《Expositor’s Dictionary of Texts – Exodus (Vol. 2)》(William R. Nicoll)
10 Chapter 10
Verse 1
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Exo
THE HARDENING OF PHARAOH'S HEART
Moses and Aaron are once more commanded to visit Pharaoh, even though they are told that he will not yield to their entreaty. This is the method of Heaven to render rebellious sinners unexcusable. The ministers of God are not readily to abandon a wicked soul. It is here said that God hardened Pharaoh's heart. How?
I. By a manifestation of rich mercy that ought to have melted the heart of the King. God had indeed manifested great mercy and forbearance towards Pharaoh; He had spared his life. through a long series of plagues, and through continued sin. The King had no claim to such mercy. Yet it was given in abundant measure. And when mercy is abused by the sinner it has a hardening effect upon his moral nature. No man can reject the love of the great Father, the cross of Jesus Christ, and the warnings of the pulpit, without becoming more and more obdurate in heart. This is a natural law of man's spiritual life. The soul of man is so constituted that the rejected mercies of truth leave it less sensitive to them. This is the experience of men. How many who have sinned through a long life, and who have resisted many gospel appeals, now feel they are less sensitive to Divine influences than ever they were. This is the ordination of God, and hence when He is said to harden the heart of man, it is by mercy that ought to have produced repentance, and not by any arbitrary decree.
II. By a manifestation of great power that ought to have subdued the heart of the King. The Divine Being not merely brought His mercy to bear upon the heart of Pharaoh, but also His power. Some men are more sensitive to power than they are to the appeals of mercy. They are not likely to be touched into tears by compassion; but they are awed by the exhibition of power. They are men of inferior moral temperament. They are influenced by the lower motives. They are wrought upon by fear. Pharaoh was evidently a man of this kind. A plague was more likely to subdue him than a word of tender pity, than a message of love. Hence, God tried this method, but it was only productive of a temporary repentance. Frequently is the soul of man brought to feel the power of God, in affliction and in pain. But the power of God ever recognises the free agency of man, and when it does not conquer, it hardens the sinner.
III. By a manifestation of severe justice that ought to have rebuked the heart of the king. God had shown Pharaoh that Heaven was just in its demands, and that it would come to the relief of the oppressed. This ought to have awakened a feeling of equity within his own heart, which should have ended in the freedom of Israel. All the plagues exhibited the justice of the Divine rulership, and rebuked the cruelty of the proud king. They were calculated to humble him. God does sometimes give sinners terrible visions of His justice, which are designed to lead them to rectitude of life. When men resist the manifestations of Divine justice, they are correspondingly hardened in soul to the rightful claims of heaven.
IV. By sending his servants to influence the heart of the king to the right. God sent Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh to influence him to the freedom of Israel. They were sent continuously. Moses was a good worker. Aaron was a good speaker. They wrought miracles. But wicked men will not yield their unbelief, their sin, to the best Christian talent, to the most faithful Christian service; but by rejecting the servants of God they become hard in heart. Hence, God did not harden the heart of Pharaoh by a sovereign decree, by omnipotence, so that the king could not obey His command, but by ministries appropriate to salvation, which were calculated to induce obedience, and the constant neglect of which was the efficient cause of this sad moral result. There was no alternative but the hardening of Pharaoh's heart. God could not withdraw his demand for the freedom of Israel. It was not consistent with the ordinary methods of the Divine government to remove the king by death; nor would this have answered the purpose, for probably his successor would have been equally rebellious. Hence there was none other course open than the hardening of Pharaoh, which was the outcome of his own rebellion, and which would prove to be his eternal ruin. LESSONS:
1. That man has the ability to resist the saving ministries of heaven.
2. That when man resists the saving ministries of heaven he becomes hard in heart.
3. That hardness of heart is itself a natural judgment from God.
4. That hardness of heart will finally work its own ruin.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Exo . God sends His minister to hardened souls:—
1. Often.
2. Mercifully.
3. Uselessly.
4. Significantly.
5. Disastrously.
The means which God sends to save wicked men aggravates their sin, and hardens their spirits.
