David's Mighty Men

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(1 Kings 11:15) For it came to pass, when David was in Edom, and Joab the captain of the host had gone up to bury the slain, after he had killed every male in Edom, 

Even though this was written at a much later chronological time, it fills in a little bit of detail about when David, with Joab and Abishai, killed the Edomites (2 Samuel 8:13, Psalm 60:1, 1 Chronicles 18:12).  After his victory over the Edomites, David was in Edom, and Joab the captain of his army, had gone to bury the slain of Israel.

(16) (For six months Joab did remain there with all Israel, until he had cut off every male in Edom), (17) That Hadad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father's servants with him, to go into Egypt, Hadad yet a little child.

Joab and his army had been in Edom for six months until they killed every male in Edom.  However, Hadad, a child of the royal family (1 Kings 11:14), fled into Egypt with his father's servants.

(18) And they arose out of Midian and came to Paran, and they took men with them out of Paran, and they came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house and appointed him victuals and gave him land.

Hadad and his father's servants went to Egypt through Midian and Paran, where they gathered an entourage, and then came to Pharaoh king of Egypt.  Pharaoh gave Hadad provisions and a house and land.

(19) And Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh so that he gave him as wife the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen.

As he grew up, Hadad found great favor with Pharaoh, so much so that he gave Hadad the sister of his wife, Queen Tahpenes, to be his wife.

(20) Then the sister of Tahpenes bore him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh’s house; and Genubath was in Pharaoh’s household among the sons of Pharaoh.

Hadad's wife bore him a son, Genubath.  It seems he grew up in Pharaoh's household among the sons of Pharaoh.  

(2 Samuel 23:8) These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: the Tachmonite who sat in the seat, chief among the captains; the same was Adino the Eznite, who slew eight hundred at one time.

Here follows a list of the mighty men who fought under David, under his general, Joab.  First was Adino the Eznite, a name that meant something to the effect of a sharp, strong spear, given because he had killed 800 men at one time with a spear.  He was called a Tachmonite, which meant wise.  He was called chief among the captains, but it seems there were three chief captains, of which he was one (2 Samuel 23:18, 1 Chronicles 12:18).

(9) And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David, when they defied the Philistines who were there gathered together to battle, and the men of Israel had gone away. (10) He arose and struck the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clung to the sword; and the Lord wrought a great victory that day, and the people returned after him only to spoil.

Next was Eleazar, one of three mighty men with David, who alone defied the Philistines who had gathered together to battle Israel when the men of Israel had fled.  It seems he struck the Philistines until his hand was weary, but he clung to his sword, regardless, and the Lord gave them a great victory that day.  The people returned only afterward to plunder.  

(11) And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered together into a troop where was a piece of ground full of lentils, and the people fled from the Philistines. (12) But he stood in the midst of the ground and defended it and killed the Philistines, and the Lord wrought a great victory.

Third there was Shammah who defended a piece of ground full of lentils against the Philistines.  The people had fled, but he stood his ground, defending it, and killing the Philistines.  The Lord wrought a great victory that time, as well.

(13) And three of the thirty chief went down and came to David in the harvest time to the cave of Adullam, and the troop of the Philistines pitched in the valley of Rephaim. (14) And David was then in a hold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem.

This event that continues following occurred right after David had been anointed king over all of Israel, and the Philistines came up to seek David, and David heard and went down to the hold (2 Samuel 5:17).  Three of David's thirty chief men went to him in the cave of Adullam where he had apparently gone; they were likely the three who were named above, Adino, Eleazar, and Shammah.  The Philistines were then in Bethlehem.

(15) And David longed, and said, "Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem which is by the gate."

David longingly said he wished he could have a drink of the water from the well of Bethlehem which was said to be about three-quarters of a mile to the north of Bethlehem.

(16) And the three mighty men broke through the host of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and took it and brought it to David. Nevertheless he would not drink of it but poured it out to the Lord.

The three mighty men took it upon themselves to break through the army of the Philistines to go to the well of Bethlehem and bring water back to David.  However, David did not drink it but poured it out before the Lord.

(17) And he said, "Be it far from me, O Lord, that I should do this. Is this not the blood of the men who went in jeopardy of their lives?" Therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mighty men.

Evidently David had not expected anyone to actually go get him water from the well.  He had just meant to express that it would have been welcome at that time.  He felt he could not drink the water because it represented the blood of the men who had risked their lives just to bring him water.  This was another one of the exploits of those three mighty men.  

(18) And Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief among three. And he lifted up his spear against three hundred, killed them, and had the name among three. (19) Was he not most honorable of three? Therefore he was their captain, however, he did not attain to the first three.

Joab's brother Abishai, son of David's sister Zeruiah, was chief among what would appear to be the next group of three of David's mightiest men.  He had killed three hundred men with his spear and had his name among three mighty men.  He was the most honorable of the second set of three named mighty men, so he was their captain.  However, it would seem he came in as David's fourth most mighty man.

(20) And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man, of Kabzeel, who had done many acts; he killed two lionlike men of Moab; he went down also and killed a lion in the midst of a pit in time of snow.

Benaiah appears to have been in the second group of three of the mightiest men of David.  He had killed a lion and two lion-like men of Moab.  

(21) And he killed an Egyptian, a goodly man; and the Egyptian had a spear in his hand. But he went down to him with a staff and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian's hand and killed him with his own spear.

The "goodly" Egyptian did not mean he was a good and moral man, but that he was of a goodly size and stature.  He had a spear in his hand, but Benaiah wrenched the spear from his hand and killed him with his own spear.

(22) These things Benaiah, the son of Jehoida, did, and had a name among three mighty men. (23) He was more honorable than the thirty, but he did not attain to the first three. And David set him over his guard.

Because of the things he had done, Benaiah had a name among the second grouping of three mighty men, but he did not attain to the first three.  However, he was more honorable than the next thirty named mighty men, so David set him over his guard, probably a bodyguard.

(24) Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty, Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, (25) Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite, 

The list of the next thirty mightiest men began with Asahel, Joab's brother, who was killed by Abner (2 Samuel 2:23).  31 men are actually named in these and the following verses.  Because Asahel was killed so early, he was probably replaced by another but deserved his name among the thirty.  Elhanan, a townsman of David, was also among the thirty.  Shammah the Harodite does not appear to be the same Shammah who was in the first group of three mighty men.  When he was mentioned in 1 Chronicles 11:27, he was called Shammoth.  Another man of Harod, Elika, was named among the thirty.

Because Blogger only allows me twenty labels, I will continue this list of David's most mighty men in the next post:

David's Mightiest Men

Praise the Lord!

I have been following a chronological Bible study proposed by Skip Andrews.  About this and the past few psalms, Mr. Andrews wrote, "Although we may not be able to precisely date these Psalms at this time, their general themes fit the topics we have just read in Deuteronomy."  Continuing with Psalm 135:

(Psalm 135:1) Praise the Lord. Praise the name of the Lord, praise, O you servants of the Lord!

The author of this psalm, as well as the occasion on which it was written, is unknown.  Some commentators believe that the first short sentence was meant to be the title of the psalm--Praise the Lord.  The psalmist indeed began his psalm by exhorting the people, God's own people, meant to be His servants, to praise their Lord.  

(2) You who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God, (3) Praise the Lord for the Lord is good; sing praises to His name for it is pleasant.

Those who stood in the house of the Lord, the priests and Levites, as well as the people who stood in the courts outside the temple, were exhorted to praise the Lord because He was so good.  They were exhorted to sing praises to His name because it was pleasant.  His very name was delightful to His people and cause for praise, but also it was pleasant to sing praises to Him.  Singing songs of praise very definitely lifts the spirit.  

(4) For the Lord has chosen Jacob to Himself, Israel for His special treasure.

The people were to praise the Lord because He was good, and also because He chose Jacob (Israel) to be His own special treasure, His chosen people.

(5) For I know that the Lord is great, and our Lord is above all gods.

The psalmist professed his knowledge that the Lord was great and above all other gods, that is, those who were falsely worshiped as gods, as there is really only one true God.  

(6) Whatever the Lord pleased, He did in heaven and in earth, in the seas and all deep places.

The Lord did and does whatever He pleases in the heavens, all the universe, and in the earth, in the seas and all the deep places of the earth.

(7) He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; He makes lightnings for the rain; He brings the wind out of His treasures.

The Lord causes the "nasi" to ascend from all over the earth.  As this verse speaks of weather-related things, "vapor" is the best translation here.  The Lord causes the mist to rise from the earth to water it.  However, interestingly, the word means more generally something raised or exalted and is literally 126 times out of 130 used in the Bible to mean a prince or some other type of ruler.  The Lord raises up all sorts of things and people for His purposes.  The Lord makes the rain and the lightning and the wind.

