From my earliest Sunday School days, I have wondered about the translation of Exodus 7:3 that points to God hardening Pharaoh’s heart.
Honestly, “Why would God do that?”
If that’s what happened, does that mean Pharaoh had no other choice than to say “No“ when Moses asked to let the Hebrews go?
If that’s what it means, I’m troubled. Here’s why:
It makes the Lord out to be a vindictive God who manipulates and uses people,
who in this case uses Pharaoh to launch a program of blistering punishment upon the Egyptians, presumably to pay them back for their sins, especially the horrific sin of drowning Hebrew baby boys in the Nile.
Of course, who wouldn’t be outraged when children are victims of violence?
Who wouldn’t react with demands for consequences and punishment – calling for
retaliatory air strikes and an all-out invasion to destroy such evil once and for all?
But today is Peace Sunday – the day after Remembrance Day – and underneath all the shouting and fist waving, there is Jesus, down on his haunches, writing in the dust, offering his opinion that “they who are without sin cast the first stone.” (John 8:7)
In effect, Jesus is saying: “Hold on a minute.” Before we react out of our moral outrage, he wants us to reflect on a very personal question – the one Pastor Mark named last week, namely: “How is it with YOUR soul?” //
In today’s conflict in Israel/Palestine, no one seems interested in pumping the brakes to look inward, certainly not for a ceasefire, or to release hostages, not even for a humanitarian pause to let foreign nationals out and higher levels of international aid in.
Those in charge of their respective camps are determined to mete out what they feel is owed – namely, “an eye for an eye.” Seems “10 eyes for 1 eye” is even better!
Most of the world can see that justice has gone off the rails. The United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry is documenting war crimes on all sides. Still, none of the combatants seems to care. Hearts have hardened.
Are we to believe this is God’s doing too? //
As I thought about this, it came to mind that there is a theology many of us have been exposed to that fits with this picture of a God who can’t forgive sin unless someone pays for it – a God who needs His “pound of flesh.”
Some of us grew up in churches or in the midst of communities where it was held that the reason Jesus came from heaven was to be our substitute.
This thinking defines Christ’s mission as suffering and dying in our place, all because God apparently requires a sacrifice in order to forgive and let us into Heaven.
But again, just like what happened to the Pharaoh, in this theory of substitution, one can draw the conclusion that Jesus didn’t have a choice either. Christ gets “voluntold” to be the sacrifice.
Dear friends, is this really how God operates? By using power to control others?
Are we really supposed to use Jesus as our get-out-jail-free card? //
To me this understanding of salvation feels cold, legalistic, and mechanical.
It reduces the death of Jesus down to a “transaction” – a payment for sin, if you will.
But even a surface reading of the Bible will show that this view is not consistent with all of scripture. Take for example, the letter of 1st John that describes God as love, and Jesus as the embodiment of that love, expressed in all he said and did, even in his dying.
Consider King David’s testimony in Psalm 103 that God is slow to anger, compassionate, loves us and longs for our trust and relationship.
Then there is the prophet Ezekiel who records that God takes no pleasure in the death of wicked people (Ezek. 33:11). Implied here is that God prefers REUNION over revenge.
When father Abraham visits with God about the pending disaster set to befall the sinful city of Sodom (Genesis 18:22-32), Abraham finds God very willing to intervene and spare the lives of everyone – even if there are only ten righteous persons living there.
Clearly, Abraham is exceedingly uncomfortable with an image of a vengeful God.
Good on Abraham to find the courage to check and see just where God stands when it comes to sin and setting things straight.
Good on those of you who have been so bold as to ask your questions, to wrestle with God like Jacob did the night before meeting his twin brother Esau.
Good on us for needing to know where God stands, asking whether there really is grace sufficient for all our sins. //
Yes, there have been some really disturbing ideas on salvation throughout the ages, many of which don’t paint God as overly benevolent, protective, and kind.
I imagine people – even well-intentioned people – came up with these ideas to get the lost and the least to comply. They sought to fan the coals of fear to acheive that.
Take for example images people have used that portray God as an angry judge.
The suggestion here is that OUR SINS are powerful enough to cause the Creator to forget the love She once had for us, present when we were being knit together in our mother’s womb.
But according to Isaiah 49:15-16a, that’s impossible. Here we read the Lord saying:
“Can a mother forget the baby who is nursing at her breast?
Can she stop having tender love for the child who was born to her?
She might forget her child.
But I will not forget you.
16 I have written your name on the palms of my hands.”
Imagine…. your name written on the palm of God’s hand!
Is that not amazing? This is how close God holds us, loves us! //
Inspired by these words, I’ve been rethinking this picture of God’s vengeful wrath, God’s hardening of Pharaoh’s heart to make sure the Egyptians get slammed to the ground for their sins.
