The problem of a hard heart

Now, let's turn together to Exodus chapter 7. So we've been thinking about this as a book where

Exodus 7 · chapter mention

God makes himself known to his people and to Egypt, and we're going to see more of that today,

asking ourselves the question, how do I respond to the God of all the earth?

So let's hear God's word from Exodus 7. Then the Lord said to Moses,

See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. 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. But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in Egypt,

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, 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. Moses and Aaron did

just as the Lord commanded them. Moses was 80 years old, and Aaron 83, when they spoke to Pharaoh.

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, When Pharaoh says to you, Perform a miracle, then say to Aaron,

Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh, and it will become a snake. So Moses and Aaron went

to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and

his officials, and it became a snake. Pharaoh then summoned the wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian

magicians also did the same things by their secret arts. Each one threw down his staff, and it became a

snake. But Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs. Yet Pharaoh's heart became hard, and he would not

listen to them, just as the Lord had said. Then the Lord said to Moses, Pharaoh's heart is unyielding.

He refuses to let the people go. Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes out to the river. Confront

him on the bank of the Nile, and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake.

Then say to him, The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you, Let my people go,

so that they may worship me in the wilderness. But until now you have not listened. This is what the

Lord says, By this you will know that I am the Lord. With the staff that is in my hand, I will

strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood. The fish in the Nile will die, and the

river will stink. The Egyptians will not be able to drink its water. The Lord said to Moses, Tell Aaron,

Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over the streams and canals,

over the ponds and all the reservoirs, and they will turn to blood. Blood will be everywhere in

Egypt, even in vessels of wood and stone. Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded.

He raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the water of the Nile,

and all the water was changed into blood. The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that

the Egyptians could not drink its water. Blood was everywhere in Egypt. But the Egyptian magicians did

the same things by their secret arts, and Pharaoh's heart became hard. He would not listen to Moses and

Aaron, just as the Lord had said. Instead, he turned and went into his palace and did not take even this

to heart. And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile to get drinking water, because they could not drink

the water of the river. Seven days passed after the Lord struck the Nile. Amen. This is God's word for us

this morning, this evening. Okay, let's pick it up. So, I guess most of us will maybe have spotted with

different degrees of interest that the date for the king's coronation is now in May the 6th. Perhaps

is already marked in some people's calendars. For others, maybe all we hope for it is that we might

get another public holiday. And do you know when it comes to this king's coronation? That's okay.

We can have different opinions about that. But our response to the king of kings, the king who we're

presented with in the book of Exodus, this matters in a life and death way. So, Exodus and its missionary

aim, God has been saying in so many ways, I am the Lord. And here is what I am like. He's been saying

that for the benefit of Israel. He's been saying it for the benefit of Egypt and for the nations.

And one way that we're seeing this theme emerge is through two characters and two questions that

have been asked. So, obviously, one of the main characters in the book of Exodus is Moses. Moses,

who was called by God to be the deliverer of his people. And Moses, in chapter 3, we see him asking

the question a number of times. He wants to know exactly who the Lord is. You can see that, for example,

in chapter 3, verse 13. He has faith, but he's seeking understanding. He wants to be able to communicate

who is God to the rest of the Israelites. But there's been another character asking another

question in a very different tone. So, chapter 5, verse 2, we have Pharaoh, 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.

Here's a question based on defiance. I refuse to acknowledge the authority of this king.

Okay. So, chapter 7 is going to help us to answer these two vital questions. Who is God? And that's

going to take up most of our time. But then, really importantly, how do I respond? And we're going to

see how Moses and Pharaoh are so very, very different. And it invites us to reflect on our

own response to God. So, let's begin asking the question, who is the Lord as we find him revealed in

chapter 7 of the book of Exodus. And there are at least four truths that we can identify. Let's begin

by thinking about God's mighty hand. That's the language of verses 4 and 5, especially verse 4,

I will lay my hand on Egypt. End of verse 5, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the

Israelites out of it. So, this strong hand, mighty hand of God used in two ways. One, against Pharaoh.

