Yahweh's Power Over Pharaoh (Exodus 5-11)
(1) Bible Study Questions
Discuss: Have you ever been in a situation where you have hoped to bring good, but you have only made it worse? What happened?
Read Exodus 5.
What motivates Pharaoh’s response to Moses’ request?
How would you describe the situation of the Israelites at the end of chapter 5 compared to the end of chapter 4?
What might God be doing in this situation?
Read Exodus 6.
What will God do for Israel? Why?
What role does God want Israel to serve?
What is the significance of the genealogy here?
Read Exodus 7:1-7.
Why does God harden Pharoah’s heart?
What is the purpose of the judgements?
Read Exodus 7:8-8:7.
Why might God have allowed the magicians to mimic Moses’ miracle?
Read Exodus 8:8-11.
10. What might God be teaching Pharaoh by making the remedy for the frogs dependent on Moses? (cf. Gen 12:1-3)
Read Exodus 8:12-27.
11. What good outcome might have come from the Israelites being detestable to the Egyptians?
Read Exodus 8:28-9:12.
12. What has God shown about the religion and magic of the Egyptians?
Read Exodus 9:13-21.
13. What is the fundamental purpose of the plagues and of this ‘contest’ between God and Pharaoh?
Read Exodus 9:22-30.
14. Do you think Pharaoh’s repentance was genuine? How can we know?
Read Exodus 9:31-11:10.
15. How is this harsh judgement on Egypt fair?
16. How is God keeping his promises to Abraham? (Genesis 15)
17. What do you think was motivating Pharaoh?
18. Moses got angry with Pharaoh. Do you think that was justified? What is the place of anger in our emotional life?
(2) Sermon Script
Reading: Exodus 11:1-10 Coverage: Exodus 5-11; Children’s talk: the plagues overview, chs 7-11
Introduction: You’re making it worse!
Imagine a time when there’s something you knew you must do, but didn’t want to. You know God’s word. You know the path of duty. You know God’s clear commands. You don’t want to do it, but you take a halting, hesitating step of obedience. You do it, hard as it is.
Maybe you break with some sin. Break up with a non-Christian boyfriend or girlfriend. Leave a group of friends leading you into trouble. Maybe you have that difficult conversation. Or you try to mend a relationship. You go off, cap in hand, say sorry, make amends, admit you were in the wrong. Or you offer forgiveness, extend the hand of friendship. Or you blow a whistle on some injustice. You stand up for someone getting pushed around. You lovingly warn a Christian brother or sister about something they are doing.
You take the risk, you try something new. You attempt something far too big for you (like saving souls). You decide to do some evangelism, to speak the word of God into a situation. You go out on a limb because you’ve heard God’s word and want to obey it.
And it goes all wrong, horribly wrong. The relationship gets worse, not better. Your offer of friendship is spurned. Those you expect to come to your aid turn against you. Your supporters join your detractors. Your nearest and dearest reject you. People leave your church, start criticizing you. Influential people turn against you. You lose money, time, support, friends, opportunities. In short, you get hung out to dry, left carrying the can.
And you think, “Lord, why? Isn’t this what you wanted me to do. I knew my place, I kept my head down and minded my own business. I didn’t rock the boat, I kept to the status quo. But you said ‘truth and love’, not 'peace and safety'. I wanted to keep the peace. But your word was clear, I realized I had to change. I had to do it. So I did. And now we have this! Now it’s much, much, worse. And I know you say ‘I am with you’. But it’s hard to see it through this mess. And I know you said, ‘you work for our good’. But how is this good? I can’t see any silver lining in this dark storm cloud.”
Moses’ Meeting With Pharaoh Goes Pear-Shaped (Exodus 5)
We’ve come to Exodus Chapter 5. In chapter 5, Yahweh actually worsens Israel’s sufferings. Moses didn’t want to go. He pleaded, ‘Send someone else.’ The Israelites won’t listen to me.
But Moses does go to Pharaoh. He didn’t want to, but he does. And he has no initial success. He sees no encouraging circumstances. There will be nothing in Pharaoh’s reaction that allows Moses to say to himself, “Ah yes, God has prepared the way for me. God has gone before. That’s what it means that God is with me.” Nothing of the kind. God makes it all worse. It’s gonna get much, much, much worse, before it gets better.
