The Pharaoh of the Exodus stands on the page of Scripture as an example of arrogance and obstinacy. His arrogant pride is revealed by his first and last recorded words; ‘Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice’, and ‘I will pursue, I will overtake … I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them’, Exod. 15. 9. His obstinacy is expressed by his continual refusal to bow to either the word or power of God, repeatedly hardening his heart.
Pharaoh was thought by his people to be the representative of the gods, particularly of the sun-god Ra. They believed that, if the individual Pharaoh was divinely chosen, they would enjoy times of peace and prosperity; the swelling Nile would fill the land with crops and their herds would increase. But the plagues polluted the Nile, destroyed the crops and killed the cattle. The plagues therefore called in question whether the ruling Pharaoh was indeed there by the choice of the gods. Faced with ever increasing pressure from the plagues, Pharaoh attempted various forms of compromise. He proposed successively that Israel sacrifice in the land; that, if they must leave Egypt, they ‘not go very far away’; that they leave their children behind; and, finally, that they leave only their flocks and herds behind.
Prior to the first plague, ‘Pharaoh’s heart was hardened (or ‘hardened itself’), and he hearkened not to them’, Exod. 7. 13 lit. It was the first of nine occasions when we are told that Pharaoh hardened his heart, seven of which occurred before the first time we read that God hardened his heart, 9. 12. It is important to note that God is not said to have hardened Pharaoh’s heart until after the sixth plague; that is, until over half the plagues were over. The Lord simply confirmed and ratified Pharaoh’s self-chosen course of rebellion. That God might subsequently reveal His power and the greatness of His name, He chose not to destroy Pharaoh when he first rejected His demands but to bear with him in long-suffering, giving him repeated opportunities to submit. Pharaoh had no one but himself to blame for the death of the firstborn of Egypt and his own eventual overthrow in the Red Sea, Ps. 136. 15.
Lord, grant me a humble mind, an open ear and a pliable will.
