Though I finished reading Exodus a week and a half ago, it took me a while to complete some thoughts on it.

While many things are interesting about this book, one line stood out to me. (To clarify, I am using the NIV translation).

            “Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharoah, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these miraculous signs of mine among them” Exodus 10:1

Now to catch everyone up on what’s going on here, the LORD wants Pharoah to let the Israelites out of Egypt so they can worship Him in the desert. (You know *sung in dramatic baritone* “Let my people go”) The Pharoah isn’t keen on letting his laborers loose, even if it is God Himself making the request.

So God starts sending the plagues upon Egypt, sparing no one except the Israelites. Water turns to blood, frog storms, devastating hail, complete darkness, dead livestock, the firstborns of each household dying … it’s pretty ruthless stuff.

And after each act, the Pharoah becomes frightened and asks Moses to ask the LORD to make whatever plague is upon Egypt to be removed. In exchange he agrees to let the Israelites go worship.

But then as soon as the plague is removed, Pharoah’s “heart hardens” and he reneges on the deal, forcing a new and worse plague upon his people each time he refuses to let the Israelites go.

And this is where the quote above enters. Knowing that God is just, one can’t help but get caught on this line, which implies that the Pharoah is not choosing to disobey God, but that God is forcing him to disobey so he can use him as an example for all. Which is unsettling to say the least.

A few Google searches left me unsatisfied, so I turned to my pastor-in-training friend, Ben, who is attending Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. (Not to embarrass him, but he’s excellent at explaining things like this—he might appear again as a resource in future entries).

First off, many of the other lines attribute the hardening of the Pharoah’s heart to the Pharoah himself. Immediately before Exodus 10:1, we have:

            “When Pharoah saw that the rain and hail and thunder had stopped, he sinned again: He and his officials hardened their hearts.” Exodus 9:34

So which is it? Did Pharoah harden his heart by his own will, or was it God?

Well, a bit of both, Ben says. He gave this excellent quote from C.S. Lewis to help clarify:

“There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, ‘All right, then, have it your way.’”

The Pharoah’s “way,” in this case, is not to let the Israelites go worship. Pharoah’s heart is hard to the will of God from the beginning. The plagues upon his people did not “soften” his heart—rather it put the fear of God in him. Once God lifted the plague, he lifted the fear from Pharoah’s heart, thus “hardening” it to the will of God once again. Never does the Pharoah want the Israelites to go and submit to the will of God; he just wants the plagues to stop.

So God, knowing Pharoah won’t submit, uses Pharaoh to demonstrate all He can do. Many aren’t even completely impressed by the first several plagues because local sorcerers are able to replicate them. But the more Pharoah rejects God, the more God is able to prove He has a power that no one on Earth is able to match.

So rather than forcing Pharoah to be evil, God is using Pharoah’s insubordination for good to reveal His powers to all so they could know He was more worthy of praise than all the sorcerers and idols who had been taking the spotlight.

Kudos to Ben for the help on this one.