When Moses goes to Pharaoh, and in obedience to Yahweh announces God’s message, Pharaoh said this: Exodus chapter 5 verse 2:
Pharaoh said, "Who is the LORD, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD and I will not let Israel go." (Exodus 5:2 NIV)
What is this? Who is Yahweh? I’ve never heard of him! A cock and bull story, if ever I heard one. Stop wasting my time, get back to work!
Pharaoh will not let this impudent demand go unpunished. No such thought must ever enter these upstart’s heads again. So Pharaoh imposes even harsher demands. No straw, but the same quota of bricks. It’s an impossible, unreasonable demand. Just an excuse to bash Israelite slaves.
So Israel, deeply bitter, complains to Moses (Exodus 5:21). And Moses, appalled, returns to Yahweh. And Moses, quite understandably, complains: He basically says, “Lord, I didn’t want to go in the first place. It wasn’t my idea to go to Pharaoh, but yours. But you said you wanted to bring Israel out of Egypt. So I believed you and did what you said. And now look! You’ve brought evil on Israel, not good! And the people haven’t come out of Egypt. Is this why you sent me? To make things worse? It’s now worse. Much worse.”
Yahweh’s Response: God reveals himself to Moses (Chapter 6:1-13)
Well, God knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows just what we need, just how much we can take. And Yahweh responds to Moses with this message. “Stay the course. I know what I’m doing. Don’t worry about me keeping my word. You just keep obeying my word.”
They say the darkest hour is right before the dawn. For when all hope seems gone, then God acts.
I remember as a boy scout going to a swimming carnival at Roselands at night. There was an outdoor wading pool that was really cold. And an indoor swimming pool was heated. So two or three of us would go into the really cold wading pool. We got really cold. And then we ran inside and jumped in the heated swimming pool. And it was like a hot bath.
Moses and Israel now stand on the very edge of a great deliverance. God will redeem them from Egypt. They will never forget what God is about to do as long as they live. And these bitter hardships just before God’s might act of redemption will make their salvation all the sweeter. Just like the cold cold water made the heated pool like a steaming spa. So on the cusp of this great victory, Yahweh does three things. YHWH reveals himself, reminds them of their shared past, and re-iterates his promise for the future.
Exodus chapter 6 verses 2 to 8. God’s speech to Moses is worth reading in its entirety, starting at chapter 6 verse 2.
2God also said to Moses, "I am the LORD. 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself known to them. 4 I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they lived as aliens. 5 Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant. 6 "Therefore, say to the Israelites: 'I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. 7 I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. 8 And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the LORD.'" (Exodus 6:2-8 NIV)
Yahweh reveals himself. Yahweh again reveals his name. So this little speech is littered with God saying ‘I am Yahweh… I am the LORD’. In chapter 3, Moses wanted to know God’s personal name. And God said ‘I AM who I AM’ (Exodus 3:14). In other words, watch what I do. I will be known by my acts, my faithfulness to my word. That is what Yahweh means (Exodus 3:15).
And Yahweh reminds Moses that he is living in a blessed time. Moses now knows Yahweh better than Abraham, Isaac and Jacob knew him. Moses will see God’s name, which is his character, in a way that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob didn’t (chapter 6 verse 3). God said to the patriarchs long ago that he would bring them out of Egypt (Genesis 15:13-14) Moses is more blessed than Abraham, because he is actually seeing it all happen right before his eyes. Moses is seeing the fulfillment of God’s promises. And that is more blessed.
Just as we are more blessed than Moses. Because we have seen all Moses hopes fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ[1].
But second, Yahweh reminds Moses of what he has done in the past. That’s in verse 3-5. Yahweh appeared to the Fathers. He promised them the land of Canaan. He isn’t deaf. He has heard their cries for help. And he has continually remembered his covenant.
Yahweh does here what former Prime Minister Howard often did. Mr Howard was often asked for a guarantee. Guarantee us that no one will be worse off! And Mr Howard will often say, ‘My guarantee is my record’. And God says to Moses, ‘Look back, remember what I’ve done in the past’.
