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Exodus 4:18–23
“When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son, and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son’ ” (vv. 21–23).
It has been said that “with God, one man is a majority,” and we can certainly appreciate the truth of that statement. When God is on our side—or, more appropriately, when we are on God’s side—it does not matter how many foes are arrayed against us. “No weapon that is fashioned against [us] shall succeed” when the Lord is with us, because “this is the heritage of the servants of the Lord” (Isa. 54:17).
With this assurance, Moses sets out for Egypt in today’s passage, for God will be with him as he confronts the king of the most powerful empire on the planet (Ex. 4:1–20). Note that in Exodus 4:20, Moses’ staff is called “the staff of God.” Because the Lord will work through that staff to perform signs and wonders (vv. 1–5), it has become no mere shepherd’s crook but is an instrument of divine deliverance.
God has already told Moses that the pharaoh will not release the Israelites unless he is “compelled by a mighty hand”—namely, the hand of God (3:19). Exodus 4:21 explains why only the hand of the Lord will make the king free Israel—God is going to harden Pharaoh’s heart. This is the first appearance of the theme of the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart that will appear again and again during the upcoming plague narratives (chs. 7–11). As we will see, Pharaoh will harden his own heart against the Lord, and yet this promise that God Himself will harden Pharaoh’s heart indicates that we cannot view the resistance of the king as a product solely of his own will. God does not simply sit back and watch Pharaoh harden himself against the Lord; rather, our Creator is involved in the process as well. Admittedly, there is mystery here, and we cannot fully explain how both God and Pharaoh bring about this hardening. We do know, however, that Pharaoh is already a sinner, like all other people since the fall, for he is born in Adam (Rom. 5:12–21). Thus, the Lord is not dealing with someone who is favorably disposed to his Creator or even neutral with respect to the things of God. Pharaoh is by nature utterly opposed to the Lord’s sovereign rule. In other words, as Dr. R.C. Sproul frequently said, God does not have to create fresh evil in Pharaoh’s heart to accomplish His purposes in hardening the king. He only has to give Pharaoh over to his own sin in an act of judgment.
When Moses confronts Pharaoh, he is to tell the king to free God’s firstborn son—Israel—willingly, or Pharaoh will lose his own firstborn son (Ex. 4:22–23). The exodus will be the Lord’s rescue of His people and God’s adoption of them as His children.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Augustine of Hippo comments on today’s passage, “Both God and Pharaoh caused this hardening of the heart: God, by his just judgments, Pharaoh, by his free will.” The Lord does not force the king of Egypt to harden himself; rather, the pharaoh does so willingly. God is not the author of evil—He is not morally responsible for it and does not force us to do it—but He is sovereign over it. He can and does use it for His own good purposes.
For Further Study
- Job 9:1–12
- Mark 8:14–21