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The hardening of Pharaoh’s heart was something God had reminded Moses of time and time again. We read it in Exodus 4, Exodus 7, and twice in Exodus 14. The hardening of the heart was a way in which God would pit his enemies against Him so that His glory would be revealed.
This was especially important in the case of Pharaoh who would have seen himself as a god among men. It may seem strange to us that the Lord tells Moses he will make him “like God” to Pharaoh, but in that culture, status was everything. Pharaoh would never have listened to a nobody like Moses, and because Moses was raised in the Egyptian culture, he knew that. This statement by God was a reassurance to Moses that, in time, Pharaoh would witness the power of God.
Just imagine the Lord asking you to travel to the White House and give a message to the President. Of course, we would wonder, how is this possible? The President won’t take a meeting with me, let alone listen to what I have to say. Slowly but surely, there would be a perspective change with Moses where he would begin to trust that God was over this situation.
The explanation God gives here for the hardening of the heart is so that He may perform multiple signs and wonders. Oftentimes, we look at people who are hardened to God and become discouraged. It could be, like Pharaoh, that the hardening is the prelude to the miraculous. Even though Pharaoh’s heart never changed, there are many today who have been miraculously converted through the Gospel. We never know how God is using a hardened heart for His glory.
The goal is always the glorification of God. It’s easy to get sidetracked with people who have hardened hearts. Many want to argue and debate theology. Sometimes we think if we can humiliate them, they will change. It never works. God uses us, as He would with Moses and Aaron, but the credit always goes back to God. The Lord has said that Pharaoh will know He is God. In the end, that’s what would be remembered.