Exodus 9:17
Many of you have had the experience of visiting an aquarium or terrarium. In the aquarium tank, you may have seen divers go in to feed the fish. Terrariums include plants and animals. Many times, the aquariums or terrariums will have many windows through which you can view the exhibit. Each new window gives you a little different perspective on what’s inside. And so it is with Exodus chapters 7-11. Each episode gives us a little different perspective on the hardness of the human heart.
Exalting Yourself
In the midst of terrifying plagues in Egypt, the Lord told Pharaoh what his real problem was: “You are exalting yourself” (Exodus 9:117).
The Lord spoke truth to one of the most powerful human beings on earth: “You are exalting yourself.” In this message, we will use this phrase as an interpretive key to understand the response of Pharaoh. The king of Egypt will show us his controlling ways. Today we might call him “a control freak.” But studying the ways of the king will show us a great deal about our own controlling ways.
Hardness of Heart
We come to this message after a recent message on the rise and fall of Judas Iscariot and a message on the strong warning in Psalm 95. That warning, emphatically repeated in Hebrews 3 and 4 is this: “Today if you will hear his voice, harden not your heart…” With these passages in mind, we come to this brief study of the hardness of heart displayed by Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Here you learn to turn from the danger of exalting yourself.
In Exodus 4:21, the Lord had predicted that Moses would do miraculous wonders in Egypt. But He also predicted that the Lord would harden Pharaoh’s heart.
This immediately raises a question for us. Why would the Lord harden Pharaoh’s heart? It helps us to recognize that “[Pharaoh] hardened his heart” as well (Exodus 8:15). How are we to reconcile these verses? In his commentary on Exodus, R. Alan Cole wrote about the phrase “I will harden his heart” in Exodus 4:21.
“This sometimes appears to us as a moral problem, but unfairly, because the Bible uses, side by side, three different ways of describing the same situation, with no sense of internal contradiction. Three different Hebrew verbs are used, but there is no essential difference in their meaning. Sometimes it is said that God hardens pharaoh’s heart, as here. Sometimes pharaoh is said to harden his own heart, as in Exodus 8:15. Sometimes the position is described neutrally, by saying that pharaoh’s heart was hardened, as in Exodus 7:13. Even to the Western scholar, it is a problem of theological interpretation, not one of history and fact. No-one doubts that pharaoh was stubborn, that he had an iron will and purpose, that he found it impossible to change his pattern of thought and adjust to new ideas. These and more are all implied in the biblical ‘hard-hearted’, which does not refer to emotion, as in English, but to mind, will, intelligence and response.”[i]
We have seen this tragic response throughout history. On his deathbed, the pagan French philosopher, Voltaire, was asked to renounce the devil. He responded, “This is no time for making enemies!”[ii] He went into eternity, confirmed in his hardness of heart.
How could every one of us know whether we are hardening our hearts? Stubborn Pharaoh exalted himself. Do we do this? Our self-deceptive hearts tell us “no,” but the searchlight of God’s Word may show us that the answer is “yes.” If you are glorifying yourself with your imagination and fantasies, would you want to know it? God’s Word helps us to escape from the self-deception described in passages such as Mark 4:19, Ephesians 4:22, and James 1:22. You could learn to turn from the dangers of exalting yourself.
The First Window: “And He hardened Pharaoh’s heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said” (Exodus 7:13). Pharaoh would not listen to God’s messenger.
In Exodus 6:29, the Lord commanded Moses to tell Pharaoh exactly what the Lord told him. This is an important reminder for every one of God’s messengers. In 1 Peter 4:11, the apostle reminded all who preach or teach to speak “as the oracles of God.” Saying what God says, accurately representing Him, is important – especially when we speak to people who are hardening their hearts. Pharaoh was exalting himself (Exodus 9:17). What can we observe in this first window on the human heart?
1. You exalt yourself when you will not earnestly listen to the Lord’s commands and obey Him.
The Second and Third Windows, 7:11, 7:22-23: The Lord had told Moses and Aaron that Pharaoh would demand to see a miracle. So the Lord gave them the ability to transform their rods into serpents. Pharaoh had seen something similar, so he instructed his wise men to imitate the miracle, which they did. But then Aaron’s rod/serpent swallowed up all the rods of Pharaoh’s magicians! (Exodus 7:8-12). And God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. What can we learn from the way Pharaoh used his magicians?
