CRITICAL NOTES.—
Exodus 7:3. I will harden Pharaoh’s heart.]—Elsewhere also is the act of hardening Pharaoh’s heart attributed to Jehovah, as in Exodus 4:21; Exodus 9:12; Exodus 10:1; Exodus 10:23; Exodus 10:27; Exodus 11:1; Exodus 19:4; Exodus 19:8; so that although Pharaoh is in several places said to have hardened his own heart—e.g., in Exodus 8:15; Exodus 8:32; Exodus 9:34; yet we cannot well deny the existence of a difficulty. The ground of the difficulty consists in the glorious truth of the absolute holiness of God, in virtue of which he so exclusively loves what is right and good, and so sincerely and intensely hates all evil, that he separates himself from sin, wholly, everywhere, always; frowns upon it, forbids it, denounces it; is not the author of it, and never can be. His highest praise, with those who are nearest to Him and know Him best, is that He is holy—thrice holy. Hence the difficulty created by any statement, coming to us as authoritative, which seems to attribute the causation of sin to HIM. Our best way out of the difficulty, as it presents itself in this account of Pharaoh, may be said to depend upon the settlement of a single question—Was the hardening process essentially sinful on Pharaoh’s part? If not, Jehovah may have positively and directly caused it; if it was, then only in an accommodated, and, in fact, a figurative, sense, can Jehovah have effected it. 1) We can conceive of a hardening of heart which involves no sin in its subject—as when a surgeon hardens his heart against such an influx of feeling as would unfit him for his stern but righteous and even benevolent duties. Was the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart of this nature! Did it consist solely in such an accession of firmness, of courage, as—without being in itself bad—allowed him to act out to the full the badness that was otherwise in him, such as his despotic cruelty, his self glorification, etc.? If we could thus conclude, the difficulty would be at an end. We could then say: The badness was Pharaoh’s own; but the courage to act it out—a quality morally indifferent—was directly given him by God for ends high and holy, which he would secure through means of the fully developed wickedness of this wicked king. Something may be said in favour of this solution. a.) As truly as life is from God, so truly are health, strength, courage from him. b.) Many evil purposes fail of accomplishment solely through failure of life, of health, of physical courage to go through with them. A man may in heart be a murderer, and yet simply because he turns coward he may not take away life. Had Pharaoh thus failed, Israel would have more easily escaped, and the power of God been less signally displayed. But God was not minded that the king should so fail, and, therefore, gave him courage to work out all the evil that was in him. c.) The Hebrew terms employed to express the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart denote, primarily, physical qualities: as chá-zaq, “hold fast,” “be firm,” (“strong,” 2 Samuel 10:11, “strengthened,” Judges 3:12, “be of good courage,” 2 Samuel 10:12); kâ-bhêdh, “heavy,” (1 Samuel 4:18; 1 Samuel 5:11; Exodus 17:12; “slow,” Exodus 4:10); qá-shah, “dry, hard, harsh,” (“roughly,” Genesis 44:7; Genesis 44:30, “sorrowful,” 1 Samuel 1:15). These considerations appear to us to have so much weight that they ought in no case to be overlooked, even although they may need to be supplemented. Nevertheless, we are free to confess an absence of entire confidence in them. Were “firmness” of heart, in the sense of “courage” all, no more might require to be said; but it would be rather venturous to affirm that, in biblical style, either “heaviness” or “harshness” of HEART can be taken as free from moral evil. Hence it may be well to ask
(2.) Whether the divine causation may not to some extent have been indirect and figurative—amounting to permission and occasion, rather than positive cause? And, in point of fact, this cannot be denied. The respite which Jehovah gave to the Egyptian king became an OCCASION of the further hardening of the heart of the latter. (See ch. Exodus 8:15; Exodus 9:34). Here we get a glimpse into the divine procedure much fitted to satisfy. Having struck a blow, Jehovah pauses, he does so again and again. Is this unworthy of him? Yet Pharaoh makes these divine pauses an occasion of deeper sin. We cannot blame God for this; and yet had blow followed blow in quicker succession Pharaoh might have sooner yielded. Just here then Jehovah shews His holy freedom. He does as it pleases Him; never pleasing to do wrong, yet pleasing, for reasons which as yet we may not always comprehend, to permit the human wrong that He may overrule it for His own glory and His people’s weal. We conclude then that only thus did God harden Pharaoh’s heart: He gave him the physical courage to do his worst; and He gave him—not the disposition but—the permission, the opportunity, the occasion, in the process of reaching his worst, to turn good into evil, and add sin to sin. This Is what God DID; this In clear foresight of how Pharaoh would act, is what God MEANT TO DO; this is what God, for Moses’ guidance FORETOLD a His intention.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Exodus 7:3-7
MORAL OBSTINACY; OR, PHARAOH THE TYPE OF AN IMPENITENT SINNER
I. That the impenitent, like Pharaoh, reject the Divine command. Moses and Aaron had made known to the Egyptian king the will and command of God in reference to the freedom of Israel. But he refused to comply with that command. In this respect he is a type of the impenitent sinner. God has revealed his will to men in His book. He has commanded men everywhere to repent, and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. This the sinner refuses to do. He continues in sin. Heeds not the law of God.
