself or God? Pharaoh. God was trying to get His people out of Egypt. Beyond the plagues, God had a massive arsenal at His disposal. Remember in the garden, Jesus telling Peter to put away the sword. All He had to do was say the word, and legions of angels would come. God has caused the earth to open up and swallow rebels. He has made donkeys speak. He caused the sun to stand still so Joshua could continue fighting in a battle. He has parted rivers and seas. He has sent leprosy on specific people. Soon after these events, as Israel crossed the Red Sea, God closed that sea and destroyed Pharaoh’s elite army. No nation could match Pharaoh’s army. No nation had won wars against Egypt. God destroyed them all without a single arrow being shot. He killed them all. In this battle of the wills, Pharaoh was near the end, God was just beginning. It was Pharaoh’s stubbornness that cost the loss of crops, livestock, and eventually the death of the first born and then his army. God sent that last plague. He sent it because Pharaoh wouldn’t budge. It was Pharaoh’s call. He dug in, once again, so God struck.

Interesting thoughts, but what does this do for me? First, I better make sure that I’m not like Pharaoh. I best be sure that I’m not digging in my heels and resisting God. Do I refuse to go to church services because I don’t want to? Do I refuse to change my attitude because I don’t want to. Do I refuse to be helpful, because I don’t want to. Well, Mr. Pharaoh, the more you resist the worse it is on your heart. And in the end, you will lose. God always wins.

Second, there are folks today like Pharaoh. Stubborn is their nature. Some are proud of that. It’s like a family emblem or coat of arms. Dad was stubborn, they say, and so am I. That’s nothing to be proud of. In God’s book, that’s like saying, “Dad was dumb and so am I.” Get over it. Let God’s word melt your heart. Listen. Learn. Change. Become.

Third, like Moses, we must not give up on stubborn people. Moses was sent by God over 10 times. Pharaoh never got it. Some today, will never get it, but we will keep trying.

The hard heart is destined to misery before God. The hard heart won’t listen, change, reflect or consider. This is the way I am, says the hard heart. The hard heart will miss Heaven. That’s how serious it is. It’s time to get over self. The first step in discipleship is to “deny self.” Pharaoh never did. He died stubborn. He died not listening to God. He died disobedient. He died defeated by God. What a terrible way to go.

God has given us this story not just for historical purposes, but to show us the outcome of the stubborn heart. It is a dead end road. It leads to failure with God. The greatest command is to love the Lord your God with ALL your heart. In Acts, at the conversion of Paul, the expression “Kicking against the goads” is used. That was a sharp, pointed stick that was used on oxen. When they kicked against it, they were jabbed. Before long, they quick kicking and just pulled the cart. We kick against the goads when we resist what God says. It jabs our conscience and it makes us guilty.

Will you do that? The first step in chipping away that hard heart is to love God and listen to Him.

Roger