And he hardened Pharaoh’s heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.
After Aaron's rod became a serpent and swallowed the rods of the magicians, Pharaoh refused to listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said. The signs set before him were wrought by God's own power to prove that the great I AM had sent Moses, to lay upon Pharaoh the duty to let Israel go to serve the living God, and to begin to show Jehovah's supremacy over the gods of Egypt. The magicians worked by the power of their god the devil to counterfeit God's signs, yet they could imitate only a few miracles and their rods were swallowed, proving God's true work superior to Satan's counterfeit, while Pharaoh seized on their apparent wonders as an excuse to count Moses and Aaron sorcerers and hardened himself in rebellion against conviction. His hardened heart was not forced upon him by God but grew from his own continued unbelief and refusal of light, and each rejection made him harder, darker in understanding, and bolder to resist until suffering could move him only for a moment. That dealing with Egypt foreshadows the seven last plagues and more terrible judgments just before the final deliverance of God's people, warning that stubborn refusal to be admonished by clear light and repeated judgments leaves the willfully obstinate in greater peril.
Sign Confrontation and Meaning
After Aaron's rod became a serpent and swallowed the magicians' rods, Pharaoh did not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said.
The miracles set before Pharaoh were done by God's power, not by any human power of Moses. They were meant to convince Pharaoh that the great I AM had sent Moses and that his duty was to let Israel go to serve the living God, confirming Moses' divine commission. At the same time they began to expose the powerlessness of Egypt's gods and to show Jehovah's supremacy.
Pharaoh's magicians also showed signs and wonders, working not by their own science alone but by the power of their god the devil in deceptive opposition to counterfeit God's signs. Their rods did become serpents, but they could imitate only a few of the miracles God wrought through Moses. Aaron's rod swallowed theirs, proving God's true work superior to Satan's counterfeit.
Pharaoh grasped at the magicians' apparent wonders as an excuse to justify resisting God, treating Moses and Aaron as sorcerers rather than messengers of God. He dismissed even the swallowing of their serpents as superior magic. This emboldened him in rebellion and strengthened him against conviction.
Hardening Through Repeated Resistance
Turning from the first miracle set Pharaoh on a course of doubt and resistance, and continuing in his own way, each further step hardened his heart until he stood before the death of the firstborn. The evidence of God's power and mighty acts could have been received, but he refused to acknowledge it, and rejecting the light he had received made him increasingly hard and unable to respond to greater light. Each rejection of God's clearly stated will hardens the heart, darkens the understanding, makes it harder to distinguish right from wrong, and leads to bolder resistance. Repeated resistance to correction makes each later warning easier to reject, just as repeated sin strengthens sinful habits.
This hardening was not forced upon him by God but grew from his own choice to reject light in continued unbelief and obstinacy. The rod becoming a serpent and the river turned to blood did not soften him but hardened his opposition and increased his hatred of the Israelites. That effect came because the work of the magicians led him to believe these miracles were performed by magic, leaving him unpersuaded.
He reasoned away the miracles, and even after the plagues moved him to consent to free Israel, his stubborn rebellion continued and he hardened his heart again when the suffering ceased. His resistance persisted despite increasingly severe judgments until the final judgment compelled him to release Israel. His long resistance left him blind to God's power and led him to pursue Israel into the path God had opened through the sea.
Prophecy Warning and Application
The hardening belongs to the plagues poured out on Egypt just before and at the deliverance of ancient Israel from bondage, when Pharaoh would not listen. That whole history foreshadows the seven last plagues poured out on the wicked just before and at the deliverance of the saints. Those plagues on Egypt were similar in character to the more terrible and extensive judgments that will fall upon the world just before God's people are finally delivered.
The same judgments in Egypt were later remembered by the Philistines, who recognized that Israel's God had power to afflict a nation. The stubbornness displayed is the refusal to be admonished by the judgments of heaven and to search the heart closely and humble before God, pressing on instead in a wrong course. God bears long with human perversity by sending decided reproofs and clear light, but refusal to receive His warnings and persistence in following one's own will and impulses and determination to be like the people of the world brings repeated judgments as He repeated them to the king of Egypt, judgments He will surely send and will not pardon unless there is repentance, and which may be repeated when people persistently refuse admonition and will not humble themselves.
Pharaoh stands as an example of willful obstinacy and stubbornness in refusing to heed God's messengers and clear warnings while continuing in his own way. His example warns that exalting one's own judgment can lead a person little by little under Satan's influence and into a snare. Those who despite much light and conviction by the Holy Spirit refuse to humble themselves and turn back from wrong follow the same course, and continued resistance leaves them in greater peril with no further light until they retrace their steps. A church that refuses to live and obey the truth becomes hardened like Pharaoh, having eyes but not seeing and ears but not hearing. The hardening also illustrates how oppressors may become hardened against God and persist in resisting the release of those they enslave.