1. Pharaoh rejected the Divine command with contempt. He inquired, “Who is the Lord that I should obey Him?” So many impenitent sinners contemptuously reject the Divine claim to their life and service. They intimate that they have no wish to enter upon the gloom of a religious life. They declare themselves happier amid the sport and passion of the world. They are in good social position, and do not wish to think of anything beyond the present. They treat the messengers of God who come to teach them better, with scorn, and reject all their offers of salvation. How often have we treated the spirit of God with contempt.
2. Pharaoh rejected the Divine command in a spirit of proud self-sufficiency. He thought of himself as the King of Egypt, as having at command vast resources of men and money, of luxury and pleasure. He imagined himself able to defy Jehovah, and that no one would be able to injure him. And, in this respect, Pharaoh is a type of many impenitent sinners. They pride themselves on their fancied security. They think that their temporal prosperity will shield them from future terror. Pride haughtily dismisses the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
II. That the impenitent, like Pharaoh, though rejecting the Divine commands become obstinate in disposition. We find throughout this narrative that the longer Pharaoh resisted the Divine command, the more determined became his resistance. And so is it with the impenitent sinner. He rejects the command of the scriptures, the ministry of the pulpit, the solicitations of friends, and the strivings of the Divine Spirit, and every time he does so, he becomes more obdurate in soul. He gets less susceptible of heavenly influence, until ultimately he is given up to the hardness of his heart. This is a terrible condition to be in.
1. An obstinate disposition is opposed to the good of the soul itself. It prevents the shining of heavenly light upon the soul. It renders cold the emotions that once were fervent. It destroys all the vitality of the moral nature. Obstinacy will ruin the soul eternally.
2. An obstinate disposition is antagonistic to the purposes of redemption. The object of redemption, of the Church and all its agencies, is the salvation of the souls of men. This is frustrated by moral obstinacy. Men say that they have not the power to be saved. The hinderance is not in any heavenly decree, it is in their own unwillingness to give up sin.
3. An obstinate disposition is insensible to all the appeals of heaven.
III. That the impenitent, like Pharaoh, obstinate in disposition, invite the Divine anger.
1. This anger is manifested in the exhibition of Divine power. “That I may lay my hand upon Egypt.” When God lays his hand upon a nation who can predict the result. The plagues of Egypt are but the sequel of this. The hand that created and upholds the world, can inflict terrible woe upon the impenitent.
2. This anger is manifested by causing the tyrant to liberate his slaves. Pharaoh now loses all his profitable slaves. This would be a terrible blow to his covetous spirit. He would have to acknowledge Jehovah as conqueror. The impenitent have ultimately to give up their wicked pleasures.
3. This anger is manifested by the destruction of the king and his army. Pharaoh and his hosts were drowned in the raging billows of the Red Sea. So the finally impenitent will be lost in the eternal fires of hell. LESSONS:—
1. That God sends many ministries to invite us to obey his commands.
2. That our truest wisdom and safety consist in a penitent condition of soul.
3. That the final doom of impenitence is the abiding wrath of God.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Exodus 7:3. A hardened heart:—
1. Permitted by God.
2. Effected by sin.
3. Cruel to the slave.
4. Unmoved by signs.
5. Smitten by heaven.
God instructs Moses and Aaron as to what they shall do; but He adds, “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart.” I explained to you on a former occasion, that God is often said in Scripture to do things directly, when the context shows that He did them indirectly. To be the occasion of a thing, is totally distinct from being the cause of a thing. I build an hospital for the cure of the sick; but in the course of its erection, a scaffolding gives way, and a workman is killed. The hospital was not the cause, but the occasion of that death Jesus came into the World, not to send peace, but a sword. He came directly to send peace; but He came indirectly and incidentally to send war. The gospel is not the cause of war, but the occasion of it. And so when God said, “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart,” it implied, “I will show such signs, and bring to his conscience such motives that if he is not moved, melted, and subdued, the reaction of that influence will end in his being hardened more and more.” Nothing can be so absurd as to say that God showed to Pharaoh reasons for repentance, which He prevented him by physical power from accepting.—Dr. Cumming.