(8) Who destroyed the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and beast.

The Lord who raises up also brings down or destroys, as He did the firstborn of men and animals in Egypt.

(9) He sent tokens and wonders into the midst of you, O Egypt, upon Pharaoh and upon all his servants.

The Lord sent many signs and wonders, the miracles and plagues, in the midst of Egypt to Pharaoh and all his people.

(10) Who destroyed great nations and killed mighty kings, (11) Sihon king of the Amorites and Og king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan, (12) And gave their land a heritage, a heritage to Israel His people.

Their Lord was the one who destroyed great nations and mighty kings, including Sihon king of the Amorites and Og king of Bashan, and all the nations and kings in the land of Canaan, and He gave their lands to His own people as an inheritance to them.

(13) Your name, O Lord, forever; Your memorial, O Lord, throughout all generations.

The Lord's name and His fame endures forever, throughout all generations, to the present when we still read of His glory and that will continue forever.

(14) For the Lord will judge His people, and He will repent Himself concerning His servants.

I believe the sense of "judge" here means that the Lord will rule and govern His people, more specifically, protect and defend them, because the verse went on to say the Lord would repent, which means to turn away, change Himself concerning His people who deserved complete destruction because of their many sins.  However, the Lord always repented from His plan to completely destroy them for their wickedness and always saved at least a remnant.

(15) The idols of the heathen, silver and gold, the work of men's hands.

The idols of the heathen nations were but silver and gold, something mere men fashioned with their hands.

(16) They have mouths, but they do not speak; eyes they have, but they do not see; (17) They have ears, but they do not hear; neither is there breath in their mouths.

Those manmade idols had mouths, but they couldn't speak; they had eyes and ears, but they couldn't see or hear.  They had no living breath in them; they were only objects made by man.

(18) They who make them are like them, and everyone who trusts in them.

Those who made those idols, as well as everyone who trusted in them, were as blind and stupid as those lifeless idols were.

(19) Bless the Lord, O house of Israel; bless the Lord, O house of Aaron.

The psalmist exhorted God's chosen people, Israel, to bless the Lord, and also the house of Aaron, the Levites and the priests, should also bless Him.  I often wonder how mere people can bless the Lord, as it is He who blesses us.  However, we can bless Him with our praise and worship and our adherence to His word.

(20) Bless the Lord, O house of Levi; you who fear the Lord, bless the Lord.

The psalmist indeed included the Levites among those who should bless the Lord, as well as all people who feared the Lord, those who respected and reverenced Him as Lord.

(21) Blessed be the Lord out of Zion who dwells at Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!

The Lord of Zion, representative of the kingdom of the Lord, also the physical city of Jerusalem, where He dwelt among His people, was to be blessed and praised.

This psalm briefly addressed the history of the Israelites but was mainly a psalm of praise.  It both began and ended with an exhortation to praise the Lord.  Matthew Henry called it one of the Hallelujah Psalms that praised the Lord.

The Death of Moses

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Deuteronomy 34:1) And Moses went up from the plains of Moab to the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is across from Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead to Dan,

The Lord had previously told Moses he would not be able to cross into their promised land (Numbers 20:12, Deuteronomy 32:51-52), but that He would allow him to see it.  Now Moses went up from the plains of Moab where the Israelites had been for some time and went onto the mountain of Nebo to Pisgah, the highest point of Nebo.  This was across from Jericho on the other side of the Jordan River.  The Lord began to show Moses the promised land as He had promised He would.  First the Lord directed him to behold the land of Gilead on that side of the Jordan where he was, which was the possession of the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh (Numbers 32), then to Dan, which was not the possession of the tribe of Dan, but rather a city in the farthest north of the promised land as seen in this map:

(2) And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, to the utmost sea, (3) And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, to Zoar.

The Lord showed Moses the promised land from the city of Dan in the north, to the lands of the tribes as they would soon be assigned, Naphtali, down through Manasseh and Ephraim, to Judah, to the sea, and to the southernmost part of the land.  He showed him the valley of Jericho near to them on the other side of the Jordan River.  If you click to enlarge the map, you can see Jericho in the tribe of Benjamin across from Mt. Nebo.  He showed him the whole plain from Jericho, called the city of palm trees, to Zoar, which was at the southern tip of the Salt or Dead Sea, as seen in this map:

As the tribal lands had not yet been assigned in Canaan, Joshua either wrote this chapter some time after the fact, or perhaps he wrote by inspiration of the Holy Spirit about what was to be.

(4) And the Lord said to him, "This the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, 'I will give it to your descendants,' I have caused you to see with your eyes, but you shall not go over there."

The Lord told Moses that He was showing him the land He had promised to his forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give to their descendants.  The Lord said He "caused" Moses to see it with his eyes.  When you think about it, it would not be possible for Moses to physically see all that land without some supernatural help.  The Lord blessed and allowed Moses to see the entire promised land but told him again that he would not be crossing over into it.

(5) So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord.

Then Moses died there in the land of Moab as the Lord had said he would (Deuteronomy 32:50).  

(6) And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth Peor, but no man knows of his sepulchre to this day.

Amazingly, the Lord Himself buried Moses!  He apparently buried him in the land of Moab across from Beth Peor which may have been in the same vicinity of Mount Peor near Mount Nebo and Pisgah.  However, even at the time of the writing of Joshua, no one had ever seen Moses's grave.  Perhaps the Lord hid it so that the people would not be susceptible to idolizing it and Moses himself.  Some think that perhaps Moses was carried away like Elijah, pointing to the transfiguration of Elijah and Moses with Jesus in Mark 9:4, inferring that Moses must have been in the same state after death as Elijah.  However, the two verses above state that Moses died and the Lord buried him.  Some point to an interesting scripture in Jude 1:9 that tells about Michael the archangel contending with the devil, disputing about the body of Moses.  That does seem to suggest something extraordinary about Moses's burial place.  But as scripture states, no one really knows; however, there may be symbolism in Moses's burial place or lack thereof.  John Gill wrote in his Exposition of the Bible, "...the death and burial of Moses were an emblem of the weakness and insufficiency of the law of Moses, and the works of it, to bring any into the heavenly Canaan..."

(7) And Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died; his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.

Moses was 120 years old when he died, and although he was in advanced age, his eyes were still clear and good, and his mind and body were sharp and strong.

(8) And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; so the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.

The Israelites mourned and wept for Moses there in the plains of Moab for thirty days, which was the usual time of mourning for someone of high place.  After thirty days, the weeping and mourning for Moses ended.

(9) And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands upon him, and the children of Israel hearkened to him, and did as the Lord commanded Moses.

At that point Joshua was filled with the spirit of wisdom as Moses had laid hands on him and prayed for such, and the Lord had delivered.  Therefore the people listened to him and did just as the Lord had commanded Moses, acknowledging Joshua as Moses's successor.

(10) And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.

At the time of this writing, Joshua or whoever wrote this last chapter of Deuteronomy, said that there had not arisen a prophet like Moses who had known the Lord personally and conversed with Him.  "Face to face" is not to be taken literally, because no man could see the face of God and live (Exodus 33:20), but it is meant to say that Moses had a very familiar relationship with God.

(11) In all the signs and the wonders which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land, (12) And in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses showed in the sight of all Israel.

There had not arisen a prophet like Moses who had done all the signs and wonders which the Lord had sent him to do in Egypt to Pharaoh and his servants and his land.  There had not arisen a prophet with so mighty a hand as had divided the Red Sea or as had done in all the great and terrible things that the Lord enabled Moses to show in the sight of all the Israelites.

So ended the life of Moses and the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, commonly called the Law of Moses.  I believe that we might argue that there never has been another prophet like Moses even to this day.  There would arise great prophets, but I'm not sure any can compare with the long-term familiarity and friendship Moses shared with God.  Moses was probably the most highly privileged prophet in all the awesome signs and wonders that God worked through him.  Moses was allowed to see God's glory and His back only, as again, no one could see God's face and live.  That sight made Moses's face shine like the sun which terrified the people when he returned to them.  Moses was the Old Testament figure who was mentioned the most times in the New Testament.  It is probably safe to say that Moses indeed was the greatest prophet until Jesus Christ, of whom Moses himself said, "The LORD your God will raise up to you a Prophet from the midst of you, of your brethren, like me; to Him you shall listen" (Deuteronomy 18:15).  God Himself confirmed that prophecy when He said of Jesus, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear Him" (Matthew 17:5), a probable allusion to "to Him you shall listen."  Moses was an Old Testament symbol of Christ.  God sent him to save His people, and he gave them God's law to live by.  Jesus came to save people from the consequences of the law that they were unable to uphold.  Indeed, Hebrews 3 compares Moses to Jesus, but of course pronounces Jesus as superior to Moses.  However, Moses was worthy to be compared to Jesus!  That is the highest honor and privilege of all.  Moses was a faithful servant and forerunner of Christ the Son of God and God Himself.

