Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 14:17-18

17 And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.

18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.

The Egyptians had already come to commit a slaughter, so why would their hearts have to be further hardened to continue with what they already intended to do? Perhaps because God was about to work another miracle in their sight, one that would pose an obvious danger. To venture into the maw of the parted sea would require a hatred or an arrogance sufficient to override the most extreme sense of self-preservation!

Only this time it was not Pharaoh’s heart alone that would harden, but that of the entire army. God meant to slay the entire horde and that could only happen if they did not mutiny and leave Pharaoh to his own devices. They all needed to charge forward as one.

This is the last instance of God being said to harden the heart of Pharaoh and his people. Frankly, it wouldn’t even concern me if in this instance He really did. At this point, Pharaoh had already shown himself willing to commit a horrible genocide, even after being given so many reasons to stand down. He was already more than worthy of death, and the God who rules over every life would be justified in guiding Pharaoh and his men to their death sentence.

Of course, there has been some speculation as to whether Pharaoh himself died in the depths of the sea. Did he lead the charge after the Israelites, or did he command from the rear, ordering his men ahead while he remained on the banks of the sea? The fact that God specifically mentions that He would “get me honour upon Pharaoh” strongly suggests that the ruler received the exact same fate as his soldiers. I think it is pretty explicit language that Pharaoh did, indeed, die in this wonder.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 8:18-19

18 And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon beast.

19 Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said.

With every sign and curse performed by Moses and Aaron the magicians of Egypt repeated its effect. By this they had shown the ability to increase the affliction, but they never showed any capacity to remove it. Only God could do that.

Here, though, God completely left the magicians behind. They did try to bring forth lice of their own, but they just couldn’t. Presumably they had done all of their enchantments to try and dispute the power of the Lord, to show that their own gods were just as powerful as He. But with this one failure they changed from critics of God to ones that would testify of His sovereignty! They told Pharaoh that “truly this is the finger of God.” They were telling Pharaoh that the power that stood behind Moses was the genuine article, and they were powerless to answer it. And so it would be for all other curses that followed. We will not hear of the magicians repeating any more of the afflictions that God set upon Egypt.

But even with the testimony of his magicians, Pharaoh still hardened himself. Sometimes after a curse he would seek mercy, but at other times God would just escalate to the next afflictions until he relented. Pharaoh could hold out for a while, and so can we, but God is perfectly able to outlast and outpower any of us. He may move gradually and accumulatively, but He can go as far and as high as He needs until He breaks our pride and we humble ourselves before Him. As it has been written, sooner or later, “every knee shall bow” and “every tongue confess.”