Signs:—
1. Multipled.
2. Penal.
3. Rejected.
Exodus 7:4. “But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you:”—
1. Because he is proud, and will reject a lowly shepherd.
2. Because he is cruel, and will not free the slave.
3. Because he is obstinate, and will not yield to Spiritual influence.
God knows those who will not hearken to His word:—
1. To tell His servants about them.
2. To send judgments upon them.
3. To entice them by loving discipline.
“My people:”—
1. Because God knows them.
2. Because He saves them.
3. Because He redeems them.
4. Because He guards their welfare.
“My people:”—
1. Therefore He will hear their prayers.
2. Therefore He will relieve their sorrows.
3. Therefore He will free their souls.
4. Therefore He will vindicate their rights.
A KNOWLEDGE OF GOD
Exodus 7:5. “And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt.”
I. That the worst of men will one day have to recognize the reality of the Divine Existence.—“And the Egyptians shall know,” &c.—
1. Men of bad moral character shall know this. Men whose lives are now spent in utter disregard of the Divine Being shall one day awake to the fact of His awful existence. This awakening will be the end of their pleasure; the commencement of a new and unalterable life. In hell the wicked will know that God is the Lord.
2. Men of sceptical dispositions shall know this. Some men profess to disbelieve in the existence of God. They call it a philosophical absurdity. They say in their hearts that there is not. The wish is father to the thought. In another life the sceptic will know that God is the Lord.
II. That they will be brought to a recognition of the Divine Existence by severe judgments.—
1. Some men will listen to the voice of reason. The Egyptians would not. They would not learn the reality of the Divine existence from the mouth of Moses. They would not be gently led to behold the Great Parent of the universe. They are like men to-day. They will not give heed to the messengers that proclaim the Being of God. They reject them. They neglect the Bible. They interpret nature on atheistic principles.
2. Such will learn the existence of God by judgment. Some men will never learn anything while life goes well with them; they will only study heavenly themes when they are in sorrow and perplexity. They will one day be visited with overwhelming judgments, which will demonstrate the existence, and moral government of God, but which will be no time for repentance.
III. That the existence of God is a guarantee for the safety of the good. “And bring the children from among them.” As truly as God exists shall all good men be finally brought out from moral and temporal bondage into the Canaan of peace and quiet.
OBEDIENCE TO GOD
I. It must be rendered by the servants of God. “Moses and Aaron.” All men who are called to moral service by God must obey Him:
1. Because He gives them their commands.
2. Became He gives them the power to do so.
3. Because He rewards obedience.
II. It must be co-extensive with their mission.
1. It must be entire.
2. It must be cheerful.
3. It must be holy.
III. It will render their mission effective.
1. Because it will lead to the best mode of service.
2. Because God will delight to honour it. The Divine commands:—
1. Rightfully given.
2. To be faithfully executed.
3. To be diligently obeyed. To be supremely regarded.
Exodus 7:7. The bearing of a man’s age upon his work.
We are here informed that Moses was at this time eighty years of age, and that Aaron was eighty-three. Their ages would have an important bearing toward the work of these two men.
I. Their ages would indicate that they were not likely to be misled by the enthusiasm of youth. The Israelites would probably not have placed much confidence in the statement of a very young man had he gone to them with the message of their freedom. They would have doubted his word. They would have imagined him a wild dreamer, or a mistaken enthusiast. Hence the maturer years of Moses and Aaron would prevent such an interpretation being put upon their prophecy. The world is slow to take young men into its confidence. It soon smiles at their visions, and laughs at their enthusiastic hopes.
II. Their ages would be likely to command the respect of those with whom they had to do. Had they been more youthful they would have awakened the merriment of Pharaoh. Egypt’s king would not have given up his slaves at the request of two boys. Heaven is always judicious in the selection of its messengers. The Church ought to be likewise. It should look even for incidental qualifications, as well as the primary and the moral. Youthhood would not have had much influence with the slaves of Israel. The world wants men of tried energy and long experience to achieve its moral emancipation; men in whom hot passion has calmed into a settled force.
III. Their ages would be an incentive to fidelity, as they had spent the younger part of life, and would be forcefully reminded of the future. After men pass the meridian of life, they begin to regard life as a stern and solemn reality, if they have any pious sentiment within them at all. The past has gone like a dream. The brief future is before them. They wish it to be characterized by fidelity.
