GOD S HAND AND PHARAOH S HEART Exodus 8 12
It was John Wesley, (who was to outlive George Whitefield by twenty-one years), who upon hearing of his old friend s death, gave Whitefield the most generous tribute as he gently chided another friend who asked, Do you think we shall see Mr. Whitefield in Heaven? Wesley replied, No, sir, I fear not. Mr. Whitefield will be so near the Throne and we at such a distance we shall hardly get sight of him. (Dallimore)
1. Pharaoh is a wicked man who doesn't know or fear God.
EXODUS 5:1-2 Later, Moses and Aaron went in and said to Pharaoh, This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: Let My people go, so that they may hold a festival for Me in the wilderness. But Pharaoh responded, Who is Yahweh that I should obey Him by letting Israel go? I do not know anything about Yahweh, and besides, I will not let Israel go.
2. God Knows Pharaoh will not listen to Him.
EXODUS 3:19 However, I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go, unless he is forced by a strong hand.
EXODUS 7:14 Then the Lord said to Moses, Pharaohs heart is hard: he refuses to let the people go.
3. God says on three occasions that He will harden Pharaoh s heart.
EXODUS 4:21 The Lord instructed Moses, When you go back to Egypt, make sure you do all the wonders before Pharaoh that I have put within your power. But I will harden his heart so that he wont let the people go.
EXODUS 7:3-4 But I will harden Pharaohs heart and multiply My signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. Pharaoh will not listen to you, but I will put My hand on Egypt and bring the divisions of My people the Israelites out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment.
EXODUS 14:4 I will harden Pharaohs heart so that he will pursue them. Then I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh. So the Israelites did this.
4. Three times Pharaoh hardened his heart and seven times his heart hardened.
PHARAOH S HEART HARDENS
EXODUS 7:13 However, Pharaoh s heart hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
EXODUS 7:22-23 But the magicians of Egypt did the same thing by their occult practices. So Pharaoh s heart hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said. Pharaoh turned around, went into his palace, and didn t even take this to heart.
EXODUS 8:19 This is the finger of God, the magicians said to Pharaoh. But Pharaoh s heart hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
EXODUS 9:7 Pharaoh sent messengers who saw that not a single one of the Israelite livestock was dead. But Pharaoh s heart was hardened, and he did not let the people go.
EXODUS 9:35 So Pharaoh s heart hardened, and he did not let the Israelites go, as the Lord had said through Moses.
What does it mean that his heart hardened? Did God harden? Did Pharaoh harden?
Hardened Chazaq to grow strong, firm, become mighty, collected his strength etc.
Hebrew word for heart: leb à inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding
KEY PHRASE: As the Lord had said
EXODUS 8:19 This is the finger of God, the magicians said to Pharaoh. But Pharaoh s heart hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
EXODUS 4:21 The Lord instructed Moses, When you go back to Egypt, make sure you do all the wonders before Pharaoh that I have put within your power. But I will harden his heart so that he won t let the people go.
EXODUS 3:18-19 They will listen to what you say. Then you, along with the elders of Israel, must go to the king of Egypt and say to him: Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now please let us go on a three day trip into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to Yahweh our God. However, I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go, unless he is forced by a strong hand.
PHARAOH HARDENS HIS HEART:
EXODUS 8:14-15 They piled them in countless heaps, and there was a terrible odor in the land. But when Pharaoh saw there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to them, as the Lord had said. But when Pharaoh saw there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
EXODUS 8:31-32 The Lord did as Moses had said: He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, his officials, and his people; not one was left. But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also and did not let the people go. But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also and did not let the people go.
EXODUS 9:33-35 Moses went out from Pharaoh and the city, and extended his hands to the Lord. Then the thunder and hail ceased, and rain no longer poured down on the land. When Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had ceased, he sinned again and hardened his heart, he and his officials. So Pharaohs heart hardened, and he did not let the Israelites go, as the Lord had said through Moses.
5. Six times God actually hardens Pharaoh s heart.
EXODUS 9:12 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh s heart and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had told Moses.
EXODUS 10:1 The Eighth Plague: Locusts Then the Lord said to Moses, Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may do these miraculous signs of Mine among them.
EXODUS 10:20 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh s heart, and he did not let the Israelites go.
EXODUS 11:10 Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go out of his land.
EXODUS 14:4 I will harden Pharaoh s heart so that he will pursue them. Then I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh. So the Israelites did this.
EXODUS 14:8 The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the Israelites, who were going out triumphantly.
EXODUS 14:17-19 I am going to harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them.
PROVERBS 28:14 How blessed is the man who fears always, But he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.
EXODUS 4:21 The Lord instructed Moses, When you go back to Egypt, make sure you do all the wonders before Pharaoh that I have put within your power. But I will harden his heart so that he wont let the people go.
How can God hold Pharaoh responsible for what God made him do?
CONCLUSIONS 1. God and Pharaoh both call Pharaoh s resistance sin.
EXODUS 9:27 Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron. I have sinned this time, he said to them. Yahweh is the Righteous One, and I and my people are the guilty ones.
EXODUS 9:34 When Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had ceased, he sinned again and hardened his heart, he and his officials.
CONCLUSIONS 1. God and Pharaoh both call Pharaoh s resistance sin. 2. Before the creation of the world, God ordained the hardening of Pharaoh.
ACTS 17:25-27 Neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives everyone life and breath and all things. From one man He has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live. He did this so they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.
EXODUS 3:19-20 However, I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go, unless he is forced by a strong hand. I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My miracles that I will perform in it. After that, he will let you go.
EXODUS 4:21 The Lord instructed Moses, When you go back to Egypt, make sure you do all the wonders before Pharaoh that I have put within your power. But I will harden his heart so that he wont let the people go.
EXODUS 7:3-4 But I will harden Pharaohs heart and multiply My signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. Pharaoh will not listen to you, but I will put My hand on Egypt and bring the divisions of My people the Israelites out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment.
EXODUS 11:9 The Lord said to Moses, Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that My wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.
A world with an immovable object and an irresistible force.
ORDAINED: To order or decree by virtue of a superior authority.
ORDAINED PLAGUES: God wanted to rescue Israel from Egypt through the 10 plagues. Pharaoh is going to resist God to bring about the plagues.
EXODUS 9:15-16 By now I could have stretched out My hand and struck you and your people with a plague, and you would have been obliterated from the earth. However, I have let you live for this purpose: to show you My power and to make My name known in all the earth.
EXODUS 14:17-18 I am going to harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them, and I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh, all his army, and his chariots and horsemen. The Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh when I receive glory through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.
EXODUS 14:30-31 That day the Lord saved Israel from the power of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 When Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and believed in Him and in His servant Moses.
ROMANS 11:25-26 So that you will not be conceited, brothers, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery: A partial hardening has come to Israel until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved.
APPLICATION We serve a great God.