August 2: WHOSE FAULT IS IT?

But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go. Exodus 10:20

This verse has baffled countless Bible readers. The idea is stated multiple times (see also 10:27; 11:10). God even told Moses ahead of time that He will harden Pharaoh’s heart (4:21; 7:3). On the surface, it seems entirely unfair that something the LORD does would cause someone to take a stand against Him. Why would He do that? There are three elements at play here, all three of which must be considered to draw a fair conclusion about the character of God.

 ·        The first element is God’s gracious gift of free choice. No one is ever forced to obey Him.

·         The second element is the nearness of God. We are taught that His Holy Spirit works to convict of sin (John 16:8).  

·         The third one – and this is the deciding factor – is the individual’s personal response to the nearness of God’s Spirit.

The Lord looks upon the heart (1 Samuel 16:7) and can see everything that is there. From His perspective, the most fatal human characteristic is pride. This is the result of Satan’s insidious work to mar the image of God in us and render us in his own prideful image. When the Lord comes near, the supernatural convicting power of sin brings about one of two results:

·         a humble, voluntary surrender of one’s will to God’s (a softening of the heart)

·         or a determination to hold tightly to one’s own will instead (a hardening of the heart).

So it was, that whenever God came near, the convicting power of His nearness had the effect of hardening Pharaoh’s heart; the pride in his heart welled up in defiance. Was that God’s fault?

It was by a magnificent display of God’s power that He rescued the children of Israel from the hand of Pharaoh. But, incredibly, over the following decades, they hardened their hearts against their Rescuer. Instead of allowing Him to restore His image in them, they became like the one from whom they had been rescued. And God declared, “For forty years I was grieved with that generation, And said, ‘It is a people who go astray in their hearts. And they do not know My ways.’ So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’” (Psalm 95:10-11).

Beloved, we are just as ‘incredible’ as the children rescued from wicked Pharaoh who hardened their own hearts against the Lord. As we walk through the debris of this fallen world, our spiritual enemy is working to draw us off of the narrow path (Matthew 7:13). But the God that we serve is infinitely greater. Do you have an affliction? You may be the only one in a crowd who recognizes the greatness of God!

Then [Jesus] said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.” Mark 3:5