Then Moses, hot with anger, left Pharaoh. (Exodus 11:8c)
In the divine-human contest of wills Pharaoh's attitude is described both as his own and as God-given. Pharaoh hardens his own heart, as in Exodus, chapter 8, verse 15. But then God hardens Pharaoh's heart, as in Exodus, chapter 11, verse 10. He wavers between releasing the Hebrew people and keeping them in bondage. After considering their release, his heart hardens, either by his own will or by the LORD's will, and he decides not to free them. Pharaoh does so again and again.
After announcing nine plagues and watching the LORD deliver nine plagues, Moses announces the tenth, final, and most deadly plague of all--a plague of death upon the firstborn sons of all Egyptian citizens and the firstborn animals belonging to them. Moses seems troubled that circumstances have progressed to this point. He seems neither to understand nor to accept Pharaoh's willful opposition to the LORD's plan, and he seems weary of his own role in bearing messages of doom to the Egyptian leader. No wonder, then, that Moses is "hot with anger."
What is my response when I see the hardness of others' hearts? How am I touched by the hardness of my own heart?
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