And if you look at the verses, there's the language that's inviting us to think here is God as commander.

He's leading Israel as army divisions out of Egypt in victory. Of course, it's God alone who has

powerfully saved. Israel simply has to stand and watch. But this mighty acts of judgment that God

brings on Egypt are intended to be proof to Pharaoh and to Egypt that the Lord, he is God. The one that

Pharaoh is fighting against is the one true God. But the same hand that's against Pharaoh and Egypt

is the same hand that is working for Israel, working to shelter Israel, working to save and to guide.

Like a father taking a child by the hand to guide his child out of danger. And this act of deliverance

by God's mighty hand, too, stands as proof of who God is, both to Egypt and to Israel. So, the mighty hand of

God is really significant for knowing our God. So, do we see the mighty hand of God? Where do we see the

mighty hand of God? Perhaps we can begin by thinking about what we sometimes call common grace. Do we

recognize every good thing that we enjoy comes from the hand of God? Do we recognize every experience of

God's mercy? It's very easy for us to walk through life not thinking about where all these good things, where God's

mercy comes from. There's an evangelist in the States called Randy Newman, and he writes about an apologetic of joy,

by which he means one way into fruitful conversations with our non-Christian friends and family members might be

to show how we have learned to show how we have learned to see God in the good things, in the simple everyday

things of life, to show that God is part of everyday life. Do we see God's mighty hand in his common grace?

Do we see God's mighty hand in his acts of providence? Do we have that understanding that all the events of

history, all the circumstances in the story of our lives are in God's hands? With the hymn writer, can we be glad

that our times are in God's hands? Because when we know that God is powerful and God is good,

that God is in control and he is for his people, then there's something profoundly comforting,

an invitation to trust. And then do we see God's mighty hand in his acts of salvation?

Think about the Lord Jesus as he's presented in John's Gospel. John speaks about the signs of Jesus,

those miracles as signposts to the identity of Jesus that we might know that Jesus is the Son of God and

the Savior of the world. When we look at the cross, do we see that mighty act of God?

As he pours out judgment on his Son instead of it falling on his own people. As he gives salvation

by grace, as he makes a way for our sins to be forgiven. And then do we recognize in that great sign,

the resurrection, that promise that sin and death has been defeated, that victory has been secured,

that eternity is guaranteed for the people of God. So as we learn to see the mighty acts of God in our

lives, there is a call constantly to believe and to worship and to have thankfulness.

So that's one way we're invited to know our God. Secondly, we can see in this chapter much that speaks of

God's total supremacy. God is in absolute charge. So one of the big themes in Exodus is this conflict

theme, at least for the first 15 chapters. And the plagues, which begin here in chapter 7,

come as a demonstration that I am a Lord and there is no other, there is no God besides me.

Pharaoh was fighting against that. Pharaoh presumed the false gods of Egypt were equal to the God of

Israel. And so chapter 7 and God's acts here show otherwise. Firstly, we see in verse 3 that God is

supreme over people. We see it there when it says, but I will harden Pharaoh's heart. Pharaoh, the most

powerful man of his day, but the Lord is in control. And we're going to think about the hardening of

Pharaoh's heart in a moment. But just to recognize that the Lord rules over the most powerful king

on the planet. And that's still the case. And also God announces that he will bring his people out. He is

supreme over his own people. The Lord rules over kings. The Lord rules over nations.

We're also invited to remember that God is supreme over creation. All of the plagues are a reminder

that God is the creator. God is at work. Verses 19 and 20. You can turn there and you can see that

quite clearly. So here we have the river Nile, the mighty river Nile, the source of life for Egypt.

Irrigation was there. Trade happened there. Wealth was tied up with the river Nile. But also remember

that it was Pharaoh who issued the decree that little baby boys should be drowned in the river Nile.

The place of life in Pharaoh's eyes was to become a place of death. And what does God do?