It doesn’t hold water even in the chapters that talk about the plagues.
For example, after the plagues have all come to pass, the text says the Egyptians were moved to show kindness to the Hebrews, practicing generosity towards the Israelites as they left, gifting them with silver, gold, and clothing.
Why would they DO this?
Why not react like their Pharaoh and despise these foreigners whose God just ruined their land and their livelihood?
Why not curse the Hebrews as they leave, just like a man named Shimei cursed King David when David was forced out of Jerusalem by his own son Absalom?
That story found in 2 Samuel 16 gives us the feeling that Shimei had a chip on his shoulder – that his heart was hardened toward David.
We learn that Shimei was a relative of King Saul and didn’t accept David’s taking of the throne, bypassing Saul’s next of kin. In Shimei’s eyes, it seems that once again, the smallest tribe in Israel – the tribe of Benjamin – is getting the short end of the stick.
Perhaps Shimei may have personally experienced something like this himself, being passed by, denied an honor he thought was legitimately his.
Imbittered, Shimei yells curses and throws stones at David. When it comes to “parting gifts,” he showers the deposed monarch with handfuls of dirt – not silver and gold.
Shimei makes it clear to everyone that he believes David’s fall from glory was payback for usurping the throne of Saul. (2 Samuel 16:5-14)
So, given Shimei’s reaction to David, wouldn’t it make sense that the Egyptians would have a thousand more reasons to throw stones and dirt at the departing Hebrews?
The plagues wreaked catastrophic damage on Egypt!
No doubt the impact was felt for years to come, not unlike what Israel’s present-day bombs and sanctions are doing to Gaza, setting it back for years, if not for generations to come.
So, all this has me wondering:
Are the plagues a curse upon Egypt, meant to punish, Or …. à
Are they “signs and wonders” meant to turn people toward a caring, all-inclusive, grace-filled Creator who wants to set everyone free, not just the Hebrew slaves?
(pause)
Pharaoh sees the plagues as curses – perhaps even as a contest meant to break him.
We’ll ponder what might be going on within him in just a bit.
But for the Egyptian people – even Pharaoh’s magicians and advisors – they each come to see the plagues as an invitation to turn around and be found, to be rescued even!
How do we see the “plagues” that befall us?
Several years ago, a series of hard things hit our family, one right after the other. Strangely, they all followed after I delivered a letter of resignation to the church chairperson where I was serving as pastor.
A number of challenges and difficult experiences had taken a toll. It seemed best to hit the reset button.
Well, after giving six months’ notice to the congregation, our fridge, stove, microwave, washer, dryer, and television each went on the fritz.
Our new roof sprang a leak. Then the engine of my 1976 Honda 360 motorcycle suddenly started making a loud banging noise…like a piston rod or valve had broken.
I shut it down, and sold it to my neighbour the next day for $50.
Then, to top it all off, our dog got cancer and had to be put down.
Oh, and just before that, we had a flea infestation in our house. I remember we had to seal all our bedding and clothes in garbage bags for two weeks. During that time, we slept in our winter coats on bare mattresses till the isolation period was over. //
And then, there was the question of employment.
I wasn’t sure I still wanted to be a pastor. I gave serious thought to changing careers – maybe work for an airport limo service driving travelers to Toronto’s Pearson and back.
After six months of being unemployed, I eventually came back to the idea of pastoring, and pursued a new calling in Cambridge.
Things were starting to look up, and we began the hunt for a new home, closer to the new church. But it was a seller’s market. We found ourselves standing in lines six to ten people deep to view each listing. Each offer we filed was outbid.
What was going on??? (pause)
O, but there’s more 😊.
On top of all that, there was the grieving going on.
My family didn’t want to leave the church we had been at for 11 years.
They didn’t want to leave lovely Elmira on account of all the wonderful neighbors and schools and ease of getting around town.
They were angry and upset, and it was understandable. It just wasn’t any fun that they directed their hurt towards me – “the cause” of their tears. //
I remember feeling overwhelmed and stretched to the breaking point.
There were times I wondered if we were caught in a web of darkness created by the Principalities and Powers.
Had God given Satan permission to test our loyalty, like God did in the story of Job?
Or should we to feel “honored” for being chosen to endure some kind of “discipleship bootcamp” to up our skills for what was coming next? //
I think many of you will agree with me that in times like these, one’s mind can go down all kinds of rabbit holes trying to figure out what’s going on.
Some of us have no trouble coming up with a laundry list of imperfections God might have grown impatient with, wanting to bleach out of us.
Well, the experience of all those losses left not only our bank account empty, it also emptied us of confidence to manage our circumstances. We were broken. I was broken.
