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m-kd · 8 years

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Hardened Heart: Part 2

So we’re going to go back in time a little bit to Exodus, the Ten Plagues story. If you didn’t read my Part 1, then you can go read it here!

I asked two main questions: Who hardened Pharaoh's heart first? And if God really hardened his heart, didn't he forced Pharaoh to do wrong? And I didn’t really find super solid answers but let me share with you my thoughts!

So... who hardened Pharaoh's heart first? God or Pharaoh himself? Someone once said that asking this question is like asking which came first: the chicken or the egg (lol). But in this case, I personally think that Pharaoh hardened his heart from the very start. When God was telling Moses about his mission, he warned him about Pharaoh's heart:

“But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go.” - Exodus 3:19-20

It seems to me that God knew from day one that Pharaoh will harden his own heart. I know you're asking me: "But what if God’s saying that because he planned to harden Pharaoh's heart from day one?" To be honest, I don't think God did harden his heart from the very beginning. I may be completely wrong or I'm missing something but stay with me, okay? Lets go through a brief timeline.

First, God revealed himself to Moses about his mission to save the Israelites. Then He warned Moses of Pharaoh's heart. Moses goes up to Pharaoh and what happens? Exactly as God said. Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites go himself. I mean, who's gonna do the dirty work if there are no Israelites? Moses became discouraged but God reassured him and THEN he told Moses that he will harden Pharaoh's heart and reveal to him signs & wonders. And if you read the plagues in order, you notice that it doesn’t specifically say that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart until the 6th plague of boils (and then the 8th to 10th: locusts, darkness, firstborn). I don’t know if I’m taking this out of context or not but what I'm saying is that Pharaoh himself hardened his heart throughout most of the plagues. Perhaps God did not choose to harden his heart until much later?

Now you're probably asking: "During those moments when God hardened Pharaoh's heart, isn't it a bit unfair? Why should Pharaoh be punish if he was 'forced' to harden his heart?"

To be honest, throughout the whole plagues, I don't think Pharaoh would have turned to God even if God didn't do anything. Even after the plagues, Pharaoh changed his mind and chased the Israelites down. Doesn't exactly sound like a man of faith or a man of his word. But I think what God did was merciful. Pharaoh was a sinful man. An abuser. An oppressor. And what is the wages of sin? Death. So what God did to Pharaoh is merciful in my opinion. Not to mention, also so damn powerful. Pharaoh already chose the wrong path from the very beginning. God hardening his heart was a way to show his sovereignty and glory to the world. It was a way to show Pharaoh who God is. A good question that I ran across as I was researching is: "Is it possible for God, in his gracious sovereignty, to harden Pharaoh's heart without affecting whatsoever Pharaoh's ability to believe in God's promise and become a part of God's redeemed people?" Who are we to question his power? Does God even have limits? I mean, he created the universe and wiped out Earth for goodness' sakes. My answer to this question is: If God wasn't able to harden Pharaoh’s heart without affecting his ability to believe, then aren’t we saying that those who have strong hardened hearts (whether from self or from God) are forever lost with no hope? That they are bound to death? Are we saying that God doesn't have the power to change hearts? I think we all know that no hardened heart is forever lost. I believe in hope and redemption for every lost sheep... no matter how immovable or hardened a heart is. So the end answer to that question: Yes, I think God can. Of course, I can be completely wrong in all this. But regardless of who hardened whose heart and how it was done, I think the overall bottom line here is that the Ten Plagues reveals God’s sovereignty. It opens my eyes to see how much more God is than what I know, and how powerless, small, and weak I am... especially during this time.

The ability to change hearts. The ability to destroy Egypt's gods one by one. The ability to save the oppressed. The ability to use such a scared wimp (sorry Moses). The ability to evoke such fear and obedience. The ability to do what magicians can't do. That's our Sovereign God.

- MK

#exodusstory #hardenedhearts #part2 #moses #plagues #pharaoh #israelites #devotions #devos

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m-kd · 8 years

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Hardened Heart: Part 1

As you can see, this is a two-part post! Why is that? Well, it’ll be easier to understand why if you read on!

During the last few days, I’ve been reading through the story of the Plagues (Exodus 7 to 11). It has been very interesting.

As I was reading, the one question I kept asking myself was: “Why did God hardened Pharaoh’s heart?” I don’t really quite understand it. But in Chapter 7, it says:

“But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” - Exodus 7:16

The answer is pretty self explanatory, right? But this led to another question that was brought up: “If God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, then does that mean that he forced Pharaoh to do wrong?” Would Pharaoh have chosen to follow the Lord from the very beginning (or maybe even after the first few plagues) if God didn’t hardened his heart?

I re-read this story a few times and I noticed that at certain parts, it says that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. And in other parts, it says that Pharaoh chose to harden his heart. So what does this mean? Lets go back to before the plagues happened:

As you can, God already knew (before the plagues started) that Pharaoh would not let his people go until he witnesses God’s miracles. But did God knew that Pharaoh’s hardened heart came from Pharaoh’s own free will? Or did God plan to hardened his heart from the beginning to fulfill his purpose? To be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if God himself did hardened Pharaoh’s heart. After all, our God is a god with no limits and can change hearts. But at the same time, I can see why Pharaoh chooses to harden his own heart. Letting the Israelites go means losing man power to do work and to be successful, right? If the Israelites go, who will make bricks and do work?

Questions, questions, questions. As of right now, I don’t have a definite answer but this is something that I will look into for more clarification. When I learn more, I will make a Part 2 (which is why this post is a Part 1 haha).