The Miraculous Parting of the Red Sea

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Exodus 14:3) “For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, ‘They are entangled in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ (4) And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honored upon Pharaoh and upon all his army, that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD.” And they did so.

In the last study, we learned the Lord was not leading the people by a direct route, because He had said when they met opposition by the Philistines, they would have turned and run back.  The Lord told Moses to tell the people exactly where to camp which seemed to hem them in on two sides with the Red Sea in front of them.  Now we learn there is another greater motive in this decision.  When Pharaoh heard that the people were not in a direct path straight out of Egypt, but appeared to be wondering around in the wilderness, he would assume they were lost and confused, and were now hemmed in with no chance of escape should his army come up behind them.  Even after all he had seen and had experienced, Pharaoh, in his pride and hard heart, would see a chance to go after the Israelites.  The scripture said that God Himself would harden Pharaoh's heart.  As has been discussed before (more completely in the post on Exodus 4, especially verse 21), God would never harden the heart of an otherwise innocent human being, but He did not soften the heart of an unrepentant man such as Pharaoh.  He allowed him to have and act on his prideful thoughts that he might overcome the children of Israel after all.  The purpose for this, as explored in that previous post, and confirmed here, is that by delivering His people from what appeared to be an impossible escape, His glory and honor would be magnified upon the actions of Pharaoh and his army, and the Egyptians would have no doubt that He alone was the Lord.  By knowing the true God, the Egyptians, those enemies and persecutors of the children of God, might actually be spiritually saved by seeing and coming to the truth.  How simply God could have swept His people right out of Egypt, but by delivering them miraculously time after time after time, He was patiently teaching those who witnessed the miracles and those of us who would read the history of them centuries later, that He alone was and IS the one true Lord.  When the last part of the scripture above said, "And they did so", that referred to Exodus 14:2, which was studied in the last post, when God told the people exactly where to camp.  They did as He said.

(5) And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled; and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, “Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?”

Pharaoh knew that the people had left, but he might have imagined that they still just intended to go three days' journey into the wilderness to serve their Lord, and would return, as Moses had first asked of Pharaoh.  After all that had happened as a result of his refusal, you would think he would know better, but that is part of the hardening of his already proud and obstinate heart.  When he knew for certain that the Israelites had fled Egypt with no apparent intention of returning, Pharaoh and his servants questioned why they had ever "let" them go.

(6) And he made ready his chariot and took his people with him. (7) And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them.

Pharaoh readied his own chariot for the pursuit, and took "his people" with him.  It seems he took more than his servants and his army with him.  He took 600 chosen chariots which could have been the ones chosen as his personal army, but then it added that he took all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over all of them.  Much discussion was made among the old commentators about just who was meant by all these people.  Perhaps Pharaoh took all the people along with their chariots and they were made captains over them, or maybe he just took their chariots for his service and his own men captained the use of the chariots.  I tend to believe that since the purpose of this hardening of Pharaoh's heart to pursue the Israelites was to show the Egyptians that God alone was Lord, it was certainly a huge number of the Egyptians who did indeed go.  For maximum impact and impression on the people who would witness the next miracle, I believe there was a maximum number of Egyptians who went in pursuit.

(8) And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; and the children of Israel went out with a high hand. (9) But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon. (10) And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD.

The Lord indeed hardened the heart of Pharaoh, as He had said He would, and Pharaoh indeed pursued after the children of Israel, who had gone out with boldness.  However, when Pharaoh and the Egyptians caught up with them at their camp and they saw them approaching, they became afraid and cried out to the Lord.

(11) And they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? (12) Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.”

The people cried out to the Lord who was their true help, but then they became bitter and sarcastic toward Moses, and blamed him for bringing them out of Egypt into this wilderness where they felt sure they would die.  They even told Moses, in effect, "we told you so", by referring to a time in Egypt when they had told him to leave them alone and just let them serve the Egyptians--possibly a reference to the time Moses asked Pharaoh to let the people go and serve their Lord, and Pharaoh then made it harder on the people by taking away their straw.

(13) And Moses said to the people, “Fear you not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will show to you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you shall see them again no more forever. (14) The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”

Moses answered the people's gloom and sarcasm with calm and comfort, telling them not to be afraid, to just be still and watch the Lord act on their behalf.  Moses spoke in great faith; either God had told him what He would do, or he knew it by spirit of prophecy from the Holy Spirit, or maybe he had even learned to trust the Lord completely.  God said he would harden Pharaoh's heart to come after them; Moses surely understood it was not to now let him overtake them after their miraculous departure from Egypt!  Moses told them after today they would not see those Egyptians again.  Once again, he told the people to be still, be silent, and the Lord would fight for them.

(15) And the LORD said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. (16) But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it; and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea."

It would seem that although Moses spoke in faith to the people, he was inwardly crying out to the Lord, as the Lord spoke directly to Moses when He asked why cry to Him?  I suppose He could have been asking why do "you" the children of Israel as a whole, cry out to Him.  Perhaps this was the voice Moses was hearing when he answered the children in great faith that caused him to know the Lord was about to act in a big way on behalf of the Israelites.  God told Moses to tell the children to go forward.  Go forward!  Toward the sea!  Don't stand there crying; keep going forward!  The Israelites would be asked to go forward in faith before they saw what God would do!  God told Moses to then lift up his rod, stretch it out over the sea, and divide it!  As simply as that!  The children would then walk through the midst of the sea on dry ground. 

(17) “And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them; and I will gain honor upon Pharaoh, and upon all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen. (18) And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gained honor for Myself upon Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

In my attempt to retype the best translation for my study, I almost fell for the simplicity of the NKJV that didn't omit as many words as the NIV, but still would have missed something important.  I once did a study of the different Bible translations and saw just how much the NIV, especially, deleted from the original Bible texts (see here), but I sometimes go with the plainer, easier to understand, language of the NKJV, but here it omitted words that seemed redundant, but to Bible scholar Matthew Henry, they were important purposeful words--"And I, behold, I will..."  The NKJV would have us believe it should be just, "And I indeed will..."  The NIV considered all the words redundant, and just translated, "And I will..."  Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, wrote that this phrase was expressly used to show God's sovereignty--"I, see here, I alone will do this thing..."  So much of God's sovereignty, and especially the divinity of Jesus Christ, is missed in the NIV and newer translations of the Bible; I can't say enough about that, and strongly encourage a thorough study on the subject.  I have many great links in my past blog post entitled, "Which Version of the Truth Will You Use?"

Returning to the scripture above, God alone would harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they would follow the Israelites into the sea.  Seeing the children of Israel run through the sea, they would be fearless and thoughtless about the dangers, and run straight through the sea themselves.  With this final miraculous act against and over Pharaoh, completely destroying him so that he could not again rise up against the children of Israel, the Egyptians would ultimately know that the Lord of the Israelites was the one true omnipotent and eternal God.

(19) And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face and stood behind them. (20) And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these; so that the one did not come near the other all that night.

How dramatic this must have been!  The Angel of God, who may have well been Jesus Christ Himself, as touched on in the last blog post (especially Exodus 13:21), in the pillar of cloud, moved from His location as leader in front of the Israelites, to go to the rear of the congregation.  The Lord in the cloud was now positioned to protect the Israelites from the Egyptians who were behind them.  The same cloud was darkness to the Egyptians, but was light to the Israelites by night, so that neither camp came near to the other all that night.

(21) And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.

It appears that Moses must have stretched his rod out over the sea that night, and the Lord caused an east wind all that night that divided the waters of the sea and made a path of dry land in the midst.

(22) And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

The children of Israel went through the midst of the sea probably in the very early morning, as will be confirmed a couple of verses later.  For all the naysayers who through the years have tried to explain the natural phenomenon that created a way through the Red Sea for the Israelites to cross, the verse above stated that the Israelites specifically went through on dry ground with the waters as walls on either side of them.  No natural occurrence could have managed that!  Besides, God had already stated that He, behold, He alone would accomplish this.

(23) And the Egyptians pursued and went after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. (24) And it came to pass that in the morning watch the LORD looked upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and troubled the army of the Egyptians. (25) And took off their chariot wheels, that they drove them with difficulty; so that the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians.”

