“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 perform these miraculous signs of mine among them that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and I performed my signs among them, and that you may know that I am the Lord’” (Exodus 10:1-2).
God chose Moses to go to Pharaoh and ask for release of the Israelites. Moses gave excuses and was reluctant to take the job, but God prevailed and Moses along with his brother, Aaron, went to Pharaoh time after time. Pharaoh refused to let the people go and God sent plagues on the Egyptians. After the seventh plague God sent Moses back again and told him that He had hardened Pharaoh’s heart. Imagine God asking you to do a job and telling you it won’t happen!
We talk about the “patience of Job” but think about how much patience Moses and Aaron must have had to go again and again to Pharaoh, only to have him go back on his word over and over. I realized as I read this account last week that the passage says numerous times that “Pharaoh hardened his heart” or “God hardened Pharaoh’s heart and the hearts of his officials.”
Why did God have Moses work against such opposition? The Scripture above (Exodus 10:1-2) gives us two reasons. First, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart so that He might perform miraculous signs among them. Then, they were to tell their children and grandchildren about their experiences. Could it be we go through difficulties in life for the benefit of our children and grandchildren? Do we share our struggles and victories with our children and grandchildren? I don’t do this often enough, especially with my grandchildren. Something to think about.
Second, the Lord said, “that you may know that I am the Lord.” Sometimes I’m so busy with life I forget it is the Lord who makes it all possible. Then I come up against a “hard-hearted Pharaoh” and I run crying to the Lord for help. God wants me to know that He is the Lord. He is the One who is in charge and I am not. In Exodus 14 we see Moses crying out to God but God said to get moving. God harden the hearts of the Egyptians and gained the glory through the destruction of Pharaoh and his army. It is God who desires and deserves the glory. It is through my struggles God shows His glory. I must obey and continue to trust Him. He will be glorified. Will I let Him be glorified in me?
Something to think about indeed. Thanks for writing.