At this time, we are told, Moses was eighty years of age, and Aaron eighty-three. This was not old age. Moses lived to be one hundred and twenty. He was, therefore, now just at the close of the meridian of life. I mentioned also before, that there is no evidence in the Bible that man’s life has been shortened since Moses’ death; and that, as far as we can gather from Divine interposition, one hundred and twenty is the proper age of man. The 90th Psalm describes an abnormal state of life in the wilderness. There Moses himself complains that their life was shortened to threescore and ten, by the existing severity and pressure of their circumstances, not by the ordinance of God. And it remains a problem, whether, if men were not less oppressed by anxious cares and thoughts, ambition, vainglory, and pride, and wrath, they would not live to a much greater age; and whether it be not true, that in proportion as Christianity gains in its sanctifying influence on the soul, the whole social and physical system will but be correspondingly elevated and ameliorated also.—Dr. Cumming.
ILLUSTRATIONS
BY THE
REV. WM. ADAMSON
Insensibility! Exodus 7:3. “As hard as a stone,” says the adage.—Yet the hardest stones submit to be smoothed and rounded under the soft friction of water. Ask the myriads of stones on the seashore what has become of all their angles, once so sharp, and of the roughness and uncouthness of their whole appearance.—“Water wrought with us, and none resisted.”—The very stones cry out against the obstinate disposition, which is insensible to all the appeals of heaven.
You may as well bid the mountain pines
To wag their high tops, and make no noise,
When they are fretted by the gusts of heaven,
As seek to soften that sinner’s heart.
—Shakespeare.
Hardened Heart! Exodus 7:3. A scholar once inquired of his teacher whether it was not wicked to punish Pharaoh and Judas for what God knew they would do. A bright thought struck the perplexed teacher: “When you were born, your papa looked at you and loved you, but he knew that bye and bye you would sin, and have to be punished: he did not make you naughty, but he knew that you would be.”—God did not make Pharaoh sin, but he had to punish him for it. From righteous retribution for obdurate impenitence there is no escape.
Aye! when thou hast drained a swallow’s milk, and
Seen rocks bear olive nuts, the sand pomegranates yield:
A harder task to try thy vaunted force remains—
To shield a wicked man from retributions pains.—Oriental.
Remorse! Exodus 7:4. In the early part of this century Pomare reigned as king in the islands of Tahiti and Eimeo. Many of his subjects were enraged at his recognition of Christ. Among them was a man called Upufara, who was regarded as the chief of the kings foes. He had often heard of the true God, but would not believe in him. One night he had a dream, in which he saw an immense oven with a very great fire, and in the midst of it a large fish, twisting itself in agony, and trying to get out, yet though in the fire, not consumed but still living. Such will be the guilty conscience,—the fires of remorse will scorch it and make it writhe in pang and anguish, without destroying its sensitiveness. In another life, and to his cost, the sceptic will know that God is the Lord, as scorched within
The fury round his torrid temples flaps
Her fiery wings, and breathes upon his lips
And parched tongue the withered blasts of hell
—Pollah.
Visitations! Exodus 7:5. A man was confined in a cell with seven windows, and the only furniture a pallet of straw. Each morning he found a loaf of bread and a jug of water by his side. He was relieved from the fear of starvation; but when his eyes sought the windows, he counted one less. The fearful truth flashed upon him that the floor and wall of his cell were being pressed together slowly and surely, and that he would be crushed to death. The sinner like Pharaoh is inclosed in the earth-cell of impenitency, and the hour approaches when his last hope will be crushed and mangled in the ever-narrowing entombment. He will then learn how real is the moral government of God—only too late to repent—
As when a fire has raged, the smokes that rise
In useless lamentations drape the skies.
—Alger.
Obedient Service! Exodus 7:6. In evil times it fares best with them that are most careful about duty, least concerned about safety. Many a general, whilst discharging his duty in the battle, has borne a charmed life. Moses was preserved whilst pursuing the path of Providence. The author of “From Dawn to Dark in Italy,” contrasts the constant harassing perils of Montalto, a timid, compromising Lutheran, with the freedom from persecution of Old Clarice, a fruitseller at Naples. The one was continually in tumult and danger—the other kept on the even course of her Christian profession in the very jaws of the lion for thirty years. Many a hunted Protestant found shelter in her house excavated from the precipitous rock. Many a wave of bitter papal persecution Swept over Naples, but old Clarice, who never sheltered herself beneath any compliances, seemed to prosper in her very fearlessness. The bold policy is not always the worst, and Moses was no loser by the unflinching courage with which he confronted Pharaoh in obedience to the Divine command. Luther lived, whilst-some who temporized were lost. And of John Knox who lived to a good old age, it was said, “Here lies one who never feared the face of man.”
So we would bravely live for Thee,
And Thy bold and faithful servants, Saviour,
we would henceforth be.
—Havegal.