Readings for today: Exodus 10-13
Every year when I get to this point in my Bible reading, I struggle with the same thing. God hardening Pharaoh’s heart. When I read those words, they don’t feel good. They don’t sound right. It doesn’t seem fair. Was Pharaoh given no choice? It’s one of the deepest mysteries in all of Scripture. So as we begin to wrestle with this concept, we need to acknowledge the obvious. We hate this truth. It runs counter to everything we’ve been raised to believe about free will, everyone getting a choice, and God loving everyone. It calls into question God’s justice. God’s righteousness. How could a righteous God harden someone’s heart to the point where they are kept from saving faith? And yet, if we are courageous enough to take the text at face value, we are left with no other conclusion.
“Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants...” (Ex. 10:1)
“But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go.” (Ex. 10:20
“But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go.” (Ex. 10:27)
“Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, and the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go out of his land.” (Ex. 11:10)
God is relentless with this man. He will not let him repent. He will not let him escape judgment. He will not let him give in until his nation lies in ruins. God will not let up until there is no doubt who is God and who is not. Now this is hard for us. This is a different side to God that we aren’t used to. A God who reigns over the affairs of humanity. A God who rules over the universe with a firm hand. A God who is to be feared as much as loved. So again, the question is pressed...how could a righteous God harden someone’s heart to the point where they are kept from saving faith?
The key is how we define righteousness. Do we define it from a human perspective? Or a Biblical one? According to Scripture, God’s highest aim is not the salvation of His people. That may be a new thought to you. It was to me when I first read through the Bible. As important as my salvation is to God, it is merely the “means” God choose to us to achieve a higher end. What is that “higher end?” The full display of God’s power and glory and majesty and sovereignty over all creation. God’s greatest aim is to fill the earth with His glory. His grand design calls for all creation to honor His great name. This is the purpose for which we were created and it is clearly revealed in the Exodus narrative.
“But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them." (Ex. 7:3-5)
“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, 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." (Ex. 10:1-2)
“Then the Lord said to Moses, "Pharaoh will not listen to you, that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt." (Ex. 11:9)
And the Apostle Paul affirms God’s purposes when he looked back on the Exodus story. “For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." (Rom. 9:17)
The point is clear. God will make His name known. And He chooses to make His name known through “vessels of mercy” (His people) and “vessels of wrath” (not His people). And lest we think this somehow compromises God’s justice or righteousness or goodness or it just isn’t fair; we have to remember our condition before God. All of us are dead in our trespasses. All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. All of us deserve death and the torments of hell forever. None of us are innocent. None of us are free. We are in no position - broken, sinful, and rebellious as we are - to pass judgment on God. God is free to choose to use whom He wills in whatever way He wills and this in no way compromises His integrity.
So what does this mean for us? Does it mean we should be scared of God? Does it mean we are at the mercy of a God who is arbitrary and capricious? Not at all. In Jesus Christ, God has provided the perfect Passover Lamb! He Himself has become the sacrifice that saves! His blood delivers us from the angel of death! And because we have no idea whom God has chosen, we should go forth and gladly, even boldly, share this good news with the world!
Readings for tomorrow: Exodus 14-18