(pause)
Looking back (and somethings you can only see it looking back) this place of weakness and vulnerability set the stage for us to experience a BIGGER GOD, and plumb the depths of the Creator’s power to provide our daily bread.
Looking back, our “flour and oil” never ran out – just like what the widow of Zarephath experienced when she took Elijah into her home during a time of famine.
In our case, an aunt from Winnipeg – sister to my father – passed away, leaving her estate to her four remaining brothers.
My dad divided up his portion and gifted each of his three children with a third, which was enough to cover another 2-3 months’ worth of expenses.
Can you imagine the timing of that gift??? (pause)
And, though it was incredibly humbling, for the first time in my life, I applied for and received Employment Insurance.
I also did a couple of odd jobs working for my brother-in-law on his chicken farm.
There were also some other mysterious unseen gifts that took us the rest of the way.
And, when it came to eventually finding a house, Kristen’s parents just “happened” to have a conversation with a pastor leaving the Waterloo area. He said to them:
“We have the house your daughter and son-in-law are looking for.”
Being a bit skeptical, we went to see it. It was everything and more we could have imagined! They didn’t put us in a bidding war. They wanted it to go to us – private sale. They had loved this home, and wanted it to be a blessing to the next owners. Twenty-two years later, we still live there!
At the end these “plagues,” our testimony was this:
In our emptiness, we were set free to rely on God and experience being seen and heard by heaven at a level never before known in our lives. We concluded God really did have our names written on the palms of Her hand.
(pause)
Well, back to our text and the story of Moses confronting Pharaoh.
I’m going to suggest to you that before any of the plagues happened, there were signs of a gracious God reaching out to Pharaoh, inviting him to look within himself and find recourse for what was missing.
I’m going to suggest to you that God took up a spot right by the door to Pharaoh’s heart and stubbornly refused to leave.
I’m going to suggest to you that God desired to come in and help Pharaoh name his own enslavement to a burdensome life drained of joy, and in naming it, would help him let it go.
Let’s turn to verse 9 of chapter 7.
Here we read that Moses’ brother Aaron is to throw down his walking stick in front of Pharaoh. The plan is that God will turn it into a live snake, slithering about on the floor.
“Have you ever wondered Why a snake?”
Surely God could have turned Aaron’s staff into any creature – for example, a crocodile, or grizzly bear, or even a cute little kitten.
If you look at pictures of Egyptian artifacts dating back to the time of the Pharaohs, you will notice there are snakes – often cobras – especially on ceremonial headdresses worn by the king, and decorating the coffins they were buried in.
Digging a litter further on Wikipedia, I found out that the symbol of a snake was used to represent an Egyptian god named Nehebkau.
The article I read (see this link) said this god was originally feared as an evil spirit, but then became known for being a kind, protective, and benevolent force – a companion of Re the sun god – the top god in Egyptian beliefs.
Doesn’t it seem amazing to you that the God of the Hebrews would choose to manifest in a form that would right away mean something to Pharaoh, getting his attention on a whole other level?
God shows up, humbly, on the floor at Pharaoh’s feet, in an image of compassion and protection that surely the king would immediately recognize!!
Is this not just like how God would show up centuries later, again, in an equally humble manner, this time in a stable, in the form of a baby, as a sign of unconditional love and goodness?
Friends, God chooses to enter our experience in ways our hearts can’t mistake! 😊
This must have caught Pharaoh off guard, making him wonder why Nehebkau – god of compassion and protection – is here.
And even more upending for Pharaoh, why is Nehebkau presenting from the hand of the Hebrews? How shocking!!! //
I don’t believe Pharaoh saw any of this coming – just like his father didn’t see the disobedience of the Hebrew midwives – Shiphrah and Puah – coming. //
Scrambling to get back on his feet, Pharaoh “reacts.”
He needs to discredit Aaron & Moses for using Nehebkau as a god whose compassion can stretch far enough to include the Israelites.
Pharaoh can’t have that message get out to the masses. It could destroy the balance of power Egypt has over Israel.
So, Pharaoh calls for his wise men and sorcerers. He calls on them to make it abundantly clear that their “Snake God” is the real one, and that it exclusively favors Egypt over the Hebrews.
The magicians arrive, and attempt to make that point. We read:
“Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake.” (Exodus 7:12)
Immediately, Aaron’s “snake” is outnumbered.
We aren’t given specific numbers.
Let’s say the ratio was 7:1 (seven being the number for completeness)
The odds are Aaron’s snake will be completely killed by the others and thus proven to be a complete fake.
But as you know, that’s not what happens.
To the contrary, Aaron’s snake gobbles up the other snakes like they were “nothing.”
What is going on here?