The next morning, Moses obeyed God’s command to meet Pharaoh at the river and bring about a plague. Aaron touched the waters of the Nile, the lifeblood of Egypt, with his rod. When he did, the waters turned to blood and the fish died. And no one could drink of that water. But according to Exodus 7:14-22, Pharaoh had his magicians do something similar, and then “Pharaoh’s heart was hardened.”
Listen to the description in Exodus 7:23, “And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither did he set his heart to this also.” Exalting himself, he would not set his heart to see God’s wonders and embrace God’s message. His indifference displayed his hardness of heart. Are you indifferent to God’s message? Or will you earnestly set your heart to it?
2. You exalt yourself when you use your “powers” and “gods” to resist the Lord.
3. You exalt yourself with indifference toward the Lord’s commands.
Imaginative fantasies lead to faithless indifference. Pharaoh used his magicians to help him exalt himself with vain imaginations. Today, many people use games, media and movies to do the same thing. Do your fantasies lead you to resist the Lord with hard-hearted indifference? What entertains you to ignore the shame of sinful behavior? According to Exodus 9:17, this is all part of exalting yourself. Where are you exalting yourself rather than glorifying the one true God? You could learn to turn from these dangers.
The Fourth and Fifth Windows: In Exodus 8:1-15 we find the description of the plague of frogs. The Lord told Moses to command Aaron to raise his rod over the streams, rivers, and ponds. And when he did so, the frogs came out all over the land of Egypt. True to form, Pharaoh commanded his magicians to do something similar, and they did.
But apparently the irritating frogs became intolerable to Pharaoh. So – and this is remarkable – Pharaoh asked Moses and Aaron to pray for him, to plead with the Lord to take away the frogs from him and his people. This king of Egypt even added a bargaining chip: “…and I will let the people go” to make sacrifices to the Lord.
To help Pharaoh understand that what would happen next would be a direct answer to prayer, Moses granted a privilege to Pharaoh. He gave Pharaoh the privilege of saying exactly when Moses should pray to end the plague of frogs.
This episode enlightens us about the hardness of the human heart. Pharaoh didn’t listen (again) and he tried to use his powers (again). But this time, he made a prayer request! Could someone be so deceived that he would request prayer while exalting himself? We shall see.
Pharaoh was under so much pressure that he told God’s messengers he would obey (IF his wish were granted). The other remarkable aspect of this has caught the attention of many preachers and teachers over the years. Let’s put it this way: If you were granted the privilege to say when a nasty plague would end, what would your answer be? Wouldn’t you say, “Immediately!” or “Right this moment!” But hard-hearted Pharaoh, the “control freak” said, “Tomorrow!”
Years ago, Pastor Hugh Pyle preached a message on this text, entitled, “One More Night with the Frogs!” But catch this. We often say, “You can choose your sin, but you can’t choose the consequences.” That’s true. But on this occasion, when hard-hearted Pharaoh was allowed to choose something about the consequences (the timing), he still got it wrong! He exalted himself and this twisted his ability to use discernment and make good judgments (just as we see in Romans 1).
Remember what you told the Lord when you went through that last trial? Remember how you made commitments to the Lord and told Him how you would draw close to Him if we would just grant you relief? Look at what Pharaoh did. “But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite [relief] , he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.” (Exodus 8:15).
4. You may be exalting yourself when you ask for prayer and indicate that you will respect the Lord.
5. You exalt yourself when you use times of relief to take control.
We really need to pause to ask how we should apply what we are learning. In Romans 1:16-17, the Apostle Paul wrote, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’”
The Gospel – that Christ died for the sins of mankind, and that he was buried and rose again 3 days later – is the central event in the Good News of Jesus Christ. When you embrace this finished work of Christ by believing the promises associated with it, Romans 10:9 assures you that “you shall be saved!”
But Romans 1:18 teaches that men suppress the truth in unrighteousness (just as Pharaoh did) and this brings God’s wrath upon them. Perhaps the apostle thought of Pharaoh when he wrote, “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened” (Romans 1:21). Have you stopped exalting yourself and embraced Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?
The Sixth Window: In Exodus 8:16-18, God allowed Moses and Aaron to use the rod to turn dust into lice. This time even the magicians had to admit that they could not imitate this miracle. They plainly told Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God!” (Exodus 8:19). But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened and he would not listen. How many times have you seen God’s hand protect you or provide for your family in a way that you knew it had to be the Lord? And have you turned from your hardness of heart to listen to Him and learn from Him as a result? To do otherwise is merely to keep exalting yourself; learn to turn from this dangerous habit of heart.
