August 25, 2019

HARD HEARTED

Exodus 8:11

But when Pharaoh saw there was relief, his heart was hardened; and he did not heed them, as the Lord said.

Personal Challenge

In Orthodoxy, we teach that God created us with a free will, the ability to choose and that He will never force us to do what is against our own will. So people will usually use the story of Pharoah to counter that teaching because the scriptures say that God hardened his heart. We must read the entire scriptures to understand the context. Pharoah's heart was already hardened against Moses and the Jews. They were his slaves and he wanted to keep it that way. The Old Testament often uses phraseology that looks like God is doing something when it means that He is allowing something to be done. God allowed Pharoah to harden his heart even more towards Moses, the Jews, and ultimately against God. This was a choice that Pharoah made on His own. In this plague, Pharaoh pleaded with Moses to have his God remove it. He was beginning to see that the God of Moses was real and more powerful than all of the gods of Egypt. However, when the plague was removed, Pharaoh reneged on his deal and hardened his heart even more. He chose to do this. We must learn from that that we are respons­ible for our choices and actions aid that we should always be prayerfully seeking God's will so that ours aligns with His. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!