These two words are common and are found in many bible texts but there is one particular instance where their true meaning has baffled many minds. Unearthing this meaning will change your life for good.
It so happened when Moses was sent by God to the Pharaoh to negotiate the delivery of the children of Israel out of Egypt that he refused to listen to them as the Lord had said. God had indeed stated, ‘I will’
Ex 7:3-4
I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt, 4 he will not listen to you.
Did God literary cause Pharaoh to harden his heart or there is some kind of explanation for this? What do you think?
A lot of people believe so. That he did it on purpose to show his powers which explains the ten plagues he lay on Egypt. This raises the question, does God interfere this way in our lives? Can he or does he causes us to work against our will? The answer is no.
In the opening of the book of Job, Satan had declared that the law of God could not be obeyed, that Job, (who represents man) if left to himself without God’s protection would deny him and commit sin. Job would prove him otherwise by remaining true to God.
Such is the bone of contention between the two. Satan stands by his swear that the law cannot be obeyed on the other hand God declares that his laws can be obeyed without any interference. God interfering on behalf of humans is a breach of that canon and the devil is the resulting victor.
Job 1:8-11
Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” 9 “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. 10 “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
If you would be a saint in heaven, you must first be a saint on earth. The traits of character you cherish in life will not be changed by death or by the resurrection. You will come up from the grave with the same disposition you manifested in your home and in society. Jesus does not change the character at His coming. The work of transformation must be done now. Our daily lives are determining our destiny. {Adventist Home by Ellen G. White p. 16.2}
God will not interfere with our characters because if he does so he would be harmonizing with the Devil’s declaration that the law of God cannot be obeyed. The law can be obeyed he proclaims and so man can live a sinless life if he chooses so. With this said we can now determine the true meaning of the words “I will harden the heart of Pharaoh”. To do this let’s consider another bible instance where the same were used.
2 Sam 12:9-12
Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’ 11 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’’
Notice how these same words made about Pharaoh were repeated to David after he murdered innocent Uriah. God said, “I am going to bring calamity upon you and that he will take his wives and give them to one closest to him…”
Reading through the story you will realize that it was Absalom one of the King’s sons who committed the crime.
When God declared that the sword will not depart from his family we learn of a series of events where there were killings in the house of David committed by his children. For example, David lost a son from an unknown illness, Absalom killed his brother Amnon who raped his blood sister Tamar and Solomon would later kill his brother Adonijah in a succession dispute.
It all happened as the Lord had commanded. How was this God’s doing?
David had neglected the duty of punishing the crime of Amnon, and because of the unfaithfulness of the king and father and the impenitence of the son, the Lord permitted events to take their natural course, and did not restrain Absalom. When parents or rulers neglect the duty of punishing iniquity, God Himself will take the case in hand. His restraining power will be in a measure removed from the agencies of evil, so that a train of circumstances will arise which will punish sin with sin. {Patriarchs and Prophets p. 728.1}
So when God said I will harden the heart of Pharaoh he was promising not to restrain him in any way but allow Pharaoh’s true nature to pour out undiluted. Even so, this was the case with David. Because of his sin, God would permit certain things to happen without restraint.
God could have lessened the punishment or chosen other forms of punishment but this time around David had crossed the line and so it was that God allowed these gruesome events to fill his life and that of his family.
Even today God still holds back some of the world crisis for the sake of his children because if the devil is permitted to exercise his motives unrestrained the whole world would be instantly chaotic. Satan would assail the world with devastations greater than the ones he assaulted good old Job.
Rev 7:1-4
After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: 3 “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”
What important lesson can we draw from this story that could change our lives? The lesson is, that no matter what we think or say, or believe God is working behind scenes. He has saved us from many a great deal of harm that could have fallen on us at any given time. We just cannot see or comprehend it.
What are the things that God daily protects you from? What could happen to you if he lets go of his protecting hand?
In the story of Job we learn of a great many things that God had done for Job to protect him from the enemy. The devil mentioned some in the words “Satan replied, “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.”
All the things that we think we have acquired using the strength the devil has acknowledged are God-given. Who are we to disagree with? Therefore we have a lot to be grateful for. To both a believer and a non-believer God is the source of our accomplishments, without him we are nothing.
This lesson has challenged me so much and I hope it challenges you too. Now I realize that God has done and is doing a lot more for me than I could imagine. We have to acknowledge and appreciate his saving grace in our lives or else like David we may lose sight of him and he would withdraw himself from us leading to a series of hardships.
No day passes by without me noticing some of the blessings he has done for me. Now I appreciate the Lord always in my daily life and I hope you will too after reading this lesson.
God bless you!! As you ponder on
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