y David Chadwick
God has written the greatest story ever told. It has both bad guys and good guys. Heroes and villains. But he uses all of them to accomplish his purposes. Nothing is too hard for him (Jeremiah 32:17). Remember, God is always able to work out everything for his good (Romans 8:28). Yes, even with bad guys!
Pharaoh is today’s bad guy. Found in Exodus 7-11, he was the mighty leader of Egypt. He oversaw the slavery of the Israelites.
Moses heard from God to go to Pharaoh and demand that he let God’s people go. Pharaoh refused. So, God brought plagues upon the Egyptians. Pharaoh kept refusing and hardened his own heart. Finally, after consistently rejecting God, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart and his ability to repent was irrevocable.
It was Pharaoh who initially decided to have all of the firstborn male sons killed in order to stop the proliferation of around 2 to 3 million Jews who were being born during that time (Exodus 1-2). Interestingly, God’s final plague was the destruction of all firstborn Egyptian sons, including Pharoah’s. It is a sense of payback, of justice, that God initiated upon the one man and nation that tried to commit a holocaust against God’s people.
God is a perfect blend of mercy and justice. Too often, people focus on one extreme or the other. When that happens, they miss a significant part of God’s nature and character. While God is love (1 John 4:16), he also loves justice (Proverbs 21:15). God also operates from the law of reciprocity: you reap what you sow (Galatians 6:7). In the case of Pharaoh and the Egyptians, God’s wrath came out against those who destroyed his people. They reaped what they sowed.
Every choice that you make is important. You are the sum total of all of your life’s decisions. When you choose a path that opposes God, every choice thereafter will harden your heart a little more. And then a little more. Over time, if you continue to blaspheme the Holy Spirit, eventually, God will hand you over to your desires and harden your heart completely.
Dear friends, keep your hearts soft. Remain pliable and moldable.
Choose today to follow Jesus. Don’t wait another moment. Seek him with your whole heart.
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