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Exodus 9:27–32
“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’ ” (vv. 27–28).
Throughout the plague narratives so far, there has been one constant—Pharaoh has refused to admit that he is in the wrong and that he has sinned against God and His people. At times, the king of Egypt has asked for relief (e.g., Ex. 8:1–15), but he has not shown any kind of remorse for his insistence that the Israelites remain as his slaves. Yet that changes with the seventh plague, the plague of hail. We saw in Exodus 9:13–26 how terribly the hail devastated the land of Egypt, and in today’s passage we see that this has had an effect on Pharaoh. As we read in verses 27–28, the king admits that he and the Egyptians have been wrong and promises to let the Israelites go.
Pharaoh’s words are notable not only for indicating that he apparently recognized his own sin but also for showing the king’s understanding that ultimately, the Lord wants more than just a temporary release of Israel to celebrate a feast before a return to bondage (see 5:1; 8:27). God desires much more than just a brief trip away from Egypt for His people. He is seeking their permanent liberation so that they will be a kingdom of priests to Him, as will be made clear in Exodus 19:1–6. The Lord, when He saves people, does not take them briefly away from their old master; rather, He binds them to Himself as His servants alone forever. We see this plainly in the Apostolic teaching on the nature of salvation. In Christ, we die permanently to the old master of sin so as to serve the living God (see Rom. 6).
Although the king of Egypt professes a change of heart in today’s passage, we should not think that he has actually been converted to the ways and wisdom of the Lord. Pharaoh is not truly repentant, which Moses recognizes in Exodus 8:29–30, noting that he and the majority of the Egyptians do not yet fear the Lord truly. His is that sorrow for sin that we commonly refer to as attrition, sorrow for the consequences of sin and not that one has rebelled against and has offended the holy God. Under duress, it is easy to make a profession that one is in the wrong and to vow to amend one’s ways, but true conversion is evident when external pressures go away and people continue to seek the Lord’s face when there is no danger compelling them to do so. Pharaoh’s change of heart is not real, as we will see, and when God relents, the king will go back to his old sinful ways, showing no penitence for his continuing sin (v. 35).
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
How do we know that the change of heart and repentance that we have professed is real? One way is to look at our attitude when things are going well. If we are continuing to seek the Lord’s face and are sorry for our sin when we are not suffering overtly for it, then we can know that the Holy Spirit is working in our hearts, that we are not sorry for sin merely because of its consequences but because we have offended the Lord.
For Further Study
- Genesis 4:1–16
- 1 Kings 21
- Acts 8:9–25
- 2 Corinthians 7:9