Exodus 8-9; Matthew 19:13-30; Psalms 24:1-10; Proverbs 6:1-5

“So Pharoah’s heart was hard and he would not let the Israelites go, just as the Lord had said through Moses.” (Exodus 9:33 NIV)

Exodus 8-9 focuses on the continued plagues brought on by God against the Egyptians as punishment for Pharoah not allowing the Israelities to leave. I highlighted the above verse, because this is something that has stood out to me the past few days of reading Exodus. In a previous chapter, the Lord essentially says to Moses, “Hey, I’m going to send all these plagues, but I’ve caused Pharoah to have a hard heart, so none of them are going to work. He is only going to let you go once I have killed all the firstborn sons in Egypt.” Yikes.

I’ve read these chapters through a hundred times before, but this is the first time I remember being drawn in and questioning that phrase – Pharoah’s heart was hardened. I found myself asking the Lord why the Bible says that He hardened Pharoah’s heart. I know that the Israelites were God’s chosen people, and that the Egyptians were worshipping all kinds of God’s and images, but I felt like the Lord would want to show a profound change in one of the most powerful figureheads of Biblical times.

And I admit, this is where my Biblical knowledge fails me. I do fear that I ask questions that any scholar would shake their head and say, “We’ll, if you’d read THIS commentary…” or “you really should do a little bit of research into a topic before writing about it.” But I remind myself that that’s not what I am called to do here. I feel called to read the One Year Plan and write about what the Lord lays on my heart. It’s okay to know that I have no idea what I’m talking about sometimes, but I’m open to the Lord’s leading and instruction. And I’m always up for a good commentary!

Back to Pharoah, I was questioning why the Lord would harden His heart when it occurred to me: would this story have the same power if he had let them go at the first plague? Would Pharoah have been a considered a mighty and powerful leader if he didn’t want to get his way in everything? I don’t think we would be retelling this story and it be a foundation of the faith if it had gone any other way. There is such significance in the passover and religious symbolism in the “blood of the lamp.” That is getting ahead of ourselves in Exodus, but could you imagine the differences in religious and cultural significance had the events of Exodus transpired any other way? The Lord knows how things will work out and has a plan for the future. He knew that these events would be a significant moment in the Jewish, and even Christian, faith. So Pharoah’s heart was hardened, and it took many acts of God for him to let the people of Israel go.

I wonder if the Lord is doing something similar in our own lives. How many times do we feel the Lord making us a promise, and then over and over again we seemingly “fail” and are back to square one? At what point do we give up, telling ourselves that we heard the Lord incorrectly and that He didn’t in fact give us the promise that we felt in our heart. Was it actually just the Lord’s timing at play? Is the Lord building up our testimony and showing us that is wasn’t by our power, but by His planning and might that His promise came to fruition?

Tonight I’m feeling convicted to keep going, keep trying, and keep having faith in the things the Lord has laid on my heart to pursue. I may fail 9 times, but is the 10th the time the Lord has laid out for success? I won’t know unless I stay faithful. There will be moments we want to give up, but what do we feel the Lord speaking to our heart when we’re at the end of our rope? Does he whisper, “Just one more go.” Let’s commit to listening to His “still small voice” in the desires and promises of our heart and trust the Lord to bring us success in His timing.