The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Exodus 4:21,
"When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go."
Now here is a seemingly odd thing. The Lord provides Moses the ability to be persuasive with Pharaoh, through the miraculous, to give the Israelites their freedom and let them leave Egypt. Most of us are familiar with the accounts of Moses' staff and the supernatural plagues the Lord brought upon Egypt.
The Lord wanted Moses to be his spokesperson to Pharaoh to bring about the Jews exodus from Egypt. However, the Lord is going to "harden" Pharaoh's heart such that he won't let them go. It sounds as if the Lord is working against his own agenda!
What many of us have come to learn is that the Lord will often accomplish several, possibly many, of his purposes in a single act. In the account of Israel defeating Jericho to take possession of it (as part of the land the Lord had promised them), following their forty years of wandering in the wilderness, they were told by Rahab, the woman who hid Israel's spies, "I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below." Joshua 2:9-11.
While Pharaoh's hardened heart and refusal to allow Israel to leave Egypt, even after the many plagues, is not specifically cited by Rahab in the Joshua passage, the overwhelmingly sensational nature of the account of the plagues and refusal by Pharaoh to let the Jews go certainly provided the whole of the account "legs", such that the acts of the Lord surrounding the exodus from Egypt insured an astonishing account that would reach far geographically (and specifically to the current residents of the promised land), as well as persist, even beyond the Jews forty years of wandering. This helped prepare the stage for Israel's conquest of the peoples inhabiting Palestine.
Paul provides an observation of this in Romans 9:17, "For Scripture says to Pharaoh: 'I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.'" I am always fascinated when I read how the Lord accomplishes many things at once. Through Moses' interaction with Pharaoh, Israel would be freed, and in the same instance, preparation was made for the destruction of the peoples of Palestine as their "hearts melted in fear and everyone's courage failed..."
"When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go."
Now here is a seemingly odd thing. The Lord provides Moses the ability to be persuasive with Pharaoh, through the miraculous, to give the Israelites their freedom and let them leave Egypt. Most of us are familiar with the accounts of Moses' staff and the supernatural plagues the Lord brought upon Egypt.
The Lord wanted Moses to be his spokesperson to Pharaoh to bring about the Jews exodus from Egypt. However, the Lord is going to "harden" Pharaoh's heart such that he won't let them go. It sounds as if the Lord is working against his own agenda!
What many of us have come to learn is that the Lord will often accomplish several, possibly many, of his purposes in a single act. In the account of Israel defeating Jericho to take possession of it (as part of the land the Lord had promised them), following their forty years of wandering in the wilderness, they were told by Rahab, the woman who hid Israel's spies, "I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below." Joshua 2:9-11.
While Pharaoh's hardened heart and refusal to allow Israel to leave Egypt, even after the many plagues, is not specifically cited by Rahab in the Joshua passage, the overwhelmingly sensational nature of the account of the plagues and refusal by Pharaoh to let the Jews go certainly provided the whole of the account "legs", such that the acts of the Lord surrounding the exodus from Egypt insured an astonishing account that would reach far geographically (and specifically to the current residents of the promised land), as well as persist, even beyond the Jews forty years of wandering. This helped prepare the stage for Israel's conquest of the peoples inhabiting Palestine.
Paul provides an observation of this in Romans 9:17, "For Scripture says to Pharaoh: 'I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.'" I am always fascinated when I read how the Lord accomplishes many things at once. Through Moses' interaction with Pharaoh, Israel would be freed, and in the same instance, preparation was made for the destruction of the peoples of Palestine as their "hearts melted in fear and everyone's courage failed..."
What must have Moses initially thought when the Lord told Moses to demand Pharaoh let the Jews go, and yet inform Moses that he would harden Pharaoh's heart such that he wouldn't let them go? Did Moses know of the Lord's intention that the account of the plagues and subsequent miracles spread, that it would bring about further purposes of the Lord?
Might the Lord be doing some things today that we struggle in understanding, yet bring about further purposes of the Lord we are yet unaware of?
Certainly something to think about!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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