Exodus 7:4
But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine armies, and my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine armies, and my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments.
Pharaoh would not listen to Moses and Aaron and their demand and signs, so God would lay his hand upon Egypt in great judgments and by them bring out his hosts, the children of Israel, from bondage in Egypt by mighty power. The judgments would fall plague after plague, growing more severe as each warning was resisted. They would humble Pharaoh's proud heart until he acknowledged the Creator as the living and supreme Ruler above all other gods. Through them God displayed his power over Egypt's gods and the wisdom of its leaders, exposing their weakness and punishing idolatry through the very things worshiped. The deliverance also gave Israel a clearer view of God and made them willing to leave idolatry and serve him, and it stands to lead God's people in every age to magnify his power while warning against stubborn refusal to heed his reproofs lest his judgments be repeated without pardon.
Refusal and Great Deliverance
Pharaoh would not listen to or heed Moses and Aaron, refusing their demand and message and the evidence of their signs. His refusal to receive God's signs would bring God's answer in judgments against Egypt. God would lay his hand upon Egypt with great judgments, plague after plague following each resisted warning and punishment. Each punishment resisted would be followed by one more severe, growing repeatedly more severe until pride was humbled.
Through those judgments God would bring forth his armies, meaning the children of Israel as his people and hosts. He would bring them out of long servitude and bondage and slavery in the land of Egypt, where they lived in the region around Goshen. The deliverance would be by his power and almighty power and by mighty signs and wonders displaying his power in their behalf.
The refusal delayed deliverance at first, and God overruled the delay to expose Pharaoh's tyrannical spirit and to display his power before Egyptians and Israelites. The delay was also overruled to make the Israelites more eager to leave Egypt and serve God. This was needed because many Hebrews had become corrupt through idolatry and were reluctant to leave, which made Moses' task harder.
Pharaoh's continued resistance was the harvest of his own obstinacy, the fruit of seed he chose to sow growing and producing its own kind. God did not force him to obey nor create a new power of resistance in him. When pressure from the signs made him yield he returned to unbelief after the pressure lifted, and rejecting light and the evidence of the first miracle led to greater hardness. That hardening continued through repeated rejection until Egypt's firstborn died and Pharaoh pursued Israel and perished with his army in the Red Sea.
Purpose and Lasting Warning
The great judgments were sent to humble Pharaoh's proud heart until he acknowledged the Creator as the living and all-powerful God and Maker and supreme Ruler, above the gods of Egypt. Punishment followed refusal, and each rejected warning was met with a more severe punishment, until pride was broken and the true and living God was confessed. Through that deliverance of Israel out of long servitude and bondage by a powerful display, God showed that He rules as supreme Ruler and displayed His power throughout Egypt.
By those judgments God displayed His power above Egypt's gods and above the wisdom of its leaders, exposing the weakness of those gods and punishing Egyptian idolatry. The Egyptians were struck through the very things they worshiped, and Egypt was brought to desolation as nature cooperated with God against stubborn resistance and defiance of its Maker. In this way He made His power known among other nations.
Each judgment was allowed time to work so that the Egyptians had opportunity to repent, and those willing to submit to God could escape them. Pharaoh's very stubbornness helped spread the knowledge of God, so that many Egyptians came to serve Him.
The signs and judgments were also for Israel's benefit, giving the people a clearer view of God and teaching them to fear Him. They made clear that Israel was God's people whom He remembered and protected despite past idolatry. They helped make the people willing to leave Egypt and serve God, to turn from idolatry to pure worship, since many Hebrews had become corrupt through idolatry and were reluctant to leave, and the delay in deliverance exposed Pharaoh's tyrannical spirit while making Israel more eager to depart.
Israel's deliverance was meant to lead God's people in every age to magnify His power and look to Him. Pharaoh's course stands as a warning against stubborn refusal to be admonished by the judgments of heaven, to search the heart closely, and to humble before God. God bears long with the perversity of men by sending decided reproofs and clear light, but those who will not receive His warnings and persist in following their own will and impulses in determination to be like the people of the world will have His judgments repeated upon them as they were repeated upon the king of Egypt, and He will not pardon their persistence. Disregarding the lessons taught by destructive judgments such as the burning of the Sanitarium and the Review and Herald Office reveals this same stubbornness, and unless there is repentance the judgments will surely be repeated.