Since neither camp came near to the other during the night, it can be assumed this is indeed in the early morning that the Israelites crossed through the Red Sea, and now the Egyptians began to pursue them.  In the morning watch, probably the last night watch right before dawn, which I assume is the time when all this activity began, the Lord looked upon the Egyptians now pursuing the Israelites, and "troubled" them.  The original word, "hamam", meant "to put into commotion" or "confuse".  The Lord created chaos for the Egyptians.  He caused the wheels of their chariots to come off, and this must have been so dramatic and impressive, that they knew it was the Lord Himself doing it.  They understood that the Lord fought for the Israelites against them and they desired to turn away and flee from them.

(26) And the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.” (27) And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it, and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. (28) And the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them.

After confusing the Egyptians, probably both to slow them in their pursuit of the Israelites and to keep them in the midst of the sea longer when they tried to retreat, the Lord told Moses to stretch his hand out over the sea so that the waters that stood as walls would now return as they were and would come down upon the Egyptians.  Moses did so, and as dawn broke and morning appeared, the sea returned as it had been before, and the Egyptians were caught trying to flee against it, which was, of course, futile, and they were covered by the waters of the Red Sea.  All the chariots, which most assuredly included the chariot of Pharaoh himself, all the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh, who had gone into the sea after the Israelites, were drowned.  Not a single one of them remained.  In keeping with the possibility that the Lord may have used this great miracle to save even some of the Egyptians who would come to know Him as Lord and Savior (as discussed in the post on Exodus 4, especially verse 21), I don't believe the scripture necessarily meant that every last Egyptian was drowned, but only those who had followed the Israelites into the sea.  I believe it is possible that some not in the midst of the sea remained to tell of this awesome miracle.  Now the sea kept them from pursuing even if they wanted to, but I believe it is possible that there were Egyptians who now knew the true Lord (verse 4) because of what they had just witnessed, and lived to tell about it.

(29) But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. (30) Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. (31) And Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians; and the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD and His servant Moses.

The Lord had drowned every last Egyptian who had gone into the sea after the Israelites, but all the children of Israel had walked upon dry land in the midst of the Red Sea, with walls of water on each side of them.  In this way, the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, for up to that point, He had delivered them out of Egypt, yes, but now they had been completely saved from their enemy when the Egyptians were totally destroyed.  The Israelites saw the dead Egyptians on the shore, meaning the tides of the sea must have deposited them all on the shore.  Many of the old Bible commentaries point to this as the time when the Israelites, by the spoils of the Egyptians, were probably furnished with riches, clothing, and arms, that were later used in their wars on the way to the promised land.  Even the historian Josephus wrote that the arms of the Egyptians were cast upon the shore where the Israelites camped, and Moses gathered them up and armed the Hebrews with them.  This was how they came to have arms, since it was not likely they came out of Egypt with arms; and it was how they were able to fight battles as they did in the wilderness and when they came into the land of Canaan.

The children of Israel saw what a great work the Lord did in completely delivering them from the Egyptians and destroying their enemy, that they now feared and revered their Lord, and they believed and trusted Him and Moses as His servant, now that they had seen Him so mightily fulfill all His promises that He had made through Moses.

The chronological Bible study I follow set forth by Skip Andrews, now takes me to Hebrews, chapter 11:

(Hebrews 11:27) By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.

Hebrews, chapter 11, told of the great Biblical heroes of faith.  Hebrews 11:23 began telling of the life of Moses, and it continued here in verse 27. By faith, Moses left Egypt behind, not fearing the wrath of the king, as he did fear him many years before when he fled to Midian (Exodus 2:15).  Moses patiently persevered through all the many appearances before the king, through all the trials and difficulties, to lead the people out of Egypt.  He was able to endure because he had great faith in God as if he personally saw Him before him leading him all the way.

(28) Through faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them.

"Kept" is a weak translation of the original word, "poieo", which literally meant "to make".  Through faith in God, Moses instituted the Passover, beginning with the very first Passover when the children of Israel sprinkled blood on their door posts so that the destroying angel who struck all the firstborn in Egypt would pass over their houses.

(29) By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, which the Egyptians attempting to do were drowned.

Finally, by faith in God, Moses led the people right through the Red Sea as if it were dry land, which it actually was, but it was as if there had been no sea blocking their escape, at least not in their path between the walls of sea on either side.  When you imagine such a sight, it must have taken tremendous faith in God to walk through those huge walls of water that were a seeming impossibility to the natural mind. They passed through, but when the Egyptians attempted to follow them the same way, they were drowned. Although Moses was the real hero of faith who first led them through the Red Sea, the scripture above said, "By faith, they..."  It would seem it would take faith to trust that one could pass through walls of water and not have them pour back down on them and drown them.  When the Egyptians attempted to follow just because they had seen the Israelites do it, they were drowned.  I don't know that this means it was by faith alone that they were saved, and that all who were allowed passage had saving faith.  I believe God planned to save His people Israel, at any rate, but it did prove to the children of Israel that this passage way was made by God alone, confirming that they should place their faith only in the One who could save them.  The drowning of the Egyptians by the return of the waters was in accordance with natural laws, and showed the Israelites that they, too, would have been destroyed if God had not made the way for them.

By way of conclusion to this post about the miraculous parting of the Red Sea, I refer back to the last verse in Exodus, chapter 14, where the people "saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians; and the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD and His servant Moses."  Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, wrote, that after reading that, we would "have been led to conclude that this people would have gone on their way rejoicing, trusting in God with their whole heart, and never leaning to their own understanding; but alas! we find that as soon as any new difficulty occurred, they murmured against God and their leaders, despised the pleasant land, and gave no credence to his word.  Their case is not a solitary one: most of those who are called Christians are not more remarkable for faith and patience. Every reverse will necessarily pain and discompose the people who are seeking their portion in this life. And it is a sure mark of a worldly mind, when we trust the God of Providence and grace no farther than we see the operations of his hand in our immediate supply; and murmur and repine when the hand of his bounty seems closed, and the influences of his Spirit restrained, though our unthankful and unholy carriage has been the cause of this change. Those alone who humble themselves under the mighty hand of God, shall be lifted up in due season. Reader, thou canst never be deceived in trusting thy all, the concerns of thy body and soul, to Him who divided the sea, saved the Hebrews, and destroyed the Egyptians."

Why We Can Trust the Bible to Be the True Word of God

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Exodus 10:1) And the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his servants, that I may show these signs of Mine before him, (2) And that you may tell in the hearing of your son and your son’s son what things I have done in Egypt, and My signs which I have done among them, that you may know that I am the LORD.”

The Lord told Moses to go back before Pharaoh once again.  I've explored the thought before that God could have changed Pharaoh's heart at any time or could have destroyed him and removed him as an obstacle at any time, but He told Moses at this time that He allowed Pharaoh's heart to remain hardened, as well as the hearts of his servants, so that He might have further opportunities to show His signs and wonders.  God further told Moses that because of all these miraculous things He had done in Egypt, Moses would have a story to pass down so that future generations would know that He was the one true eternal Lord and Savior of the world.  God's purpose was that this event be written by Moses to serve as a permanent record that would last until the ends of the earth for our instruction in the awesome power of our Lord over our enemies, and in His faithfulness, love, and mercy.  There lies the beginning of our Bible today!  God intended for us to have a record of Him.  If it was God's intention, can we really doubt that He could make sure we had a true record?  I think about how people today who profess to be Christians (me included, in my immature days) don't believe the Bible to be the true inspired inerrant Word of God.  After all, I can hear my own silly self saying many years ago, there have been errant human hands all over the creating of the Bible.  However, I have come to realize and have faith that my God is big enough to see that His Word remain intact.  And here we read of His intention that there be a record, so we can be certain it came to fruition.  Jesus Himself more than likely used the Septuagint, the first translation of the Hebrew Bible, and here is what He said about it:

"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." - Matthew 5:17-19

Jesus believed that Bible, that Word of God, that law and the prophets, from which He taught.  He did not come to change one thing about that Bible, but He was the fulfillment of all that was written.  He had no problem relying on a humanly translated Bible; nor should we!  However, He did warn against those who would break the commandments written of in scripture and teach men to do the same.  Additionally, and perhaps more powerfully, Jesus said at the very end of the Bible, in Revelation, chapter 22:

“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things...For I testify unto every man that hears the words of the prophecy of this book, if any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. He who testifies these things says, 'Surely I come quickly.'" - Revelation 22:16a and18-20a

While most would argue and say this referred only to the book of Revelation, there are too many other instances in the Bible where God warned not to add to or subtract from His word (Deut. 4:2, Deut. 12:32, Prov. 30:6).  Surely, if it was so important that we not add or subtract from the word of God, He would certainly see to it that His word was preserved intact!  Now that is not to say that there haven't been inaccurate translations of the Bible, especially in more recent times.  I do believe there are errant translations and I studied this in depth and wrote about it in this blog post.  Included in that post are some links that further explain in depth how and when the Bible became perverted.  I had occasion to read again one of the links I provided and most heartily recommend it again here:  1611 King James Bible. Com

Now after saying that I am certain that God's Word has remained intact and we can trust it, I have added that there are, after all, human perversions.  But once again, our God is big enough to make sure we get His true Word.  He said that if we seek Him with all our heart, we WILL FIND HIM, and that means the true HIM:

"But if from there you will seek the LORD your God, you shall find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul." - Deuteronomy 4:29

Okay, now back to Exodus:

(3) And Moses and Aaron came in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the LORD God of the Hebrews, ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, that they may serve Me.'"