And third, Yahweh re-iterates his promises. That’s verses 6-8. I’ve told you before. I’ll tell you again. Let me remind you, Moses. I will bring you out. I will free you. I will redeem you. I will take you as my people. I will be your God. I will bring you to the land I said I would give you.
So … With Israel at rock bottom. With a seemingly hopeless situation, With Yahweh revealing himself yet again, With Yahweh reminding Moses of his previous promises, And with Yahweh re-iterating to his people that he will perform, The stage is set for the 11 signs.
The 10 plagues 11 signs (Chapters 7-11)
Have you seen wildlife documentaries on killer whales? Or have you seen ‘Happy Feet’, the computer animated movie?
I will never forget the image of the killer whales catching a seal or penguin. They catch their prey, and then they toss it to each other alive. They play with it before they eat it. They soften up the meat, like hitting it with a meat mallet, to make it a bit more tender.
It is the cat playing with it’s mouse on a larger scale. Lets it go, then catches it, lets it go, then catches it. The mouse is both dinner and pre-dinner entertainment.
When the Roman Army defeated an enemy king, they didn’t kill him. At least, not straight away. No, death in battle would be too great an honour for him. For they had to show unambiguously the might of Rome.
What they did first was destroyed his army. Then they captured him alive and brought him to Rome. And then the triumphant army and victorious generals would march in. The ancient version of a ticker tape parade. But at the end of the parade would come a pathetic bunch. The defeated kings and generals, dragged behind the conquering chariots in chains. And they would be dragged through the streets, to be pelted and abused by the crowd. And then they’d be killed.
It’s really what the Australian cricket team used to do. That was the mongrel attitude of Waugh, McGrath, and Warne. They didn’t just want to beat teams. They wanted to humiliate them. They wanted to finish the test match in two days. They don’t feel sorry for the other captain. They want to embarrass him. They want to see the headlines in the papers back in the home country calling for his sacking.
That is what God is doing to Pharaoh in Exodus. Yahweh wants to humiliate Pharaoh and his so called gods. Yahweh doesn’t just want to bring his people out of Egypt. Yahweh wants to show Pharaoh’s puff and splutter and claim to power is nothing but empty wind. Yahweh, the God of Israel, He and he alone, is worthy of praise, and honour and glory and power.
Now the plagues as we have them recorded in Scripture are quite messy. They are like a boxing match that goes 11 rounds. Now, God has the knockout punch – we know this, and he knows this. YHWH could have quite easily finished the fight in the first flurry of the first round. That would have saved a lot of mess and fuss. He could have wiped Egypt from the face of the earth (compare Exodus 9:15[2]).
And God’s got form. He’s done it before. We saw him wash the wicked filth of the world away with the flood at the time of Noah. He reduced Sodom and Gomorrah to a blackened burnt out waste land. It was a clean, surgical way to wipe away wicked people (Genesis 19:24).
Or God could have sent some epidemic of disease to wipe them out. Yahweh did it later, to punish Israel at different times. Tens of thousands struck down in hours or days[3].
But now, Yahweh has a different agenda. God is going to humiliate Pharaoh and his pretensions. He is going to show Pharaoh’s false idols are nothing. And he is going to punish Pharaoh very publicly. It will be a long, slow, drawn out, planned, public retribution and humiliation.
Now, the 10 plagues are very famous. For Israel, they were the sort of things you wrote songs about. Because you didn’t want the next generation to forget. You get this in Psalm 78:
44He turned their rivers to blood; they could not drink from their streams. 45 He sent swarms of flies that devoured them, and frogs that devastated them. 46 He gave their crops to the grasshopper, their produce to the locust. 47 He destroyed their vines with hail and their sycamore-figs with sleet. 48 He gave over their cattle to the hail, their livestock to bolts of lightning. 49 He unleashed against them his hot anger, his wrath, indignation and hostility-- a band of destroying angels. 50 He prepared a path for his anger; he did not spare them from death but gave them over to the plague. 51 He struck down all the firstborn of Egypt, the firstfruits of manhood in the tents of Ham. (Psalm 78:44-51 NIV)
But in Exodus, they are not just called ‘plagues’ (Ex 11:1[4]; 9:14[5]; 12:13). They are also called ‘great judgments’ (Ex 6:6; 7:4). They are also called ‘signs and wonders’ (Ex 7:3, 7:9; 8:23; 10:1-2; 11:9-10). And these other descriptions tell us what they are about. They are God’s judgments on Egypt’s gods, and king, and people. And they are signs and wonders, pointing to the true God, Yahweh, the God of Abraham, and Isaac and Jacob.