I wanted to share a bit more of my thoughts on this passage but until I gain more insight on this, I will move on for now. No worries, I won’t forget what I have to say. In the meantime, any thoughts/ideas on this passage?

To read Part 2, click here!

- MK

#devos #exodusstory #pharaoh #moses #plagues #confuse #hardened #hearts #exodus #devotions

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m-kd · 8 years

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I Am Who I Am

Tonight takes us through Exodus 5 and 6, and wow. I’m pretty sure I used that word to describe all the other previous chapters I read but I don’t think there’s a better word to describe the Word than “wow”. If we backtrack a little bit to Chapter 3 and 4, we know that Moses had many doubts in himself and in God when God instructed him to free the Israelites out of Egypt. After each doubt, God constantly reminded him that he is with him and that he is God – “I am who I am”. In the end, Moses chose to be obedient and that’s where some great stuff happens.

Moving to Chapter 5 now! Moses did exactly as God instructed him and after all that reassurance from God, you would think that everything would be smooth sailing. But nope. Not at all. Let me put it this way:

Expectation: Moses talks to Pharaoh. Pharaoh accepts the message of God and lets the Israelites free.

Reality: Moses talks to Pharaoh. Pharaoh refuses the message of God and made the Israelites suffer more by forcing them to collect straws and bricks.

We see Moses carrying out this mission with one goal in mind – set the Israelites free. Instead of achieving this, he failed. The results were the opposite of what Moses had expected because of a major setback… but didn’t God promised to deliver? So why is there more suffering and troubles? Moses asked the same thing:

“...’Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people and you have not rescued your people at all.’” – Exodus 5:22-23

How God responded to Moses left me in awe:

“…Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country… I am the Lord. Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant. Therefore, say to the Israelites: I am the Lord and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand… I am the Lord.” – Exodus 6: 1-8

I think it’s pretty clear how many times God repeated the phrase: “I am the Lord”. He basically told Moses in modern lingo: “Moses, remember my name? I am who I am” (Exodus 3:14). I used to think that it’s such a random simple name but after reading this, I learned that it holds such a great meaning. This is a name of power… a name belonging to an unchangeable character. And that’s what God reminded Moses – His great name. The Israelites will be set free now in his timing because he has the power to do so. By his mighty hand will this be possible. He promised to deliver and he will deliver because he has heard the Israelites’ cries and remembers his promise. He has the power to redeem and save. Why? Because he is the Lord our God. He is “I am who I am”.

So these setbacks and failures that Moses encountered doesn’t show that God is not at work. Because trust me, he’s still at work (spoiler alert: The Israelites will be set free in the later chapters). As a friend once told me, “Failures, setbacks, stumbles, and fears are all by products of faith.” If anything, these moments should help us develop patience and character. They teach us to trust God to do what’s best for us because he is the Lord.

I know that I myself have trouble accepting setbacks and failures but it’s something that I’m constantly learning to “let go and let God”. As this new year starts, I challenge myself (and others) to not worry whenever setbacks come and to continue doing what you’re doing in faith. I pray that we continuously be reminded of who our God is, especially through these moments.

I want to end with an encouraging verse that my study bible pointed out:

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” - James 1:2-4

- MK

#devos #exodusstory #exodus #moses #israelites #pharaoah #setbacks #failures #itsokay #iamwhoiam #iamthelord #Godisgood #hedelivers #Hisname #james

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m-kd · 8 years

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Years Passed

I’m moving onto Exodus tonight... Exodus 2 to be exact and what a great reminder for me right now.

Exodus 2 marks the birth of Moses and the Israelites’ slavery but I wanted to specifically look at a few verses at the end of the chapter.

“Years passed and the king of Egypt died. But the Israelites continued to groan under their burden of slavery. They cried out for help and their cry rose to God. God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He looked down on the people of Israel and knew it was time to act.” - Exodus 2:23-25 (NLT)

Slavery is no happy thing. For many years, the Israelites went through suffering and burdens. They cried to God for so long about their hardships. In fact, years passed and they were still crying to God. Years passed and their circumstances did not change. Years passed and God did not do anything... yet. But years passed and God knew it was now the time to act. In the NIV, it said that “God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.” God did not rescue the Israelites until many years later.

There are many things you can take from this passage but what stood out to me was God’s timing in this situation. God may not rescue the Israelites in the exact moment like they probably wanted but God definitely did not forget about them in the hardships. God keeps his promises and knows the best time to act... which is not until years later for the Israelites. I’d like to say that God’s timing was “on point” (what kids nowadays call “being exactly right or spot on”).

This passage reminded me of a conversation I had with my roommates. We were talking about “how to make an impact in someone’s life” or “how can we reach out to people”. The one thing that stood out to me in that conversation was: “God works in mysterious ways... in his timing”. Firstly, we don’t change hearts. God does. Secondly, we may not see the direct impact we have made in someone’s life... or maybe we’re not called to make a direct impact but to be a bridge or connection to something/someone else. Regardless, God will work in his timing and in ways that we will never know. We can plant the seed but that seed may not grow until many years later. We can share all we want and reach out all we want, but maybe no one will listen until years later. Maybe we won’t ever see that change or impact... but I think God’s kind of funny. He really does work in mysterious ways. Many years may pass before something can happen. But through the waiting, lets be persistent. As the years passed, lets be persistent in prayer and faith.

And like that guy from some Kung Fu movie said: “Be patient, young grasshopper.” (Felt appropriate to make this reference lol)

- MK

#devos #exodusstory #faith #prayer #impact #change #godstiming #patient

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