Mensa Otabil - Pharaoh Hardens His Heart
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Exodus chapter 8, verses 14 and 15: They gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not heed them, as the Lord had said. The Egyptians went out to gather all the dead frogs, and the passage says they gathered them together in heaps. There were mountains of dead frogs, and that shows the vastness, the sheer number of frogs that had afflicted and plagued the land. These frogs were dead; there was no place to dispose of them. They couldn’t take them to landfills; they just left them in the city in heaps. Because they were in these heaps, there was decomposition, and so the land stunk. It was a foul odor, but for the people of Egypt, the bad odor could not compare to the living frogs that had plagued them.
So they felt a sigh of relief; everyone felt, «Ah, finally, the frogs are gone.» They smelled bad, but they were not coming into our bedrooms and harassing our lives. Pharaoh saw the danger had passed; the frogs were dead, and he hardened his heart. God did not harden his heart; the Lord had only said this is what the guy would do, and he did it. He hardened his heart. That means the first time he told Moses, «Go and pray, and if God takes the frogs away, I will let the people go,» he didn’t mean it one bit.
Now remember when Pharaoh first met Moses; he wasn’t sure who Moses was. Now he’s sure that Moses is truly a servant of God. Moses has shown his credentials; Moses has faced his magicians and defeated them. Now he knows that the God of the Hebrews is the great one and that He has sent Moses. So he has something to ponder over. At first, he could say, «I will not let the people go because I don’t know what I’m dealing with.» Now he knows what he’s dealing with, so this is willful disobedience. The Lord knew this ahead of time and had warned Moses: «This guy is a tough customer; he’s not going to let the people go. Don’t get discouraged when he gets hard-hearted because it’s a long journey.» And so Moses was ready for it.
This character of Moses is something we can ponder over. How often do we cry to God for deliverance from some terrible situation? We make promises to God; we say, «God, if you do this for me, I will do that for you. If you do this for me, I will give so much for you. I’ll give my time to you.» And then God brings the relief, and like Pharaoh, our hearts go back to their original state; we become hard-hearted. We don’t need to look far; Pharaoh may be the worst example for us, but sometimes we need to look into our own lives, into our own hearts, and wonder, «Is there a Pharaoh in us?» Is there a Pharaoh living inside of us? Are there moments when we see relief from God, and we don’t care about any promise we made to God at all?
You know, there are people who, when they have no money, will serve the Lord. They pray, «God, if you make me rich, if you give me money, I will serve you for the rest of my life. I will give to your house; I will give to your work. Oh Lord, I need a wife; if you bless me, I will do this for you. Lord, I need a child; if you bless me, I’ll do this for you. I need a husband.» There are many times we make all these promises to God that I guess God sits in heaven and laughs because he’s encountered people like Pharaoh, and he knows the Pharaoh tendency is in all of us. May the Lord help us to get rid of this Pharaoh tendency so that when God truly comes through for us, we will honor our vows to Him.
Let us pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, help me to keep my promises to you. Grant me the grace to honor my vows. In Jesus' name, Amen and Amen.»