“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, ‘Let my people go, that they may serve me. For if you refuse to let them go and still hold them, behold, the hand of the Lord will fall with a very severe plague upon your livestock that are in the field, the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds, and the flocks. But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing of all that belongs to the people of Israel shall die.’ ” ‘ … Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand toward heaven, so that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, on man and beast and every plant of the field, in the land of Egypt.’ There was hail and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very heavy hail, such as had never been in all the land of Egypt… The hail struck down everything that was in the field in all the land of Egypt, both man and beast… every plant of the field and broke every tree of the field. Then Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron and said to them, ‘This time I have sinned; the Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. Plead with the Lord, for there has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.’ … But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet again and hardened his heart, he and his servants… and he did not let the people of Israel go, just as the Lord had spoken through Moses.” (v1-5,22,24-25,27-28,34-35 abr)
Despite having three more plagues added to the list of horrible consequences, we find out that Pharaoh still refuses to release the Israelites. These plagues continue to escalate from annoyances (the water turning to blood, frogs, gnats, flies), to painful suffering (boils), to fatal outcomes (first livestock [pestilence] then people, livestock and plants [hail/fire]). After seven plagues Pharaoh continually proves his obstinance.
There are a few verses that jump out in regard to Pharaoh. “He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing.” (Pro 29:1) “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Pro 16:18) “But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.” (Rom 2:5) “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” (Pro 16:25) “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 6:23)
There are multiple opportunities for Pharaoh to change his ways through God’s reproval, yet he hardens his heart, so in accordance with scripture he will be broken and eventually die for his stubbornness. Not only will Pharaoh die physically (which is the inevitable outcome for everyone since sin entered the world in Gen 3), he will also die spiritually in eternal separation from God (Mat 25:31-46, 2 Ths 1:8-9).
Yet there is hope for all: “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” (Rom 10:9-10) “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Eph 2:8)
Father God, we come before You today, confessing that we have had hard hearts and stubborn minds. Please continue to renew our thoughts, and our hearts, day by day. We recognize that each day there are opportunities for us to move closer, or further from You, so please help guide us so we choose wisely. We pray for Your Holy Spirit to bring scriptures to mind when we are in the midst of struggle. Please guard our minds and help deliver us from temptation. We require Your strength, wisdom and guidance in every moment of every day Father, for we are weak and You are strong. Jesus, please help us to do this in Your Holy name.
~ Conqueror in Training