God issues judgment, turns the place of life into the place of death. And it becomes really clear

that it's God's own hand that's working this act of judgment, this plague.

Verse 20. It's as Aaron raises his staff and strikes the Nile. Instantly it's changed into blood.

Now some people perhaps try and reason it away and say, well perhaps further upstream there was some

sort of red clay or soil that kind of came into the water system and made its way down.

And so Moses, just in case we're thinking that, includes in verse, end of verse 19,

blood will be everywhere, even in vessels of wood and stone. This is not a naturally occurring

incident. This is the Lord who created, it's the Lord who is commanding.

And we also are invited to remember, and again this has very much to do with the plagues,

that the Lord is supreme over the false gods, over the false gods of Egypt. Verse 10 to 12.

And we're back with the snakes and the significance of the snakes. So remember,

Pharaoh had the cobra crown. His rule was very much associated with his claim to be godlike.

Well here there is this action that happens in the palace. And what do we see? We see a battle

between two powers. Incidentally, the word for snake, so when Moses performed this miracle the

first time for the people of God, it was like the regular word for a snake. But this word for a

snake is more similar to the word for a dragon. So we're not invited to think of just a small snake,

maybe like a grass snake or a corn snake. We're invited to think of one of those huge snakes,

like anaconda, boa constrictor, some kind of king cobra going on here. Because this is warfare

between Pharaoh and between God. And in this contest, what happens? Aaron's staff becomes a snake,

so do Pharaoh's magician's staffs, but of course Aaron's staff swallowed theirs up. There is no contest

because God has no rivals. God is supreme. Abraham Kuyper, the Dutch theologian, once said,

there is no square inch of all creation over which God does not say mine. We see it here in Exodus 7.

But we also need to recognize that that includes our hearts and includes your life and includes my life.

And it is so important for us to recognize the supremacy of God, the uniqueness of our God,

the one who says, I am the Lord. So important for us to recognize the uniqueness of Jesus who said,

I am, I am God, I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

We need to come to that point of recognizing no other God can save us.

And amazingly, no other God came to save us other than the God who is revealed in the Bible.

What else can we say about the Lord from Exodus chapter 7? We recognize one of his great goals

Exodus 7 · chapter mention

in the Exodus is to restore relationship. So look with me at verse 16. This is what they are to say

to Pharaoh. The Lord, the God of the Hebrews has sent me to say to you, let my people go so that they

may worship me in the wilderness. Okay, so we're in the book of Exodus at the moment. The book before

this is the book of Genesis, both books written by Moses. The book of Genesis, and especially the

first 11 chapters, one of the things that we see over and over again is what we could call the spreading

disease of sin. I actually ended up thinking about maybe you saw at the beginning of COVID.

Do you remember those warning videos that were all over the internet, those sort of experiments where

somebody would have, I can't remember what kind of chemical it was, and then they'd be put in a room

and they'd be touching the light switch and going to pick up a sandwich. They'd be opening the door and

then you put the UV light on and you would see the fingerprints everywhere. And it was supposed to

remind us germs from hands spread. The infection moves everywhere. That's the point of the book of

Genesis. First 11 chapters. We see sin spread from Adam and Eve to their children, then to the whole

human race. Except in God's mercy, he calls Moses. He doesn't call Moses, he calls Noah and he calls

Abraham. Well, we come to Exodus and we need to remember it's still within that context.

This is the reality of life during the Exodus. We are seeing in the chapters before us sinful

rebellion taking place, most notably from Pharaoh and from Egypt. We see also that sin separates,

and we discover that the sadness, the tragedy that the covenant people of God don't seem to know their

God. We meet Pharaoh who has no desire and no will to worship God because of sin.

And we're invited to go further still and to recognize it as a picture of every human heart,

to understand the spreading disease of sin in our separation from God, in our stubbornness,

in our self-worship as we turn in rather than turn up. And then we hear God's grace in verse

16. God's grace in bringing freedom. And why does he bring freedom? We've said it before. He's

bringing freedom not so they could enjoy a political liberation. They're enjoying freedom to become his

people. They're going to experience freedom so they can know their God, so that they can worship the one

true God, so they can be restored to life as it was meant to be. We were made to worship. We

were made to know and to enjoy God. It's the power of the redemption theme that we find in the gospel.