Contemporary Egyptologist and author Richard Wilkinson has discovered an ancient Egyptian myth where Nehebkau swallows seven cobras, making him a force that cannot be harmed by any magic, fire, or water.
Can you imagine?
There is a myth, a story outside the Biblical text, that talks about a “snake god” swallowing up seven venomous snakes!
It seems entirely possible that Pharaoh and his magicians just witnessed this very myth in real time! They’ve just witnessed Aaron’s snake do what their god Nehebkau is believed to have done.
Everything is pointing to Nehebkau being present in their midst.
And, even more breathtaking, everything is pointing to Nehebkau including the Hebrews in its scope of compassion and protection!
It’s a humbling holy moment for the Pharaoh and the magicians!
Will anyone take their shoes off?? (pause)
You know, snakes get a lot of bad press in the Bible, and elsewhere.
But imagine God balancing that record by showing up in a form that would cross over and connect to the Egyptians.
Doesn’t that say something amazing about God, the lengths God would go to in order to connect with humankind?
“Yet Pharaoh’s heart became hard and
would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.” (Exodus 7:13)
By some historians’ calculations, the name of the Pharaoh at the time when Moses and Aaron came calling was Merenptah. Likely we are more familiar with his father Ramses II.
I looked into this, and found that Ramses II lived into his 90s.
Historians have determined that Ramses outlived 12 of his sons.
That left son #13 to take over the throne.
I also read that Merenptah was 60 years old when he became king.
Up until then, he had been in charge of Egypt’s army.
If I’ve done the math right, Merenptah would have been 70 years old when Moses and Aaron show up – just ten years younger than Moses.
Seems quite possible, then, that Merenptah and Moses knew each other as boys, living in the Palace.
Did Merenptah look up to Moses as a big brother?
I wonder what it was like to be “thirteenth” in line to the throne.
Did Merenptah grow up feeling invisible, living in the shadows of his older brothers?
Did he grow up needing to prove himself to his father?
Prove that he was smart enough, fast enough, strong enough, brave enough?
As Egypt’s top general, who knows what all Merenptah witnessed and experienced on the battlefield.
I imagine he saw some terrible things – maybe even had a chip on his shoulder with the snake god Nehebkau for not protecting some of his people when they needed it.
(pause)
We get stuck, sometimes, when hard things happen to us.
I may have shared this before, but when I was in seminary in Elkhart Indiana, our school invited a Rabbi to come and talk with us.
In the course of the conversation, someone asked why so many Jews are secular, non-practicing.
The Rabbi paused and said: “Many of us haven’t forgiven God yet for the holocaust.”
There is a debt owed, it seems.
You and I may have some experiences in our life that we haven’t forgiven.
Maybe we haven’t forgiven God.
Maybe we haven’t forgiven a family member, coach, neighbor, or former roommate.
Maybe we haven’t forgiven ourselves.
We get stuck, and build up defenses – thick cement walls around our heart, so as not to get hurt again, used again.
In a way, our hearts appear hardened and stubborn, but really, we are just trying to deal with a hurt that we don’t want to feel.
It’s scary too, because we have our doubts that God is compassionate and benevolent.
We might be afraid God has washed our name off the palms of Her hands.
Fearing we’ve been rejected (perhaps unfairly) might make us angry.
Being stuck, unable to do anything, might also give rise to anger.
One can sympathize, even empathize, with the Pharaoh in our text today.
How in touch is he with the state of his soul?
Seeing God show up in a form he can’t mistake seems to only provoke him – giving him cause to dig his heals in deeper.
But God refuses to go away.
I love that in this story.
God keeps coming back, knocking on the king’s door, inviting him to own his feelings and have it out, once and for all.
All around him, from his advisors, to the magicians, to the average citizen on the street, people are turning to God, seizing the opportunity to experience something bigger than themselves – a force that defends the poor, those who grieve, those who have been mistreated.
They see a God who cares for the Hebrews, and for them – yes, even in the presence of the plagues and their powerlessness.
Let’s Pray Together:
O God, You come to us in many creative and mysterious ways.
You work so hard to convince us of Your love and mercy.
You even park Yourself at the door of our heart, and refuse to leave. You wait ready for the moment when we come to the end of ourselves – when we tucker out and collapse.
O Lord, You know our past. You know what has hurt us and caused us to hide, build walls, and feed on bitterness.
Don’t give up on us. Don’t let the smoldering wick of our hope for healing go out. Strengthen our desire to be restored to You, others, and to our true self.
Grant us grace beyond our ability, that the power of forgiveness would penetrate and remake our hearts soft and beautiful.
We ask this with the faith that we have, as small as it is, knowing You are right there, ready to change everything, and once again, be praised as faithful and kind. AMEN.