Divine Deliverance

Hardening Pharaoh’s Heart

And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go. And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn. Exodus:4.21-23

And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision. And the LORD said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mount of God, and kissed him. And Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD who had sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded him. And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel: And Aaron spake all the words which the LORD had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people. And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped. Exodus:4.24-31

The Pharaoh taskmaster was a hard man bent on breaking the Spirit of men through slavery, especially God’s Children. Four hundred years of bondage clearly was costing God His beloved offspring. If this was not stopped, God threatened to end the life of Pharaoh’s son as a demonstration of eye-for-eye justice. But why would God harden the Pharaoh’s heart so that he would not let God’s people go? It appears that God intended to exact another measure of eye-for-eye justice for the many, many offenses to His people. God was going to repay IN KIND by multiple mighty “reflective punishments” to Egypt and the Pharaoh. Later rulers of later earthly empires were thereby left a clear warning not to harm the harmless Lambs of God as they obediently filled the Earth with the Spirit of God. Abusers would get worse than they gave, validating Jesus later admonition:

For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged:

and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. Matthew:7.2

The circumcision episode is a bit puzzling. It would appear that God required Moses, under threat of death, to see that the son to Zipporah was circumcised in the manner of Jewry. Moses was being called to deliver ALL God’s sons held by the Pharaoh. It would be a remarkable and unacceptable omission if Moses’ physical family son was not brought into the God-fold by the standing covenant of circumcision. The later brotherly, reconciling kiss from Aaron hints that familyhood in the Lord is always precious, no son or brother left out.

#Deliverance #Moses