We've been thinking about it so much on our Sunday mornings. The Lord Jesus, by taking on human flesh,

by meeting the law's demands and perfectly obeying where we disobey, and then taking the penalty as a

lawbreaker in our place, by his living as the true and better Adam, always obedient, always seeking the

Father's will, by his dying as a substitute, giving his life as a sacrifice, what has he done? He has

secured spiritual freedom for his people that we might know and enjoy him. Sometimes it's good for us to stop

and to reflect. I found myself doing that this week. That we can worship in freedom is a massive privilege.

We think about the persecuted church around the world.

So many tens of millions of believers living in fear that the next time they go to a place to worship could be the last time.

So we should never take our freedom to worship for granted. That we have heard the truth of the gospel

is an incredible act of God's mercy. There are billions of people described as unreached today

who have never heard the good news of the Lord Jesus, who live in nations or tribes or communities

where the message of Jesus has not got until this point. And so we are invited to treasure it

and to do what we can to see it spread. That in Christ Jesus we are invited to freedom.

That's amazing grace.

Let's not fight that. Let's not ignore that. Let's not be complacent about that, but rather

that we would come gladly to acknowledge Jesus as the only Redeemer. The only Redeemer we need.

Another thing that we see about the Lord here in these verses is that he is a God of judgment and mercy.

And here we're back in verses 17 to 19. Again, if we pan back a little, we know that God is a holy God.

The Bible is really clear on that. And he says, be holy because I am holy.

And so we know that God hates sin.

And so we know that God hates the oppression that's going on in Egypt.

He hates the murder of the innocents that Pharaoh has sought to bring about.

He hates the injustice and the willful rejection of his name and his glory.

And so as we come to begin looking at the plagues, we can see them as a pattern.

You know, the Bible talks about the wages of sin being death.

And these first nine plagues stand for us as a picture of the misery of life in a fallen world

and life under the judgment of God leading up to plague 10, the plague of death.

And so the book of Exodus reminds us that God is the judge of all the earth and God will do what is right.

But God also shows mercy.

God extends the invitation to mercy even to Pharaoh and to Egypt.

So there's a pattern with the plagues.

Sometimes we can overlook it.

Do the plagues just happen?

So this first plague where the Nile turns to blood.

Are the people just down there one day and they're collecting the water to drink

and they're going down there to bathe and then all of a sudden without any warning,

the nice clear water has turned blood red?

No.

They are given a fair warning.

They are told.

So Moses through Aaron delivers the message of God.

This is what will happen.

They have an opportunity to listen.

Pharaoh has the chance to do the right thing

and to let God's people go.

God is not unjust.

Rather like a parent or a teacher

issuing a warning to a child,

there is built within that the chance to change,

the chance to escape those consequences.

So there is mercy.

And we'll see later on in the plagues

that some of the people do listen

and they find mercy where others don't listen.

They experience judgment.

But there's absolutely mercy for Israel, isn't there?

There is mercy for Israel

in that they are spared,

they are saved,

they are taken out to enjoy

covenant relationship with their God.

There is judgment and there is mercy

from the hand of God.

The Bible tells us

of God's eternal plan of salvation.

Such a mystery to that.

We're told that the Father and the Son and the Spirit

established the plan of salvation

before the world was ever made.

Sometimes it's called the covenant of redemption.

And in that covenant of redemption,

God by His grace freely chooses

to save some guilty sinners

by sending His Son, the Lord Jesus,

and by sending the Spirit

so that some will respond in faith.

And then in the fullness of God's timing,

the Son of God came into the world

and He was made subject to the law.

And He paid the ransom price for sin

and for sinners on the cross.

And He rose again in victory

and vindication.