And there are not 10 of them, but 11[6]! Most people usually don’t include Moses staff turning into a snake, but that is described as a sign for Pharaoh, too.
Why 11 plagues/signs/judgments?
Again, it is worth asking, why does God send 11 signs? Why drag out the whole process, if God had the knock out punch!
At first glance, it might look like God is giving Pharaoh an opportunity to repent. God perhaps is being patient. It’s not one more chance. It’s not three strikes and you’re out. It’s not even seven times. It’s 11, and then God has had enough, and punishes Pharaoh.
Now there is something true about this. God is patient and kind. And the bible tells us [God] doesn’t desire the death of the wicked (Ez 18,33). God doesn’t want people to perish, but to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9) He wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:3-4 NIV)
But these truths cannot explain God’s delay here. Why? Because it is God himself who is the one hardening Pharaoh’s heart. Again and again in Exodus, YHWH owns up and says that he himself is hardening Pharaoh’s heart. It is no secret. God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that he would not repent, but that he would eventually be destroyed, and so God could do each of the 11 signs.
The hardening of Pharaoh’s heart is a recurring them in Exodus 5 to 15. In 6 passages[7], we are told Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, but not told who hardened it. In 3 passages, Pharaoh is said to have hardened his own heart[8]. But in 10 passages, more than the others combined, God says that he is the one who hardens Pharaoh’s heart[9]. God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. That’s what God said.
There is one passage where all three things are said. Pharaoh’s heart was hard, Pharaoh hardened it, and God hardened it. Look with me at Exodus 9 verse 34 to 10 verse 3, on your outline:
34When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder had stopped, he sinned again: He and his officials hardened their hearts. 35 So Pharaoh's heart was hard and he would not let the Israelites go, just as the LORD had said through Moses. 10:1Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these miraculous signs of mine among them 2 that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them, and that you may know that I am the LORD." (Exodus 9:34-10:3 NIV)
And so it raises the question, which is true? Did Pharaoh harden his own heart, or God harden Pharaoh’s heart, or was Pharaoh’s heart hardened? And of course the answer is… ALL THREE!
But one phrase explains the other two. God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. And so Pharaoh hardens his own heart, and his own heart was hardened. God decided what would happen, and then that is what happens. It’s not just my opinion, that’s what the apostle Paul says, in Romans 9:17-18.
17For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: "I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." 18 Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.’ (Romans 9:17-18 NIV)
Yahweh doesn’t give 11 signs to give Pharaoh an opportunity to repent. YHWH is instead doing the signs, and then hardening Pharaoh’s heart.
Why does God harden? And the 64,000 dollar question is, Why? ‘Why does God harden Pharaoh’s heart?’ Well, fortunately, throughout chapters 5 to 15, we are told why. God hardens Pharaoh’s heart for one overarching, fundamental reason[10].
To show his own glory. Again and again, in slightly different ways, God says he is saving his people this way to show so that Israel and Egypt will both know YHWH, his name, and his utterly unique and holy ‘Godness’. So God’s purpose in drowning Pharaoh’s army is expressed this way:
“And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord. “ (Exodus 14:4; cf vv7-8)[12]
God wants to blow his ‘own trumpet’. We might think this is showing off. And maybe it is, if another human does it. But we’re talking about God. He is allowed to do what he likes. When he shows us his power, and what he can do, it isn’t showing off. It’s a reality check. It is God being kind enough to reveal his power so that we treat him properly, with the respect he deserves. So YHWH says to Moses in Exodus 9:13-16…
13Then the LORD said to Moses, "Get up early in the morning, confront Pharaoh and say to him, 'This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me, 14 or this time I will send the full force of my plagues against you and against your officials and your people, so you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth. 15 For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth. 16 But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. (Exodus 9:13-16 NIV)
There is no one like Yahweh. The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. All people must hear about what he has done and fear his name.
