And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh’s heart is hardened, he refuseth to let the people go.
Pharaoh's hardened heart meant he refused God's command to let Israel go even after being warned what each judgment would bring and that obedience could have averted them. That refusal opens the first plague, when the Nile the Egyptians worshiped was turned to blood, made foul and polluted, its fish died and its water became unusable. Those judgments were sent to expose the powerlessness of Egypt's gods and destroy trust in them, and thereby to display Jehovah's supremacy and press for Israel's release. The hardening was not forced upon him, for he rejected light and evidence and his continued resistance produced the obstinacy he had sown, and each resistance made further resistance easier and strengthened rebellion. Israel's deliverance with the plagues poured out on Egypt just before and at that deliverance foreshadows the seven last plagues poured out on the wicked just before and at the deliverance of the saints, which will be similar in character but more terrible and extensive.
Hardened Heart Refuses Release
Pharaoh's hardened heart showed itself in refusing God's command to let Israel go, after being warned beforehand what each judgment would bring and that obedience could have spared Egypt from them. He was given the opportunity to avoid the judgments by obeying, but chose resistance even while told what each plague would be.
The refusal introduces the first plague upon the Nile, which the Egyptians worshiped as a god, when the river was struck and turned to blood. Its water became foul and polluted, its fish died, and the people could not use it for any purpose, exposing the river's inability to sustain them. The sacred river and its revered fish were thus struck so that the river became a source of pollution rather than healing.
Those judgments beginning here were meant to expose the powerlessness of Egypt's gods and destroy confidence in them. By that exposure Jehovah showed His supremacy and pressed for Israel's release.
The signs of the rod becoming a serpent and the river turning to blood did not soften Pharaoh but only increased his hatred of the Israelites. The work of the magicians led him to believe the miracles were performed by magic, and he treated them as magic.
Pharaoh with his counselors and leaders explained away God's miracles and plagues as magic or as natural events rather than judgments from God. When the effects of a plague ended he hardened his heart again and continued his resistance. The dead frogs were left in heaps to decay rather than made to vanish at once, giving Pharaoh and Egypt visible evidence that the plagues were judgments from God, not magic.
His stubborn refusal brought the plagues upon Egypt and persisted until the death of Egypt's firstborn compelled him to release Israel. Even after conceding he hardened his heart again in rebellion against God, regretted the release, and pursued them. That continued resistance led him blindly into the path of escape God had opened through the sea.
The refusal stands in the setting of the plagues the Lord was about to bring upon Egypt, at which time Moses' wife returned to Midian so she would not witness those plagues.
Plagues Foreshadow Final Deliverance
The hardening of Pharaoh's heart in refusing to let Israel go brought on the plagues that were poured out on Egypt just before and at Israel's deliverance from bondage, and that deliverance with its plagues foreshadows the seven last plagues that will be poured out on the wicked just before and at the deliverance of the saints. The moment is when God was about to deliver Israel while the hardened heart still refused release, and the plagues upon Egypt that followed that refusal are similar in character to the judgments that will fall upon the world just before God's people are finally delivered. Those coming judgments will be more terrible and extensive than those on Egypt, yet of the same kind. The account of the plagues on Egypt to which this refusal belongs rehearses the revelation Jesus gave to John.
The plagues God sent and brought upon Egypt in this account were remembered afterward as a warning. When disease and famine struck the Philistines after they took the ark, they attributed their own afflictions to the God of Israel in light of what He had done to Egypt. Their suffering from disease and famine thus recalled the earlier plagues as evidence that the same God was acting in judgment.
Resisting Light Hardens Heart
Pharaoh stands in Exodus 7:14 as stubborn and rebellious, for although further light was given him he could either accept it and let it work upon his heart or resist it and reject the evidence of divine power, and he chose resistance and became more settled in sin and rebellion. His course illustrates that resisting correction makes further resistance easier, and that repeated resistance strengthens the habit of sin.
This hardening was not forced upon him, for he rejected light and evidence and his continued resistance produced the obstinacy he himself had sown. As with him, those who shut themselves off from divine warnings and treat them as darkness become more resistant to further light. He is thus an example of the danger of repeatedly resisting the Holy Spirit despite receiving light and conviction, since rejecting that light hardens the heart and brings grave peril.
The description of his hardened refusal also applies to church members who have become spiritually hardened, who have eyes but do not see and ears but do not hear despite great spiritual advantages and solemn truth. Like Pharaoh they resist what has been given them, and their failure to live the truth leaves them unable to recognize or respond to the needs of others. The same stubbornness in refusing to be admonished by the judgments of heaven is seen in continuing in a wrong course without close heart-searching and humbling before God despite the lessons taught by the burning of the Sanitarium and the Review and Herald Office. God bears long with the perversity of men and sends decided reproofs and clear light, but if warnings are not received and men persist in following their own will and impulses and in determination to be like the world, He will send His judgments and will not pardon. Unless there is repentance He will surely repeat His judgments, as He repeated them to the king of Egypt.