So that,

by faith in Christ Jesus,

there will be no judgment on us

for our sin.

There is therefore no condemnation

for those who are in Christ.

Instead,

trusting in Jesus,

we experience God's mercy,

the mercy of being reconciled to God,

the mercy of being adopted

into the family of God,

the mercy of being established

in this covenant relationship with God.

And so,

Jesus speaks in the Gospel

and He says,

come to Me.

Trust in Me

as Lord

and as Savior.

So this is the Lord.

This is the Lord

of the mighty hand.

This is the Lord

who is supreme over all.

The Lord who restores relationship.

The Lord of judgment and mercy.

This is the Lord.

Now, the question is,

how do you and I respond

to the Lord?

To think about chapters 5 to 7

together for a moment,

we can think about them

as a crossroads moment.

We know what we mean

when we talk about

a moment of crossroads,

you know,

for driving.

There's two roads

and we have to make a decision

and the decision that we make

will set the direction

for the rest of the journey.

Well, for Moses and Pharaoh,

rather,

they find themselves

at a crossroads.

There is a point of decision

for them

as to how they will respond

to God.

And we will see

two very different responses.

Today,

for us,

whenever we hear God's Word,

whenever we hear the Gospel,

we find ourselves again

at a crossroads.

Am I going to obey

or to disobey

what I hear today?

Am I going to trust

or am I going to doubt

God's promise today?

Am I going to receive

or am I going to reject

Jesus the Savior today?

There are crossroads moments

every time

we read and we hear

God's Word.

So let's consider

what happens with Pharaoh

and with Moses

so that we might learn

from them.

First of all,

let's think about

stubborn,

hard-hearted Pharaoh.

And we're invited

to think of him that way

because it's a recurring theme

in chapter 7.

Verse 3,

I will harden

Pharaoh's heart.

Verse 13,

Pharaoh's heart

became hard.

Verse 22,

Pharaoh's heart

became hard.

Verse 23,

he did not even

take this

to heart.

I read a study

this week

looking at

the power

of choices

and the way

that choices

made repeatedly

at a certain point

create fixed habits

and can even

create addictions.

So the study

was all focused

on our phones.

apparently the average

phone user

is making

2,000 touches

to their phone

every day.

And so this study

was saying

it's little wonder

then

that we find

our eyes

and our minds

being drawn

towards our phone.

They take

our attention

and they can set

our behavior.

Choices

can create

fixed habits.

That study

was saying,

well,

what do we see

in Pharaoh?

We see

a fixed

choice

from him

to say

no to God

at every point.

In verse 3,

he is stubborn

and hard-hearted

towards

God's

words.

And we're told

that again

in verse 14.

Having seen

God's greater

glory

with the snakes

at the palace,

he is hard-hearted

towards God's

power and God's

rule.

And even

as the first

plague appears

with its threat

of judgment,

Pharaoh hardens

his heart

to that

also.

Pharaoh

wants to

enter into

war with God.

Even as it

becomes clear

to everyone

around him

this is a battle

he cannot win.

the story

of Pharaoh's

hard heart

is told

from two

different

points of

view.

And I think

it's helpful

for us to

recognize that.

So let's just

think about that

just very briefly.

The Bible

absolutely

presents

Pharaoh

as someone

who is

making

his own

moral

choices.

He is

freely,

deliberately

choosing

to say

no to

God,

to turn

his back

on God,

and he

has been

acting

deliberately

to try

and destroy

and make

life

miserable

for the

people of

God.

But we

also

are invited

to see

it from

the Lord's

point of

view.

And what

we discover

there,

verse 3,

the Lord

hardened

Pharaoh's

heart,

we are

invited

to

recognize

the Lord

is the

moral

ruler

over

Pharaoh,

over

everybody.

And so

the Lord

has a

right to

pass

judgment

on

Pharaoh.

The Lord

in his

wisdom

decides

when Pharaoh

reaches the

point of

no return,

when his

rejection of

God has

become a

fixed habit,

and so

what the

Lord does

is to

give him

up to

his

desire.