Moses and Aaron went before Pharaoh and spoke the words of the Lord so that Pharaoh knew they were the very words of the Lord by beginning, "Thus says the Lord..."  How long would Pharaoh refuse to humble himself before the Lord and let God's people go?  Of course, God already knew how long it would be, but this does show that Pharaoh did have the choice.  He could have humbled himself before the Lord and repented and allowed the people to go before now.  Yes, God had a purpose in allowing Pharaoh's heart to remain hardened throughout all the plagues.  But the same God who was allowing time for the Israelites and even the Egyptians to know this was the true God, would have most assuredly accepted Pharaoh's true repentance, if there was any.  We always have a choice; no one is doomed to hell against his will for God's purposes.  However, as God is all-knowing and knows the future and what would happen in every possible instance, He can plan to carry out His will accordingly.  You can bet, if Pharaoh had humbled himself and relented, God would have found another way to carry out His will and show his signs and wonders to be recorded throughout history.

(4) "'Or else, if you refuse to let My people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring the locusts into your coast. (5) And they shall cover the face of the earth, that one will not be able to see the earth; and they shall eat the residue of what is left, which remains to you from the hail, and they shall eat every tree which grows for you out of the field. (6) And they shall fill your houses, the houses of all your servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians, which neither your fathers nor your fathers’ fathers have seen, since the day that they were on the earth to this day.’” And he turned and went out from Pharaoh.

Moses (through his spokesman Aaron) continued the words of the Lord that if Pharaoh again refused to let God's people go, the next day God would bring locusts into Pharaoh's territory.  They would be so thick on the face of the earth that no one would be able to see.  They would consume whatever vegetation had remained after the hailstorm, including every tree.  They would be so thick they would fill the houses of Pharaoh and his servants and all the Egyptians.  This would be a plague of locusts such as had never been seen since the beginning of time.  With that, Moses (with his spokesman Aaron) turned and left Pharaoh.

(7) And Pharaoh's servants said to him, “How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God; do you not yet know that Egypt is destroyed?”

Pharaoh's servants got it!  They told Pharaoh to let the men go to serve their Lord, because Egypt was as good as destroyed because of his refusal to let them go thus far.

(8) And Moses and Aaron were brought again to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “Go, serve the LORD your God, but who are they that shall go?”

Evidently, at the urging of his servants, Moses and Aaron were brought back in to Pharaoh.  Pharaoh appears to have relented somewhat and told them to go serve their Lord, but he wanted to know just who was going.  Pharaoh received much value and profit from the labor of the Israelites, and feared that they would not return if they all went, so he wanted an account of just who was going.

(9) And Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old, with our sons and our daughters, with our flocks and our herds we will go, for we must hold a feast to the LORD.”

Moses insisted that they all should go, including all their flocks and herds.  They were going to participate in a feast to the Lord, so all had to go.  The adults would surely prepare the feast, and the children would be expected to witness it.  The animals would be needed for the feast and for sacrifice to the Lord.

(10) And he said to them, “Let the LORD be so with you, as I will let you go, and your little ones; look to it; for evil is before you. (11) Not so! Go now, you who are men, and serve the LORD, for that is what you desired.” And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.

Pharaoh's meaning in verse 10 is a little difficult to understand, but with the finished thought in verse 11, you get the gist.  He was probably mocking or cursing them, saying, in effect, it was at their peril if they tried to take their little ones.  It is obvious he did not intend to let them take their children.  He said only the men could go and serve their Lord.  He suggested that since they desired to go, they should accept his compromise and go and serve the Lord since that is what they said they wanted to do.  With that word, Moses and Aaron were driven out from Pharaoh's presence.

(12) And the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land, all that the hail has left.”

Of course, only letting the men go, was not what God commanded, and He instructed Moses to stretch out his hand over the land of Egypt and, in effect, summon the locusts.  They would eat every herb left in the land after the hailstorm.

(13) And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts.

This is not the first time the scripture says that God told Moses to stretch out his hand, and Moses wrote that he then stretched out his rod.  Moses may have been making it a point to show that it was the rod of God, God Himself, who summoned the plagues.  Of course, that is what God Himself told Moses to do in the beginning, but I still find it interesting that Moses quoted God's words, "Stretch out your hand...", but then made it a point to show that it was God through this rod of God that did the summoning.  I believe it is further proof of how accurate Moses tried to be in his writing, and how modest he usually was regarding himself.  God had said "tomorrow" He would send the locusts.  This time rather than immediately bringing locusts upon the land, He first brought the east wind, blowing all the rest of that day and that night, and when it was morning, on the morrow, then came the locusts. 

(14) And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt; very grievous were they; before them there had been no such locusts as they, nor shall there be such after them. (15) For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they ate every herb of the land and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left; and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt.

The locusts went all over the land of Egypt, but they miraculously rested within the coasts of Egypt.  God had used natural means, the winds that were at His disposal, to bring the locusts, but it was indeed a miracle that they came just when He had said they would, and they remained within the borders of Egypt.  The locusts were more severe than had ever been seen in the land since the beginning, as God had said in verse 6 they would be.  They were so thick that the land was darkened, and they ate every bit of green that had remained in Egypt after the hailstorm.

(16) Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste, and said, “I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you. (17) Now therefore, please forgive my sin only this once, and entreat the LORD your God, that He may take away from me this death only.”

Moses and Aaron had been driven out of Pharaoh's presence, but now he called them back quickly.  Of course, he realized the power of God and he knew the right words to say to ask that they ask their God to remove the plague of locusts.  Just as we might imagine the prayer of any sinner, Pharaoh asked that he be forgiven "just this one time", insinuating that he would not sin again.  However, Pharaoh's words are not sincere.  He is as sorry as one who has just been caught is sorry that he got caught, but it is not a sincere repentance to God.  He just said the words he hoped would work to take this plague away.

(18) And he went out from Pharaoh and entreated the LORD. (19) And the LORD turned a mighty strong west wind, which took away the locusts and cast them into the Red sea; there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt.

Sincere or not, Moses took Pharaoh's words at face value, and went out from Pharaoh and asked the Lord, in Pharaoh's behalf, to remove the locusts.  And the Lord did as Moses asked, now sending a mighty west wind to take all the locusts away and casting them into the Red Sea.  Evidence that this was truly a miracle of God was that not a single locust was left within the borders of Egypt!

(20) But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go.

Once again might come the discussion about a just God hardening the heart of a man against his will.  There was a discussion about this in Exodus, chapter 4, especially verse 21.  Additionally, there was discussion about it in chapter 9, verse 14, when God determined to send all His plagues on Pharaoh's heart.  It was evident that Pharaoh had not been sincere or truly repentant, so it may be that God truly did harden his heart at this time, or rather kept it hardened, until the fruition of the plagues.  His heart was already hard and unrepentant, and he would not let the children of Israel go.

(21) And the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness which may even be felt.” (22) And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven, and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. (23) They did not see one another; nor did anyone rise from his place for three days; but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.

With no further warning to Pharaoh, God told Moses to stretch his hand toward heaven which would bring darkness over the land of Egypt, and that he did.  It was a darkness so thick and dark that it was even felt.  Although God could have used any means to bring darkness, it seems reasonable to think that perhaps it was caused by a thick fog, because it could be felt, and perhaps the heavy misty dampness of the fog is what put out all the candles and fires in the Egyptian homes.  It was so dark and thick that the Egyptians could not see one another, nor did they even try to arise from their places for three days.  However, the Israelites had light in their homes.

As so many of the plagues seemed to do, this plague showed God's control over one of the Egyptians' chief objects of worship, the Sun-god.  I don't know that God was purposely choosing a plague for each one of the Egyptian gods; the fact was, that the Egyptians used nature and things created by God as their gods.  Of course, God was greater than anything or anyone He Himself created.  If all of heaven and earth is at God's disposal, and one has false gods he came up with himself, then they are bound to be controlled by God; it's just going to happen without any particular plan on God's part to expose one's false gods.

