Exodus 9:12 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said to Moses.
The wording of Exodus 9:12 is troubling to me. As I was reading commentary, I paid close attention to why God would harden Pharaoh’s heart, what He was hoping to gain. The best answer I could gather was that already six times before, Pharaoh hardens his own heart and that here, God is just reinforcing the path Pharaoh has already chosen. And I think Exodus 9:16 gives us the answer to why that would be a desired course of action for God.
Exodus 9:15 For by now I [the LORD] could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth.
Ultimately, God wants us to choose Him. He wants us to recognize His love, mercy, power, sovereignty. He wants us to realize that we are His deeply loved children. He gives us life, and He gives us an invitation to choose Him, to fellowship with Him, to have a deep and abiding relationship with Him. But He will never force us. He lets us choose.
Exodus 9:16 But I have spared you for this very purpose, that I might show you My power and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.
Lord, Thank You for this day, for this scripture, for the opportunity to choose You and to shine Your light. Thank You for Your deep love of Your children and for not giving up on us, no matter how stubborn we are. Draw us closer. Amen.
Exodus 9:34 When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder had stopped, he sinned again: he and his officials hardened their hearts.
Have a blessed day.
My faith, my life, my teaching–it's all a work in progress.