THE NINTH PLAGUE spoken into being by Moses against the hardened heart of Pharaoh meets the same resistance as the previous eight. Each time he would listen, and then refuse God’s demands even as Moses declared them. “But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he would not listen to Moses.” (Ex. 9:12) One by one, each of Ramses II dissents bring further calamity upon not just him, but the entire nation of Egypt. At this time, Ramses II is the most powerful man in his and all surrounding nations; he has conquered all enemies, and he is a god in his own eyes. And though his resolve has been weakened several times, there is yet no convincing reason to fear the God of the Israelites, despite the inconveniences of the plagues of blood water, frogs, lice, and locusts. To him, these were probably only natural occurrences, and Egypt has seen such things before.
But darkness has covered the land for three long days now, and though there have been eclipses of the sun in the past, those instances had lasted only minutes; nothing like this has happened before, and his advisors whisper to him of the anxieties of the people, and their growing unrest. Pharaoh bows reluctantly to the political realities that face him, and grants Moses’ request, yet imposes one last limitation: “Go, worship the Lord. Even your women and children may go with you; only leave your flocks and herds behind.” (Ex. 10:24) Moses’ seeming insolence is actually the invisible hand of God reaching from heaven to crush the last bit of Ramses’ pride , something he cannot allow. “We have to use some of them in worshiping the Lord our God, and until we get there we will not know what we are to use to worship the Lord.” (Ex. 10:26b) And now Pharaoh has reached his absolute limit with Moses and his invisible God, “Get out of my sight! Make sure you do not appear before me again!” Moses responds, “Just as you say.” (Ex. 10:29) And now Yahweh, the God of the Israelites, hardens Pharaoh’s heart irrevocably, and there will be wailing in every Egyptian household, and none more loudly than in Ramses’ own. *“Be careful what you wish for, lest it come true!”
The oldest verse about the fear of the Lord in the bible comes to us from the Book of Job: “And he said to man, ‘The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.’” (Job 28:28) And throughout the canon of scripture, that caution is whispered, stated, even shouted, for the benefit of those who will not only listen, but obey. Sometimes a very strong word is needed, such as: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.” (Pro. 1:7) Those with less resistance might be guided by “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Pro. 3:5-6)
But those with hardened hearts cannot hear such words; their attention is focused on their own thoughts and words. Wise counsel is only white noise to them, and they remain blind to the danger that lies before them. Two verses from Proverbs serve to illustrate: “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Pro. 16:18) And, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” (Pro. 16:18) And so it was with not just Pharaoh, but all of Egypt.
The biblical account of the Exodus focuses rightly on the deliverance of Israel from their slavery in Egypt. This epic story shows God’s power to deliver the helpless and to vanquish oppressors. “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psa. 34:17) But tied to the story of Israel’s deliverance is the destruction of a mighty nation, for that is the fate of Egypt. As Ramses looks on (cf. Ex. 14:21-28), his mighty army is destroyed in the collapse of the walls of water of the Red Sea over the miraculous pathway that leads to freedom for Israel, but annihilation for Egypt. As Israel begins the journey out of slavery to the promise of a land of their own, Pharaoh is left to contemplate how he will now deal with the surrounding nations that he has subjugated; history records that he will not fare well.
The theme of deliverance is a major theme of scripture. It applies to nations, and it applies to individuals. The major purpose of God throughout scripture is to deliver mankind from the slavery of sin. The sin of pride is not limited to only the powerful and elite, such as Ramses II; this sin is one that afflicts all of mankind, and it leads to the enslavement of a spirit separated from God. This appears to have been a sin that divided heaven, in which Lucifer and a third of the angels (cf. Rev. 12:9) were cast out of heaven; it is a sin that underlies the whispers of the serpent to Eve and Adam in the Garden (cf. Gen. 3:1-8), and it is always listed first in the Seven Deadly Sins identified by the early church. God resolves the tension of this long battle between the sin of pride and the need for deliverance in this way: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 6:23)
The pattern of the plagues in the Exodus story is worth noting. God warns Pharaoh not once, not twice, but repeatedly. The refusal of each warning leads to increasingly more difficult trials. Finally, there are no more warnings. “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.” (Isa. 55:6-7)
Q. Does my heart have a hardened spot?
*Aesop’s Fables – ca. 6 th Century B.C.
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