(24) And Pharaoh called to Moses and said, “Go, serve the LORD; only let your flocks and your herds be kept back; let your little ones also go with you.”

After three days of the thick darkness, Pharaoh called Moses in and he decided to relent a little further this time.  He would allow all the people to go, including the little ones, but their herds and flocks must be kept back.  Obviously, Pharaoh was trying to make sure the Israelites would return; their livestock would be his security that the Israelites would not permanently leave Egypt, leaving him without all their forced labor from which he had obviously profited.  Also, when you think about it, he and the Egyptians had lost a great deal of their livestock to the plagues; all the more reason he may have wanted the livestock to stay, and not risk them leaving forever.

(25) And Moses said, “You must give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God. (26) Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not a hoof be left behind, for from them we must take to serve the LORD our God, and even we do not know with what we must serve the LORD until we arrive there.”

Moses refused Pharaoh's offer, saying the livestock was necessary as they would need some of them to offer as sacrifices and burnt offerings to the Lord, and they would not know which animals they would need until they got to the place where they would serve the Lord.

(27) But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go.

Of course, Pharaoh would not agree to this.  If he had relented, we may be sure it would have been short-lived, as it has been obvious that he had not been sincere in any repentance up to this point.  Therefore, the Lord may have hardened his heart because, "He had yet another miracle to work for the complete conviction of the Egyptians and triumph of his people; and till that was wrought He permitted the natural obstinacy of Pharaoh’s haughty heart to have its full sway, after each resistance of the gracious influence which was intended to soften and bring him to repentance." (Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible)

(28) And Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me; take heed to yourself and see my face no more, for in the day you see my face you shall die.” (29) And Moses said, “You have spoken well; I will see your face no more.”

Pharaoh got angry when he couldn't make Moses adhere to his terms, and sent him away, saying he never wanted to see him again.  He was so angry that he told Moses to take heed, for if he ever saw him again, Moses would die!  Pretty strong words against someone Pharaoh himself had on more than one occasion called before him to save him from God's plagues.  To threaten someone with death who had shown himself quite able to inflict plagues away from his presence wasn't very smart.  But how often do people say dumb things they don't mean in anger?  In this case, Moses told Pharaoh he had spoken true words.  He may have known by a spirit of prophecy that he would not again be sent to Pharaoh, and that Pharaoh would soon meet death at the Red Sea.

(Exodus 11:1) And the LORD said to Moses, “I will bring yet one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt; afterwards he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will surely thrust you out of here altogether."

I have included chapter 11 in this present study as it became evident that this short chapter was a continuation of Moses's last meeting with Pharaoh.  It seems these words of the Lord had been given previously to Moses so that he had known for certain that he would not be sent again to Pharaoh.  It is also possible they were being divinely given to him as he spoke to Pharaoh, but it will soon become apparent that Moses was still in the presence of Pharaoh.  This is the reason that Moses said that Pharaoh had spoken well in that he would not see him again, because the Lord told him that He would bring one final plague on Pharaoh and the Egyptians, and after that, Pharaoh would let the Israelites go. As a matter of fact, he wouldn't only let them go, he would thrust them out of there!

(2) “Speak now in the hearing of the people, and let every man ask from his neighbor and every woman from her neighbor, jewels of silver and jewels of gold.” (3) And the LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people.

The children of Israel were about to be delivered from their bondage in Egypt, and would have left empty-handed, having been slaves to the Egyptians without rightful pay, but their Lord saw to it that they were justly rewarded for their services.  They did not have to raid, loot, or steal, but had only to ask of their neighbors, and the Lord gave them such favor with the Egyptians, that the Egyptian people would gladly give the Israelites articles of silver and gold.  Furthermore, Moses was held in high regard by Pharaoh's servants and by the Egyptian people.  They had seen what he had done in the name of the Israelites' God, and they came to respect him.  I believe it is fair to conclude that many Egyptians were indeed saved because of their witnessing of the many plagues up to this point, as was suggested was one of the reasons for the prolonging of the plagues--see post notes on Exodus 4, verse 21.  This does not mean that the Egyptians wouldn't die a physical death, but if saved by believing on the Lord who had wrought such miracles in their country, they wouldn't have to die an eternal death in hell.

(4) And Moses said, “Thus says the LORD, ‘About midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt; (5) And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the maidservant who is behind the mill, and all the firstborn of the animals. (6) And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as was not like it before, nor shall be like it any more.'"

Moses spoke to Pharaoh; after he had said Pharaoh had spoken well, he now spoke these words of the Lord to Pharaoh.  At about midnight the Lord would go through the midst of Egypt and all the firstborn of man and beast, including Pharaoh's firstborn son, would die.  There would be a great wailing of grief throughout the land of Egypt when all the firstborn died, such as had never been heard before, nor would ever be afterward.  This is what the Lord had warned to Pharaoh in the beginning, in Exodus 4:22-23, that if he did not let God's son Israel go, He would slay Pharaoh's firstborn son. 

(7) "‘But against any of the children of Israel a dog shall not move its tongue against man or beast, that you may know that the LORD does make a difference between the Egyptians and Israel. (8) And all these your servants shall come down to me and bow themselves down to me, saying, "Get out, and all the people who follow you," and after that I will go out.'” And he went out from Pharaoh in a great anger.

The firstborn of all the Egyptians would die, but there was not to be so much as a dog moving its tongue toward a snarl or growl against the Israelites.  In that, they would know that the Lord did distinguish between His children Israel and the Egyptians.  Then Pharaoh's own servants would bow before the Lord and tell Him and His people to get out of their land, and at that point, they would go; that was a certainty.  And with that final message, Moses went out from Pharaoh's presence in anger.

(9) And the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not heed you, so that My wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.”

Moses was angered, justifiably, it would seem, by the stubborn arrogance of Pharaoh, but the Lord reminded him that Pharaoh would not yet listen to him, for God's express purpose in magnifying His wonders in the land of Egypt.  This is something I must remind myself--even though I may feel justified in my anger against a Godless government and its ungodly agenda that leads the people astray, I must remember that God alone raises up leaders for His purposes.  Sadly, His purposes may be for judgment against a country's wickedness, as in the case of Egypt, but good can ultimately come to the individual persons who come to the end of themselves and look to their Lord for their salvation.  When things are too easy, we often become lazy and forgetful and unthankful for all that the Lord has done for us; we can even take Him for granted and compromise His word and relegate Him to a distant second place.  It is in His mercy, that God will allow terrible tragedies that bring us back to Him!

(10) And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh; and the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go out of his land.

I believe this is a sort of parenthetical comment relating to all the signs and wonders up to this point.  Moses and Aaron had brought all these miraculous plagues in the sight of Pharaoh, but the Lord had hardened Pharaoh's heart so that he would not let the Israelites go out of his land up to this point, so that the Lord's wonders could be multiplied in the land of Egypt for the maximum good of the most people.  I believe that means not only the Israelite people at this time, but also the pagan Egyptians who would come to know God as Lord, and maybe most importantly, to the countless generations of Jews and Gentiles who would afterward read the report of these marvelous wonders, and come to know the Lord as their Savior!

Pharaoh A Saint Compared to Us?

Continuing with a chronological Bible study:

(Exodus 9:1) Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘Thus says the LORD God of the Hebrews: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me."'"

At the end of the last chapter, the plague of the flies had been lifted from the land of Egypt because Pharaoh had asked that Moses entreat the Lord for him, which he did.  Furthermore, Pharaoh had said he would let the Israelite people go; however, he did not.  Now the Lord told Moses to go to Pharaoh and tell him that the Lord God of the Hebrews again told him to let His people go.

(2) "'“For if you refuse to let them go, and will hold them still, (3) Behold, the hand of the LORD is upon your cattle which are in the field, upon the horses, upon the donkeys, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep; there shall be a very severe pestilence. (4) And the LORD shall separate between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt; and there shall nothing die of all that is the children's of Israel.”’”

Again Moses, through his spokesman Aaron, was to give Pharaoh a warning of what would happen if he refused to let God's people go.  The phrase "there shall be" was added by the KJV translators for clarity; it was not in the original text.  Although it does seem to be needed to correctly express the idea, I think the sense is that the Lord, with His hand on the beasts of the land, could immediately bring pestilence to them, without any stretching forth of Aaron's rod or any other fanfare.  The Lord's hand was already on them with pestilence ready to be let go at His bidding.  The beasts of the earth, all things in nature, and every person's life are held in God's hand and are at His command at any given moment.  Because they are at His command, He could easily distinguish between the beasts of Israel and the beasts of Egypt, and He would not allow any of the Israelites' animals to die.

