3828 — Man's Purposes — "Man Proposes; God Disposes"
By Editor
In Ex. 10:29 it says that Moses said to Pharaoh, "Thou hast spoken well, I will see thy face again no more," and in chapter 12:31 it says that Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron by night, and they came to him. Is not this a plain contradiction?
No; Moses meant that he would not call upon Pharaoh, or seek an interview with him again. Again and again Moses had gone to Pharaoh himself to ask him to let God's people go. Pharaoh dismisses him abruptly, and tells him not to come again, and Moses tells him that he will not. That is all that is implied in his words. Moses simply meant that so far as he was concerned he would not again seek the face of Pharaoh. Moses was not giving a prophecy of the future; he was just simply stating what his purpose as God's servant was concerning it. There is a possibility, of course, of his being mistaken, but so far as his own will was concerned, and his own choice, he would not see Pharaoh again. When he did see the king again he was especially sent for by the king. The king sought Moses, and not Moses the king. When Moses said, "I will see thy face again no more," God's work for Pharaoh in those respects was over.