After Aaron's rod became a serpent and swallowed the rods of the magicians, Pharaoh refused to listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said. The signs set before him were wrought by God's own power to prove that the great I AM had sent Moses, to lay upon Pharaoh the duty to let Israel go to serve the living God, and to begin to show Jehovah's supremacy over the gods of Egypt. The magicians worked by the power of their god the devil to counterfeit God's signs, yet they could imitate only a few miracles and their rods were swallowed, proving God's true work superior to Satan's counterfeit, while Pharaoh seized on their apparent wonders as an excuse to count Moses and Aaron sorcerers and hardened himself in rebellion against conviction. His hardened heart was not forced upon him by God but grew from his own continued unbelief and refusal of light, and each rejection made him harder, darker in understanding, and bolder to resist until suffering could move him only for a moment. That dealing with Egypt foreshadows the seven last plagues and more terrible judgments just before the final deliverance of God's people, warning that stubborn refusal to be admonished by clear light and repeated judgments leaves the willfully obstinate in greater peril.
Sign Confrontation and Meaning
After Aaron's rod became a serpent and swallowed the magicians' rods, Pharaoh did not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said.
The miracles set before Pharaoh were done by God's power, not by any human power of Moses. They were meant to convince Pharaoh that the great I AM had sent Moses and that his duty was to let Israel go to serve the living God, confirming Moses' divine commission. At the same time they began to expose the powerlessness of Egypt's gods and to show Jehovah's supremacy.
Pharaoh's magicians also showed signs and wonders, working not by their own science alone but by the power of their god the devil in deceptive opposition to counterfeit God's signs. Their rods did become serpents, but they could imitate only a few of the miracles God wrought through Moses. Aaron's rod swallowed theirs, proving God's true work superior to Satan's counterfeit.
Pharaoh grasped at the magicians' apparent wonders as an excuse to justify resisting God, treating Moses and Aaron as sorcerers rather than messengers of God. He dismissed even the swallowing of their serpents as superior magic. This emboldened him in rebellion and strengthened him against conviction.
Hardening Through Repeated Resistance
Turning from the first miracle set Pharaoh on a course of doubt and resistance, and continuing in his own way, each further step hardened his heart until he stood before the death of the firstborn. The evidence of God's power and mighty acts could have been received, but he refused to acknowledge it, and rejecting the light he had received made him increasingly hard and unable to respond to greater light. Each rejection of God's clearly stated will hardens the heart, darkens the understanding, makes it harder to distinguish right from wrong, and leads to bolder resistance. Repeated resistance to correction makes each later warning easier to reject, just as repeated sin strengthens sinful habits.
This hardening was not forced upon him by God but grew from his own choice to reject light in continued unbelief and obstinacy. The rod becoming a serpent and the river turned to blood did not soften him but hardened his opposition and increased his hatred of the Israelites. That effect came because the work of the magicians led him to believe these miracles were performed by magic, leaving him unpersuaded.
He reasoned away the miracles, and even after the plagues moved him to consent to free Israel, his stubborn rebellion continued and he hardened his heart again when the suffering ceased. His resistance persisted despite increasingly severe judgments until the final judgment compelled him to release Israel. His long resistance left him blind to God's power and led him to pursue Israel into the path God had opened through the sea.
Prophecy Warning and Application
The hardening belongs to the plagues poured out on Egypt just before and at the deliverance of ancient Israel from bondage, when Pharaoh would not listen. That whole history foreshadows the seven last plagues poured out on the wicked just before and at the deliverance of the saints. Those plagues on Egypt were similar in character to the more terrible and extensive judgments that will fall upon the world just before God's people are finally delivered.
The same judgments in Egypt were later remembered by the Philistines, who recognized that Israel's God had power to afflict a nation. The stubbornness displayed is the refusal to be admonished by the judgments of heaven and to search the heart closely and humble before God, pressing on instead in a wrong course. God bears long with human perversity by sending decided reproofs and clear light, but refusal to receive His warnings and persistence in following one's own will and impulses and determination to be like the people of the world brings repeated judgments as He repeated them to the king of Egypt, judgments He will surely send and will not pardon unless there is repentance, and which may be repeated when people persistently refuse admonition and will not humble themselves.
Pharaoh stands as an example of willful obstinacy and stubbornness in refusing to heed God's messengers and clear warnings while continuing in his own way. His example warns that exalting one's own judgment can lead a person little by little under Satan's influence and into a snare. Those who despite much light and conviction by the Holy Spirit refuse to humble themselves and turn back from wrong follow the same course, and continued resistance leaves them in greater peril with no further light until they retrace their steps. A church that refuses to live and obey the truth becomes hardened like Pharaoh, having eyes but not seeing and ears but not hearing. The hardening also illustrates how oppressors may become hardened against God and persist in resisting the release of those they enslave.