Conclusion
Next week, we turn to the culmination of these signs. Two frightening final judgments. God puts to death the firstborn sons of Egypt. And God drowns the entire Egyptian Calvary in the Red Sea, including Pharaoh.
But for now, let’s reflect on the glory of God shown in his severe judments. And the most severe judgment is the eternal judgment of hell. Romans 9:22-24:
What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath prepared for destruction. 23What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles (Romans 9:22-24 NIV)
Apart from Jesus, every person in human history deserves God’s wrath. At the day of judgment, everyone deserves hell, because we are all sinners.
Now, what if God decided that some who have rebelled against him will experience his anger. They are, therefore, prepared for and heading for destruction. And at the final judgment they experience justice. Hell. We cannot say God is unjust.
And what if God did this to show the glory of his mercy to the objects of his mercy. That is, us. Those who believe in Christ and have fled to him for refuge.
All deserve punishment. But some experience justice, which they deserve. Some experience mercy, which they don’t deserve.
So the picture, the Apostle says, is this. That in heaven, as the saints look out towards hell, and they see the smoke rising from the abyss, they know that they deserve to be there, and the only difference between them and those who suffer God’s righteous judgment in hell, is this. That God went beyond justice to mercy as far as they were concerned, though for others God stopped at justice, and did not go on to mercy.
That is what Israel felt as they walked out of Egypt. They rejoiced with trembling. Exodus 14:31 sums up the result of both the 11 signs and the drowning in the Red Sea:
‘And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.’ (Exodus 14:31 NIV)
And likewise when we conceive of the lake of fire, we fear God and put our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, the suffering servant, in whose death and resurrection is our refuge and salvation.
Let’s pray.
Footnotes
[1] We are more blessed than the Israelites who came through the Red Sea. We are more blessed than all the prophets and righteous men, even John the Baptist. Jesus says that the least of us in the Kingdom of Heaven, a child in our Sunday Schools or a kid in our Creche, is greater than them (Matthew 11:11).
We are even more blessed than the Apostles, who lived during Jesus’ earthly ministry. We sometimes think that, if only I was there, and saw Jesus face to face, and saw the miracles myself, then I would know God better, I would have stronger faith, I would have been closer to God. But no, we are more blessed. Why? Because we have seen more than they! What do I mean? Well, we haven’t seen the resurrected Jesus face to face, that’s quite true. We look forward to that.
But we have seen more of God’s plan being fulfilled than the Apostles’ had. We have their writings gathered together, which they didn’t have. And we have had 2000 years of Christian’s thinking about the bible, which they didn’t have. We have seen the work of evangelism prosper over the last 2000 years. The gospel has spread to places the apostles never knew existed. There are Christians in nations speaking languages that the apostles never dreamed of. Our Lord Jesus himself says we are more blessed than the Apostles: He said:‘[B]lessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (John 20:29).
[2]God warns that he could have wiped out Egypt with ‘pestilence’, Heb rb,Dñ, plague, pestilence that would totally destroy, in general (eg Ex 5:3, potentially threatened on Israel) and 9:15 (potentially on Egypt), or cattle-plague (Ex 9:3; Psalm 78:50).
[3] Compare the 50,070 men of Israel struck down by YHWH who looked in the Ark of the Covenant (2 Sa 6:19), or the pestilence that YHWH sent after David numbered the fighting men, which killed 70,000 Israelite men (2 Sa 24:15).
[4]‘still one more plague’, Heb [g:nò< stroke, plague, mark, plague-spot, wound, a stroke, especially of a disease, regarded as sent by a divine chastisement, the heavy touch or stroke of a disease: BDB. Used in Gen 3:3 (touch the fruit), Gen 12:17 (plagues on Pharaoh because of Sarai), Gen 20:6; 26:11 (sexual touching); 26:29 (harm), 28:12 (ladder ‘touching’ heaven); Ex 4:25 (foreskin touching Moses feet), 32:26, 33 (angel touching the thigh). LXX plhgh plague, blow, wound.