(5) And the LORD appointed a set time, saying, “Tomorrow the LORD will do this thing in the land.”

Not only could the Lord's hand immediately bring pestilence, but it could do it at any particular appointed time, proving that it could only be the Lord who brought the pestilence.  This also gave Pharaoh time to change his mind before the Lord followed through with what He warned would happen if Pharaoh refused to let God's people go.

(6) And the LORD did that thing on the next day, and all the cattle of Egypt died; but of the cattle of the children of Israel, not one died.

The Lord did as He warned on the next day, bringing pestilence to the livestock of the Egyptians.  Regarding "all the cattle of Egypt", I believe it must be read and understood that all the cattle which died were of Egypt, because we later read of a plague affecting the cattle again.  Perhaps the plague was brought upon only the "cattle which are in the field", as stated in verse 3, and there were others not affected, or perhaps the pestilence was upon all the Egyptian livestock, but not all died, but all that did die were of Egypt; none of the livestock of the Israelites died.  Once again, it must be noted that a plague affected objects of worship by the Egyptians.  Egyptian deities proved again to be under the power of the Israelites' God.

(7) And Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not one of the cattle of the Israelites dead. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.

Pharaoh apparently sent messengers to inquire about the Israelite cattle, and found that none were dead of the Israelites' livestock.  It's interesting that he purposely sent messengers to see if what had been promised was indeed true, and remarkable that when he found it was true, he dug in his heels all the more and did not let the Israelites go.

(8) And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Take for yourselves handfuls of ashes from a furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh. (9) And it shall become fine dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall become boils breaking forth in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.”

After Pharaoh again hardened his heart and refused to let the people go, this next plague was to come without warning.  The Lord instructed Moses and Aaron to take handfuls of ashes and scatter them toward heaven where Pharaoh could see what they were doing.  Throwing the ashes from the fiery furnace up to heaven may have been symbolic; the very furnace at which the Hebrews had been oppressed and enslaved now became the source of the plague upon the Egyptians.  The ashes would come down as a fine dust over the land of Egypt causing inflamed boils and blisters all over the Egyptian people and the animals throughout the land of Egypt.  Additionally, the symbolic act could have also been a reference to the fact that there were times that the Egyptians sacrificed men, burning them alive, and throwing their ashes up to the heavens.

(10) And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled them toward heaven; and they became boils breaking forth in sores on man and beast. (11) And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the magicians and on all the Egyptians.

Moses and Aaron did as God told them, and the ash dust became boils and blistery pustules on man and beast, so severe that Pharaoh's magicians could not even stand before Moses!

(12) And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not hearken to them, as the LORD had spoken to Moses.

Pharaoh still stood obstinate and would not let the people go, as God had told Moses he would.  For a previous discussion on the Lord hardening Pharaoh's heart, please see the post on Exodus 4, especially the notes on verse 21.

(13) And the LORD said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD God of the Hebrews, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me, (14) For I will at this time send all My plagues on your heart, and on your servants and on your people, that you may know that there is none like Me in all the earth."'"

The Lord told Moses to again rise up early in the morning to meet with Pharaoh and tell him God's words, to let His people go in order to serve Him.  God said He would at this time send all His plagues on Pharaoh's heart, etc.  This would have to be all the remaining plagues He had planned, and it appears that they all would be sent, with no chance to stop them midstream.  Either God knew that Pharaoh would not have repented and let the people go before all were accomplished, or else after all the chances Pharaoh had up to this point to repent, now there would be no further chances and God would accomplish all He had planned so that Pharaoh would know in his heart that there was none like Him in all the earth.  In the end, everyone will know the truth.  All the atheists, all those who ridicule God and the Bible and those who believe, will in the end come to know the truth, for the Bible tells us "every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God" (Romans 14:11).  They will bow and confess because they will know that truly they are in the presence of the Lord Almighty.  Likewise, Pharaoh would know in his heart that there was none like the one true almighty God of heaven and earth after He sent all His plagues.  I do believe it is possible that God would reach a point when He would give no more chances to repent because of the scripture in Isaiah, chapter 55, specifically verse 6, which says, "Seek ye the LORD while he may be found..."  "While" suggests there will be a time when He won't be found.

(15) "'"For now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth. (16) And indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, to show in you My power, and that My name may be declared throughout all the earth."'"

Although the KJV translated verse 15 in the future tense, Biblical scholars say that in the Hebrew the verbs were in the past tense and not in the future, so I have used the translation above that most scholars agree is the correct one.  After all, God never struck Pharaoh and all the people with pestilence that removed them from the earth, but it is certainly something He could have done at any time with great ease.  That has to be the message to Pharaoh now, that God could have stretched out His hand and struck Pharaoh and all the Egyptians and killed them instantly, but He had a purpose in raising him up and allowing him to be in this position of power at this time.  It was to show through him God's power over him and over all his worthless gods and idols, that only the one true God would be declared as Lord of all throughout all the earth.

I have to remind myself of this fact that it is God alone who raises up leaders, when I look around at how far from God we are at this present time in our country.  A country that was founded on Christian principles, a country that sought the blessing of Almighty God, one that regularly prayed to Him and sought His guidance, now seeks to remove Him from everything.  We now have a president that regularly "quotes" from the founding documents, but leaves out all references to God in those documents.  He has actually covered up a reference to Jesus on a stage where he was to talk; he couldn't even be seen in the presence of a reference to Jesus that he didn't himself even make!  Actually, that has a very strong spiritual implication that Obama cannot stand in the presence of Jesus, but that is another topic.  His party just this last presidential election cycle decided they did not even want God as a part of their platform.  We wonder why everything is so bad in this country right now--it is because we tossed aside everything God stands for and decided we wanted Godless people to rule over us!  And GOD alone raised Obama up to bring judgment on this country.  We wanted Godlessness and God allowed us to have what we wanted.  We, as a country, that is.  I certainly never wanted a Godless man as president!  There are many good Christian people in this country who didn't want him, but as a country, we elected him.  He is the very picture of what we have become.  He is the most pro-abortion president we have ever had, voting on three occasions before becoming president to allow babies born alive after botched abortions to die on a shelf with no attempt to save their lives!  I think of that abortion doctor, Kermit Gosnell, who was found guilty of murder because he killed babies born alive that had survived botched abortions.  I remember that bewildered look he had when he was found guilty.  In his mind, he was only carrying out what he had been paid to do, end the life of a mother's baby, as was her choice.  What he did was a very picture of abortion, this woman's reproductive "right" to murder her child!  It made people uncomfortable to think he killed a baby outside of the womb, but just inside the womb is okay.  When you think about it, Dr. Gosnell was much more humane in killing the baby right away, rather than letting it slowly die on a shelf with no care as Obama proposed we do!!  In addition, Obama has done more to promote the homosexual agenda than any other president, something God called an abomination, and something He warned us against when He told us to remember Sodom and Gomorrah as an example of what would happen, "suffering the vengeance of eternal fire".  Obama is the most lawless president we have ever had, ignoring laws he does not like, changing laws at his whim, using his pen and his phone to act as our king, and our Congress seems impotent against him.  It is because God alone raised him up!  Our country chose to be ruled by a Godless man, and here we are!

(17) "'"As yet you exalt yourself against My people, that you will not let them go? (18) Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as has not been in Egypt since its foundation until now. (19) Therefore send now and gather your cattle and all that you have in the field, for the hail shall come down on every man and beast which shall be found in the field and is not brought home, and they shall die.”’”

God was still speaking to Moses, telling him to speak these words to Pharaoh, as thus said the Lord.  Still Pharaoh exalted himself above God's people and refused to let them go, but God was about to send all His remaining plagues striking the very heart of Pharaoh, and showing him His power as Lord of all the earth, as stated in verses 14-16 above.  God now warned Pharaoh that tomorrow at this time He would send a rain of hail such as had never been seen before.  However, He actually mercifully still gave Pharaoh a chance to avoid the hail, if he would just gather all the livestock in the field and bring them in, they would avoid being killed by the hail.  Any man or beast in the fields at this time tomorrow would be killed by hail, but they had about 24 hours warning to avoid what was sure to come.

(20) He who feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee to the houses. (21) And he who did not regard the word of the LORD left his servants and his cattle in the field.