And what

will become

clear for

us as

the chapters

go on

is that

one reason

behind that

is so

that God's

glory will

be seen

all the

more

clearly.

God

could have

acted

instantly

to

transform

Pharaoh's

heart,

could have

acted

with such

force

that

Pharaoh

would

instantly

have let

the people

go,

but by

God's

design,

he was

giving a

repeated

lesson

to Israel

and to

Egypt,

I am

the Lord

and there

is no

other.

And so

there is a

hardening

towards that

end.

God

asked

Moses

to

write

three

times

about

Pharaoh's

hard

heart.

Surely

as a

warning,

perhaps to

himself,

absolutely to

the people

of Israel,

remember

Pharaoh,

remember what

happens if

you harden

your heart

to God.

Also,

it's included

for us,

isn't it?

Don't

harden our

hearts to

the biblical

warnings that

we find

throughout

Scripture.

The warning

that sin

is real

and judgment

is real,

that eternal

punishment in

hell is

real,

that we

cannot presume

on the

mercy of

God,

and we

shouldn't

harden our

hearts to

our God

and our

Saviour.

The Puritans

used to

say that

the same

sun that

melts the

ice,

also

hardens the

clay.

Every time

we hear

the Word

of God,

some

people's

hearts are

made soft,

and some

people's

hearts are

hardened.

We're being

invited to

see from

the example

of Pharaoh,

don't resist

God's Son,

don't resist

the light

and the

life that

he brings.

Rather,

that we

would be

like obedient

Moses.

He's like

the flip

side,

he's the

picture of

the soft

heart.

So since

chapter 3,

if you've

been with

us,

we've seen

the Lord

has been

calling

Moses,

he's been

revealing more

of himself

to Moses,

he's been

making promises

and issuing

commands,

and Moses

up until this

point,

we've seen

him feel

of self-doubt,

we've seen

him aware

of his own

failures,

we've seen

some of his

fears come

out,

but Moses

has reached

a crossroads

as well.

Very simple

verse,

7 verse

6,

Moses and

Aaron

did just

as the

Lord

commanded

them.

And Moses

from this

point,

this is what

we'll see.

We're going

to see him

walk with

God in

faith and

obedience.

We're going

to see a

newfound

confidence in

the Lord.

We're going

to see that

he's confident

that he has

God's word.

Now,

his identity

isn't all

about himself.

Oh,

I failed in

the past,

oh,

I feel so

terrible,

I'm a

nobody.

Now his

identity is

rooted in

God.

He knows

he's sent

by God,

he knows

he's come

to speak

God's

words,

he's going

to do

what God

says and

God's

going to

be with

him.

So he

becomes

this model

of faith

and

obedience

and he

becomes a

model of

faith and

obedience

for us

as well.

That we

are invited

also to

trust the

promises that

we find

in the

Bible,

to trust

the promise

of a

Lord who

saves,

of a

Lord who

watches over

his people,

a Lord who

promises to

be with

us,

who promises

to supply

all we

need,

who will

continue what

he started

in his work

of salvation,

who will

help us in

times of

trial and

temptation.

So as we

find ourselves

today,

under the

word of

God,

a cross

road in

our lives,

what path

will we

choose?

Let's

choose the

path that

Moses chose.

Choose the

path of

faith and

obedience.

Let's

choose to

follow the

Lord.

Let's pray

together.

Lord, we

thank you

that you

are a

God who

reveals

yourself to

us in

your word

in so

many

different

ways,

to

encourage

us towards

faith and

obedience.

Lord, we

recognise so

much of

ourselves,

love and

you

get

on to

what

do

on to

icio

things.

Hold on,

walk one along.

Eastern

Highway

forward, we

smash one of ce

hard, have

worked ahead of

someone who

will

come to

his

heart down,

emon treasury

and

faith and

шь across

believe oh,

you

know,

his

life is

amazing,

that he

ok?