Pharaoh's hardened heart meant he refused God's command to let Israel go even after being warned what each judgment would bring and that obedience could have averted them. That refusal opens the first plague, when the Nile the Egyptians worshiped was turned to blood, made foul and polluted, its fish died and its water became unusable. Those judgments were sent to expose the powerlessness of Egypt's gods and destroy trust in them, and thereby to display Jehovah's supremacy and press for Israel's release. The hardening was not forced upon him, for he rejected light and evidence and his continued resistance produced the obstinacy he had sown, and each resistance made further resistance easier and strengthened rebellion. Israel's deliverance with the plagues poured out on Egypt just before and at that deliverance foreshadows the seven last plagues poured out on the wicked just before and at the deliverance of the saints, which will be similar in character but more terrible and extensive.
Hardened Heart Refuses Release
Pharaoh's hardened heart showed itself in refusing God's command to let Israel go, after being warned beforehand what each judgment would bring and that obedience could have spared Egypt from them. He was given the opportunity to avoid the judgments by obeying, but chose resistance even while told what each plague would be.
The refusal introduces the first plague upon the Nile, which the Egyptians worshiped as a god, when the river was struck and turned to blood. Its water became foul and polluted, its fish died, and the people could not use it for any purpose, exposing the river's inability to sustain them. The sacred river and its revered fish were thus struck so that the river became a source of pollution rather than healing.
Those judgments beginning here were meant to expose the powerlessness of Egypt's gods and destroy confidence in them. By that exposure Jehovah showed His supremacy and pressed for Israel's release.
The signs of the rod becoming a serpent and the river turning to blood did not soften Pharaoh but only increased his hatred of the Israelites. The work of the magicians led him to believe the miracles were performed by magic, and he treated them as magic.
Pharaoh with his counselors and leaders explained away God's miracles and plagues as magic or as natural events rather than judgments from God. When the effects of a plague ended he hardened his heart again and continued his resistance. The dead frogs were left in heaps to decay rather than made to vanish at once, giving Pharaoh and Egypt visible evidence that the plagues were judgments from God, not magic.
His stubborn refusal brought the plagues upon Egypt and persisted until the death of Egypt's firstborn compelled him to release Israel. Even after conceding he hardened his heart again in rebellion against God, regretted the release, and pursued them. That continued resistance led him blindly into the path of escape God had opened through the sea.
The refusal stands in the setting of the plagues the Lord was about to bring upon Egypt, at which time Moses' wife returned to Midian so she would not witness those plagues.
Plagues Foreshadow Final Deliverance
The hardening of Pharaoh's heart in refusing to let Israel go brought on the plagues that were poured out on Egypt just before and at Israel's deliverance from bondage, and that deliverance with its plagues foreshadows the seven last plagues that will be poured out on the wicked just before and at the deliverance of the saints. The moment is when God was about to deliver Israel while the hardened heart still refused release, and the plagues upon Egypt that followed that refusal are similar in character to the judgments that will fall upon the world just before God's people are finally delivered. Those coming judgments will be more terrible and extensive than those on Egypt, yet of the same kind. The account of the plagues on Egypt to which this refusal belongs rehearses the revelation Jesus gave to John.
The plagues God sent and brought upon Egypt in this account were remembered afterward as a warning. When disease and famine struck the Philistines after they took the ark, they attributed their own afflictions to the God of Israel in light of what He had done to Egypt. Their suffering from disease and famine thus recalled the earlier plagues as evidence that the same God was acting in judgment.
Resisting Light Hardens Heart
Pharaoh stands in Exodus 7:14 as stubborn and rebellious, for although further light was given him he could either accept it and let it work upon his heart or resist it and reject the evidence of divine power, and he chose resistance and became more settled in sin and rebellion. His course illustrates that resisting correction makes further resistance easier, and that repeated resistance strengthens the habit of sin.
This hardening was not forced upon him, for he rejected light and evidence and his continued resistance produced the obstinacy he himself had sown. As with him, those who shut themselves off from divine warnings and treat them as darkness become more resistant to further light. He is thus an example of the danger of repeatedly resisting the Holy Spirit despite receiving light and conviction, since rejecting that light hardens the heart and brings grave peril.
The description of his hardened refusal also applies to church members who have become spiritually hardened, who have eyes but do not see and ears but do not hear despite great spiritual advantages and solemn truth. Like Pharaoh they resist what has been given them, and their failure to live the truth leaves them unable to recognize or respond to the needs of others. The same stubbornness in refusing to be admonished by the judgments of heaven is seen in continuing in a wrong course without close heart-searching and humbling before God despite the lessons taught by the burning of the Sanitarium and the Review and Herald Office. God bears long with the perversity of men and sends decided reproofs and clear light, but if warnings are not received and men persist in following their own will and impulses and in determination to be like the world, He will send His judgments and will not pardon. Unless there is repentance He will surely repeat His judgments, as He repeated them to the king of Egypt.