Day 974: Problem of the heart - Exodus 7 vs 14 - 25

14-15 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh's heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go. Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water. Stand on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that turned into a serpent. 16-18 And you shall say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness. But so far, you have not obeyed.” Thus says the Lord, “By this you shall know that I am the Lord: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood. The fish in the Nile shall die, and the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will grow weary of drinking water from the Nile.”’” 19 And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, their canals, and their ponds, and all their pools of water, so that they may become blood, and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, even in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.’”

20-21 Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants he lifted up the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all the water in the Nile turned into blood. And the fish in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. There was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. 22 But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts. So Pharaoh's heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said. 23-25 Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not take even this to heart. And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink the water of the Nile. Seven full days passed after the Lord had struck the Nile. Exodus 7:14 -25 English Standard Version.

It seems that because his magicians and sorcerers were able to imitate the turning of a staff into a serpent, Pharaoh wasn't impressed with the sign he had been given by Moses and Aaron. And even though Aaron's staff-turned serpent had eaten those of the sorcerers, Pharaoh's heart remained hardened. So God sent Moses to confront Pharaoh by the Nile and warn him of the first of a number of plagues He would send upon the Egyptians to show that He alone is God. The waters of Egypt, of which the Nile was the chief source, would be turned to blood.

Philip Johnson, in the Wycliffe Bible Commentary, notes that, while it was common for the Nile river to rise near the end of June and be coloured dark red by silt carried down from the headwaters, the water still remained drinkable. But now the waters became blood through the striking of Aaron's rod, and were undrinkable. Even standing water in wood and stone vessels were affected. But not only was Pharaoh's heart still hardened, the minds of his magicians were seemingly darkened as well! We read that they did the same by their secret arts.

In the New Testament the apostle Paul wrote of a 'man of lawlessness', whose arrival will be “by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.” (2 Thessalonians 2:9-10) Those who practise dark arts can do some 'wonders' – but they are Satanic inspired deceptions. And so, in similar fashion, we read that despite what God had done through Moses and Aaron, Pharaoh “turned and went into his house, and he did not take even this to heart.”

Over a thousand years later the apostle John wrote that “though Jesus had done so many signs before them (the Jews), they still did not believe in Him.” And then he quotes the prophet Isaiah's words that God “has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them.” (John 12:37-40) The hardening of a heart by God can be the judgement on a person who hardens their own heart through unbelief. The writer of the New Testament book of Hebrews warned his readers of this danger, and said “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” (Hebrews 4:6) May God ever open our hearts to hear His voice when we read His word, or hear it preached.