[5]‘all my plagues’ Heb hp'GEm; blow, fatal stroke, slaughter, plague of divine judgment, pestilence, used of slaughter in battle or by attacking beasts, the tumours on the Philistines or different sorts of diseases, such as of the bowels, and also wasting diseases of the skin, eyes and tongue: BDB.
[6] The 11 signs are (1) staff to a snake (7:1-13); (2) Water to Blood (7:14-25); (3) Filled with Frogs (8:1-15); (4) Dust to Gnats (8:16-19); (5) Full of flies (8:20-32); (6) Livestock died (9:1-7); (7) Festering boils (9:8-12); (8) Discriminating hail (9:17-35); (9) Devouring locusts (10:3-20); (10) Darkness three days (10:21-29); (11) The Death of the Son (Chapter 11). While the drowning of the pursuing Egyptian army in the Red Sea is like a sign, it seems that this is different, as YHWH says ‘still one more plague’ in Exodus 11:1. In the Song of Moses in Exodus Ch 15, YHWH is thus glorified in the ways that he said he would (esp v11, ‘Who among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is like you-- majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? ’).
[7] Passive, ie that Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, in Ex 7:13-14,22; 8:19; 9:7,17,35.
[8] The reflexive, ie that Pharaoh is hardening his own heart, in Ex 8:15,32; 9:34-35; see also 1 Samuel 6:6.
[9] I think that God hardening the heart of Pharaoh is the predominant theme in the plagues account.
· Exodus 4:21 NIV The LORD said to Moses, "When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.
· Exodus 7:2-5 2 You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country. 3 But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt, 4 he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites. 5 And the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it."
· Exodus 9:12-13 12 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said to Moses.
· Exodus 9:34 - 10:3 34 When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder had stopped, he sinned again: He and his officials hardened their hearts. 35 So Pharaoh's heart was hard and he would not let the Israelites go, just as the LORD had said through Moses. 1 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these miraculous signs of mine among them 2 that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them, and that you may know that I am the LORD." 3 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, "This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: 'How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me?
· Exodus 10:20 20 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let the Israelites go.
· Exodus 10:27 27 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he was not willing to let them go.
· Exodus 11:10 10 Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let the Israelites go out of his country.
· Exodus 14:3-4 3 Pharaoh will think, 'The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.' 4 And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD." So the Israelites did this.
· Exodus 14:8 8 The LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly.
· Exodus 14:17-18 17 I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen."
Compare Isaiah 63:17, ‘Why, O LORD, do you make us wander from your ways and harden our hearts so we do not revere you? Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes that are your inheritance’ and Romans 9:16-18 ‘It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: "I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." 18 Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.’
[10] If I was to be more pedantic, I might divide the reasons into 5 distinct reasons:
1. …so that Israel and Egypt will both know YHWH, his name, and his utterly unique and holy ‘Godness’[10]
That God does these things to show himself is clear from Exodus 6:7.
7I will take you (Israel) as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God
YHWH wants Israel to know him. But he also wants Egypt to know him. He says a similar thing about Egypt. By doing these things, both Egypt and Israel will know God. Thus, Exodus 7:3-5
3 But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt, 4 he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites. 5 And the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it."
See also Exodus 7:17, ‘By turning water to blood, Pharaoh will know ‘I am YHWH’; and Exodus 10:2, where YHWH hardens Pharaoh’s heart so that he can perform signs so that Israel will know ‘I am YHWH’.
2. … so that YHWH will reveal his power to both Israel and Egypt for the generations to come
YHWH is revealing his own mighty hand. So in Exodus 6: 1-2, we read:
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country." (Exodus 6:1-2 NIV)
God shows that he is more powerful than the pretend Egyptian gods. Compare Exodus 8:19, where the Egyptian magicians said to Pharaoh, ‘This is the finger of God’; and Exodus 9:16, where YHWH will show Pharaoh his power; or Exodus 11:9, where YHWH hardens Pharaoh so that his wonders may be multiplied in Egypt’; or Exodus 10:2, where the Israelites may tell their children and grandchildren how YHWH dealt harshly with the Egyptians and performed his signs among them.