6. You exalt yourself when you recognize God’s Hand at work and refuse to obey Him.
The Seventh Window: Before the swarm of flies described in Exodus 8:20-32, Moses gave Pharaoh the Lord’s instructions, “Let my people go that they may serve me.” In Exodus 8:25, Pharaoh told Moses, “Go sacrifice in the land.” In other words, Pharaoh agreed, but with conditions (the Israelites had to stay in the land). Moses quickly pointed out that if they did so, the Egyptians would stone them. Moses insisted that they be able to go 3 days journey away. Pharaoh countered in Exodus 8:28 by agreeing that they could go into the wilderness, but not “very far away.” Pharaoh also asked Moses to pray for him! Moses agreed to pray but cautioned, “but let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD” (Exodus 8:29).
Moses prayed and the Lord removed every single one of the flies. What did Pharaoh do? “And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go” (Exodus 8:32). Pharaoh was playing games with God. He wanted Moses to pray for him, but he really didn’t want to obey God. Are you playing games with God? Do you try to negotiate a conditional obedience so that the Lord will leave you alone? Do you ask for prayer that will enable you to bow before your Royal Redeemer, or do you just want relief?
7. You exalt yourself when you set conditions on obedience to the Lord.
The Eighth Window: According to Exodus 9, Pharaoh hardened his heart when all the cattle of the Egyptians died. In the next plague, boils broke out on all the Egyptians including the magicians, but Pharaoh’s heart was hard, and he would not listen. According to Exodus 9:14, the Lord did all this as a message to Pharaoh: “that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth.” Yet Pharaoh continued to exalt himself (Exodus 9:17) and hardened his heart.
God sent the plague of pestilence. In the plague of hail, accompanied by lightning and terrific thunder, every tree and plant in Egypt was broken down. But in the land of Goshen where the Israelites dwelled, none of these plagues touched them. And here is one of the most remarkable statements from Pharaoh recorded in Scripture: “And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, ‘I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked’” (Exodus 9:27). Finally! Pharaoh admitted that he sinned. Surely this is the turning point in the story, right? No. Read it carefully. “This time,” he said. “This time, I have sinned.” He agreed that the Lord is righteous and that Pharaoh and his people were wicked. But Moses knew that they did not really fear God (Exodus 9:30). And sure enough, “he sinned yet more and hardened his heart, he and his servants” (Exodus 9:34).
So if you confess your sin and declare that the Lord is righteous, does this mean that you genuinely repent? No, like Judas who confessed that he had betrayed the innocent blood, Pharaoh never truly repented in the fear of God. He just kept playing games with God. You must learn to turn from this dangerous practice.
8. You exalt yourself when you make confessions and give testimonies without genuine repentance.
The Ninth Window: According to Exodus 10:7, Pharaoh’s servants confronted him with the question, “Don’t you know that Egypt is destroyed?!” They appealed to him to let God’s people go. Pharaoh agreed, but only permitted that the men could go (not the women and children) (Exodus 10:10-11). In the face of devastating consequences, Pharaoh kept playing games with God, and refused to obey completely.
9. You exalt yourself when you refuse to obey the Lord, even if it means more danger and destruction.
The Tenth Window: In Exodus 10:17-20, in the plague of locusts, Pharaoh repeated his confessions of sin and begged God’s messenger to pray for him. But his heart was hard, and he would not let the people of Israel go.
10. You exalt yourself with partial confessions if you will not do what the Lord says to do.
I don’t know about you, but I find this tour of the hard, human heart to be terrifying. How many times have I made excuses? How many times have I offered up confessions of sin only to return to the sin like a dog returns to his vomit (Proverbs 26:11, 2 Peter 2:22)? Every one of us needs to examine himself to determine whether we are in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5). In closing, please turn with me to Proverbs chapter 1.
May God be pleased that every one of us would turn at God’s reproof in order that He may pour out His blessed Spirit of peace and reconciliation upon us (Proverbs 1:23). For those who do not do so, there will come a day when it will be eternally too late (Proverbs 1:24-32). Learn to turn from this danger.
Pastor Gordon Dickson, Calvary Baptist Church, Findlay, Ohio www.cbcfindlay.org
[i] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 83–84.
[ii] Last Words. Oxford Reference, accessed at https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780191826719.001.0001/q-oro-ed4-00006530