I love this!  It's so simple.  Those who believed and feared God among the servants of Pharaoh heeded God's warning and brought all the servants and cattle in from the fields.  I believe this is proof that God drew out these plagues upon Egypt in order to give some of the Egyptians time to repent and be saved.  He could have swooped in, struck down or frozen Pharaoh and his servants, and allowed His people to go immediately, but He had a purpose in doing it the way He did.  He told us in verse 16 it was to show His power that His name be magnified in all the earth.  He could have shown His power immediately, but to us dense sinners, we need a much longer look for it to sink in!  Adam Clarke wrote a beautiful commentary on this, part of which can be found in my post on chapter 4, especially the notes on verse 21, linked here.  Those who believed what they had thus far seen and feared the Lord, were spared; those who did not heed the word of the Lord left their servants and livestock in the fields.

(22) And the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch forth your hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, on man, on beast, and on every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.” (23) And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven; and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and fire ran along on the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt.

The next day at the appointed time, the Lord told Moses to stretch forth his hand toward heaven and thus call the hailstorm onto the land of Egypt, on every man, beast, and herb in the fields.  Moses did as the Lord told him, and the Lord sent a horrific hailstorm with thunder and lightning that ran along the ground.  This must have been very frightening to the Egyptians who didn't see much rain, let alone thunderstorms, not to mention fierce thunderstorms with severe lightning and heavy hail.  This must surely have looked like the wrath of God raining down on the Egyptians, and the ones who had believed were not in the fields and were spared.

(24) So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. (25) And the hail struck throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail struck every herb of the field and broke every tree of the field. (26) Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail.

The hailstorm with fierce lightning causing hail and fire all through the land of Egypt was like nothing that had ever been seen before in the land of Egypt.  The hail struck every man and beast in the field, and struck every herb and broke every tree where it rained.  But it did not rain in Goshen where the children of Israel were.  God had given warning, and the children of Israel could have easily heeded the warning and brought their livestock and come in and avoided the hail, but God made a very dramatic point in separating His people from the Egyptians.  They and their animals, and their herbs, plants, and trees were spared.

(27) And Pharaoh sent and called for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “I have sinned this time; the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. (28) Entreat the LORD (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.”

So fierce and frightening was the plague of hail and lightning, Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron to ask them to ask the Lord to remove it.  On one hand, Pharaoh called the Lord "Jehovah", the proper name for the one true eternal God, admitted his sin, and called himself and his people wicked.  You might think he had had an epiphany and saw the light; he used some of the right words.  But I couldn't help notice that he said he sinned "this time"; now maybe he meant that this time, for the first time, he saw his sin and wickedness, but he continued on to ask that they ask the Lord to remove the hail and thundering because "it is enough".  Who is he to say that it had been enough?  Maybe it had been enough to make him see the light.  Although he tried to use the right words, I rather think his arrogance showed through.  He did not have a truly repentant heart as he could not totally admit his sin and he seemed to tell the Lord what was enough.  He did ask Moses and Aaron to entreat the Lord to end the hailstorms and he did say that he would then let the Israelite people go.

(29) And Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands to the LORD; and the thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, that you may know that the earth is the LORD’s. (30) But as for you and your servants, I know that you will not yet fear the LORD God.”

Moses agreed to Pharaoh's request.  He said as soon as he had left the city, he would spread his hands to the Lord, and the Lord would stop the hail and thunder, so that Pharaoh would know that the earth was the Lord's and at His command.  However, Moses indeed did see that Pharaoh's admission of guilt and acknowledgment of Jehovah God were not true and heartfelt; he knew and told him so that he knew Pharaoh and his servants did not yet fear the Lord.

(31) And the flax and the barley were struck, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud. (32) But the wheat and the rye were not struck, for they were not grown up.

These verses speak of the plants that were struck and destroyed by the hailstorm.  The barley had ears and the flax was in bud, so it was struck, but the wheat and rye, as later bloomers, were not yet sprouted from the ground, and so not struck by hail.  By this, the time of year can be approximated, which a consensus of the early commentaries state, must have been late February or early March.

(33) And Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread out his hands to the LORD; and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured on the earth.

Moses did as he told Pharaoh he would, and went out of the city and spread his hands out to the Lord in prayer and supplication for Pharaoh.  Indeed the thunder and hailstorm ceased, just as Moses had told Pharaoh it would.

(34) And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants. (35) And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go; as the LORD had spoken by Moses.

Once the hailstorm ceased, Pharaoh sinned again; to begin with, we know he was not thankful to the Lord for answered prayer!  He hardened his heart, which sin does, he and his servants both.  He sinned again by not fulfilling his promise to let the Israelites go if Moses asked the Lord to remove the hailstorm.  It's funny; I started out typing "Unbelievably", etc.; but it's actually not so unbelievable.  When you read of these events just boom-boom, one immediately after another, it's hard to believe that Pharaoh could return to his ways after just witnessing such miracles.  However, imagine a person praying to God to remove a big problem and promising to change his ways, and after God answers the prayer, he returns to his former ways.  Actually, Pharaoh's actions are sadly too credible.  His heart was hardened and he would not let the children of Israel go, and this was just as Moses had said, for he knew that Pharaoh did not yet fear the Lord, as he said in verse 30. Moses spoke it, but God had said all along that Pharaoh would not let the children of Israel go until all His signs and wonders were accomplished.

Adam Clarke wrote a scathing rebuke to any self-righteous Christian who would think that it was unbelievable that Pharaoh could continue to sin and resist God after so many signs, to those who might believe the only possible explanation must be that God was controlling and hardening Pharaoh's heart against his will:

"...is not the conduct of Pharaoh and his courtiers copied and reacted by thousands who are never suspected to be under any such necessitating decree? Every sinner under heaven, who has the Bible in his hand, is acting the same part. God says to the swearer and the profane, Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; and yet common swearing and profaneness are most scandalously common among multitudes who bear the Christian name, and who presume on the mercy of God to get at last to the kingdom of heaven! He says also, Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy; thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not commit adultery; thou shalt not steal; thou shalt not bear false witness; thou shalt not covet; and sanctions all these commandments with the most awful penalties: and yet, with all these things before them, and the professed belief that they came from God, Sabbath-breakers, men-slayers, adulterers, fornicators, thieves, dishonest men, false witnesses, liars, slanderers, backbiters, covetous men, lovers of the world more than lovers of God, are found by hundreds and thousands! What were the crimes of the poor half-blind Egyptian king when compared with these! He sinned against a comparatively unknown God; these sin against the God of their fathers - against the God and Father of Him whom they call their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! They sin with the Bible in their hand, and a conviction of its Divine authority in their hearts. They sin against light and knowledge; against the checks of their consciences, the reproofs of their friends, the admonitions of the messengers of God; against Moses and Aaron in the law; against the testimony of all the prophets; against the evangelists, the apostles, the Maker of heaven and earth, the Judge of all men, and the Savior of the world! What were Pharaoh’s crimes to the crimes of these? On comparison, his atom of moral turpitude is lost in their world of iniquity. And yet who supposes these to be under any necessitating decree to sin on, and go to perdition? Nor are they; nor was Pharaoh. In all things God has proved both his justice and mercy to be clear in this point. Pharaoh, through a principle of covetousness, refused to dismiss the Israelites, whose services he found profitable to the state: these are absorbed in the love of the world, the love of pleasure, and the love of gain; nor will they let one lust go, even in the presence of the thunders of Sinai, or in sight of the agony, bloody sweat, crucifixion, and death of Jesus Christ! Alas! how many are in the habit of considering Pharaoh the worst of human beings, inevitably cut off from the possibility of being saved because of his iniquities, who outdo him so far in the viciousness of their lives, that Pharaoh, hardening his heart against ten plagues, appears a saint when compared with those who are hardening their hearts against ten millions of mercies. Reader, art thou of this number? Proceed no farther! God’s judgments linger not. Desperate as thy state is, thou mayest return; and thou, even thou, find mercy through the blood of the Lamb."

Wow!  Definitely thought-provoking words!  Bring them into present time and culture, and imagine Christians with Bible in hand who condone the murder of the most innocent as a reproductive right of the mother; those who elevate the sin of homosexuality, something God called an abomination (an act, not a person!), to the status of God-ordained unions and marriage; those who affect to be so intelligent and enlightened that they understand that while they profess to love the Lord, they "understand" that God must be separated from civil society; and all of the above vote for a political party that wants no part of God in its platform.  All this from a people who have no excuse!  The people in our country have grown up free with God's word readily available in books, on TV, on radio, in a church on every corner.  While it's true that not every church or medium that professes to be Christian, truly is the true word of God, any person who truly seeks the Lord and His truth will have no trouble finding it.  But they reject the Bible as the inspired word of God and as Mr. Clarke said above, they reject the words of God, Jesus, the prophets, the apostles, and Moses and Aaron in the Mosaic law.  This country is without excuse and just look at us!  It does make Pharaoh look like a saint in comparison!