3. …so that YHWH will make Israel distinct from Egypt as his special chosen people
But God also wants to make clear that Israel are his special, holy people. So God also says in Exodus 8:22:
Exodus 8:22 'But on that day I will deal differently with the land of Goshen, where my people live; no swarms of flies will be there, so that you will know that I, the LORD, am in this land. 23 I will make a distinction between my people and your people. This miraculous sign will occur tomorrow.'
See also Exodus 9:4, where YHWH will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and Egypt; and Exodus 11:7-8, where Pharaoh will know that YHWH makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.
4. … so that YHWH will be proclaimed in all the earth.
But God will also ‘blow his own trumpet’. We might think this is showing off, if another human does it. But we’re talking about God. When he shows us his power, what we can do, this isn’t showing off. It’s a reality check. It is God being kind enough to reveal his power so that we treat him properly, with the respect he deserves. So YHWH says to Moses in Exodus 9:13-16…
Exodus 9:13-16 13 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Get up early in the morning, confront Pharaoh and say to him, 'This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me, 14 or this time I will send the full force of my plagues against you and against your officials and your people, so you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth. 15 For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth. 16 But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.
See also Exodus 8:10, so that Pharaoh may know there is no one like the YHWH; and Exodus 9:29, so that Pharaoh may know that the earth is YHWH’s.By God doing these things, all the people in the ancient world will hear about what YHWH has done and fear his name. And the last reason I could find that God drags out his victory by hardening Pharaoh is…
5. … so that YHWH will judge the gods of Egypt, along with Pharaoh and the people.
We find it in Exodus 12:12
Exodus 12:12 NIV12 On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn-- both men and animals-- and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD.
See also Exodus 7:4, where YHWH visits Egypt with mighty acts of judgment; and Exodus 10:2, so that the Israelites may tell their children and grandchildren how YHWH dealt harshly with the Egyptians.These gods of Egypt are nothing but wood and stone and figments of perverse human imaginings. Behind them stands the devil and demonic powers. And precious people need to be saved from their delusions. God is going to show them the truth about these idols.
[12] Exodus 14:31 sums up the result of both the 11 signs and the drowning in the Red Sea: ‘And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.’
(3) English Translation (Exodus 11:1-10)
11:1
Wayyiqtol And YHWH said to Moses,
X-yiqtol ‘Still one plague I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt.
X-yiqtol After this, he will send you away from here.
Infin cs When he sends you away,
Advb + infin + impf he will surely utterly drive you out from here.
11:2
Impv Speak, now, in [the] ears of the people,
We-yiqqtol and they will request each man from his neighbor, and a woman from her neighbor, vessels of silver and vessels of gold.’
11:3
Wayyiqtol And YHWH gave grace to the people in the eyes of Egypt.
SNC Also the man Moses [was] very great in the land of Egypt, in the eyes of the servants of Pharaoh and in the eyes of the people.
11:4
Wayyiqtol And Moses said,
X-qatal ‘Thus says YHWH,
SNC “About the middle of the night, I am going out in the midst of Egypt
11:5
Weqatal And every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh sitting on the seat of honour, to the firstborn of the maidservant who [is] behind the flourmill and all the firstborn of the animals.
11:6
Weqatal And a great outcry [will] come about in all the land of Egypt,
Rel-X-qatal such as there has not been,
We-X-qatal and such as there will not be again.
11:7
We-X-yiqtol But to all the sons of Israel a dog [will] not decide [to] tongue, from man to beast,
Prep + yiqtol in order that you will know
Rel-yiqtol that YHWH distinguishes between Egypt and Israel.
11:8
Weyiqtol And all these your servants will go down to me,
Weyiqtol and they will bow down to me,
Infinitive saying,
Imperative “Go, [both] you and your people who [follow] in your footsteps”,
We-X-yiqtol and afterward in this way I will go out.’
Wayyiqtol And he went out from [being] with Pharaoh in burning anger.
11:9
Wayyiqtol And YHWH said to Moses,
Neg-wayiqtol ‘Pharaoh will not listen to you(p)’,
Prep + infin in order that my wonders be multiplied in the land of Egypt
11:10
X-qatal And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh.
And YHWH hardened the heart of Pharaoh,
and he did not send out the sons of Israel from his land.
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