Exodus 5:2 But Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD
Read Exodus 5:1-7:13
Hardening of our Humanity
Have you ever been to the dentist and felt numb in the gums? This is a bit how Pharaoh felt about his heart.
If you worship things instead of the person of God, you will become less a person and more of a thing.
Ex 7:3 But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, 4 Pharaoh will not listen to you.
The worst thing God could do to Pharaoh is to simply give him over to the strongest desires of his heart. God makes us so free we are unable to not follow this freedom.
One of the descriptors the Bible often uses for the effects of sin is having a heart of stone (Ezekiel 11:19). It is not that God is hardening our hearts actively he is passively allowing us to have the deepest and strongest desires of our heart. We play active part of not listening (Ex 7:4).
The Knowledge of God
British satirist and author Jonathan Swift once said, “There Are None So Blind As Those Who Will Not See”(1738, “Polite Conversation”). There are moments in our lives when we will have Truth spoken to us and we will still refuse to see reality.
Pharaoh is approached by Moses and asked to liberate the people of Israel. What is Pharaoh’s response? “Who is the LORD… I do not know the LORD.” Pharaoh was not speaking as an atheist, he was speaking as a polytheist who was genuinely intrigued by the God of the Hebrews. Later on in the chapter he can no longer fit God into his box. Rather than revise his worldview he decides to revise his understanding of the God of the Hebrews and reject the gracious overtures from the LORD.
Endless Wonder
God has filled our hearts with strong desires. We need to recognize it is not a matter of having weaker desires but having a greater object of our desire. The only thing that will melt our heart is to see Jesus as the greatest object of our affection. It is Jesus’ death on the cross that will gives us that greater object.
Ezek. 36:26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
This post is also available in: Spanish