Hardened sinners:
1. In companies.
2. Patterns of judgment.
3. Tokens of indignation.
4. The cause of plagues.
5. The curse of the world.
6. Still followed by the minister of God.
Verse 2
CRITICAL NOTES.—
Exo . What things I have wrought] A special word is here used, and it is used in a special conjugation, and both circumstances unite to give life and beauty to the expression in the original. The verb עלל is "not applied to working off, forming or doing a thing at once, but to constant, repeated turning and moving about in work or action."—Fürst. How beautifully this suits the infliction of plague after plague on Egypt, any one can see at a glance. And then the form of the word התעללתי puts it in the reflexive conjugation, one of the uses of which is to show that the action is done to or for oneself;—thus keeping up the avowal of Jehovah that in his visitations on the Egypt he sought to glorify himself in the eyes of men. It is difficult, many times, to translate all that is in the original without resorting to paraphrase; as, here, we are tempted to render: "What I wrought out for myself by a series of acts." We shall be glad if, by these notes, we can kindle in some minds the determination to spare no pains requisite to be able to repair to the fountain-head.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Exo
THE SIGNS OF GOD TO THE GENERATIONS OF THE FUTURE
God respects the general good of the race in multiplying retributive evils upon individuals. Hence the plagues sent upon Pharaoh and his nation were calculated to instruct the generations of the future, as well as to punish Pharaoh. Children must be instructed in the ways of God, and neglect of this tuition is sinful and contrary to the Divine command. What are the signs of God made known by the plagues of Egypt for the moral instruction of future generations?
I. That God is supreme over the kingdom of nature. The plagues that came upon Egypt would give to future generations abundant demonstration of this fact, that the rivers, the dust of the ground, the atmosphere, the thunder, lightning and the hail are all at the immediate control of God. Man may have a certain power over nature, but it is limited, and subject to the Divine. Science places the natural universe under the command of man. This is the Divine ordination. But man's power over nature is derived; God's is underived and independent. Hence,
1. He can inflict pain on the wicked.
2. He can protect the good from harm.
3. He can send famine or plenty.
II. That God is supreme over the cunning and power of the Devil. The magicians of Egypt were agents of the Devil. They were inspired by him in their opposition to Moses and Aaron. They were aided by his cunning. Their defeat was his defeat also. Satan cannot work a miracle. He may perform a marvel. He is subject to the control of God. This is evident in the history of the plagues. If he could have resisted the power of heaven, it would have been to his interest to have done so, and he would have done so. He may deceive men. He cannot protect them from the wrath of God. Hence:
1. God can deliver men from the power of the Devil.
2. God can destroy the works of the Devil.
3. God can frustrate the designs of the Devil. Teach this blessed truth and glorions fact to the youthful; that the good agencies of the universe are more potent than the bad. This will lead youthhood to confide in God.
III. That goodness is happiness, and that conflict with God is the misery of man. This is clearly taught by the plagues of Egypt. In them we see the history of a man in conflict with God; and what a record of pain and woe! When men contend with God they are sure to be plagued. Life is happy in proportion as it is good, and as it is in harmony with the Supreme Being of the universe. When men commit sin they must expect to be plagued. This must be taught to the youthful, that purity of life and true enjoyment are inseparably connected. To be happy we must be at peace with heaven. The Divine supremacy over nature, the Divine power over Satan, the greatness of God, the safety of the good, and the misery of sin, are God's signs, manifested in the history of Pharaoh to the generations of the future. LESSONS:
1. That in the lives of individuals we have signs of God.
2. That all the signs of God in human life are to be carefully noted and taught to the young.
3. That all the signs of life are evidence of the Divine supremacy.
THE MINISTRY OF SIN
God makes Pharaoh "to stand" for the benefit of Israel, and in them for the benefit of humanity. It was for Pharaoh in the first instance to resist Divine light and grace, and oppress Israel,—it was then for God to economize the tyrant and his wrath. The conduct of the Egyptian king served—
I. To reveal God. "That ye may know how that I am the Lord." The cloud of evil in its very nature is calculated to eclipse the Divine glory, and hide the Divine One from the eves of mankind, but as the sun overmasters the clouds of the sky, and makes them to enchance his splendour, so God causes the cloud of evil to become the back ground on which His glorious shape and infinite perfections are the more clearly and forcibly displayed. Pharaoh's perverseness revealed all the more fully.
1. The Divine love. The more the Children of Israel were wronged the more God's grace and kindness were demonstrated to them.
2. Divine righteousness. Each successive miracle exhibited more impressively the righteousness of God's administration.
3. The Divine power. Each judgment, rising in severity, declared the more unmistakenably the absolute sovereignty and awful power of God. And so throughout the whole world, and throughout all life, sin which would hide God, reveals Him, sin which would dethrone God only shows the strength and splendour of His awful throne. Evil was not necessary for the revelation of the Divine Being, but since evil has invaded the universe, such is the perfection of God's wisdom and might, that devils become the heralds of His glory, and the dissonant voice of evil swells into fuller power the pœan of His praise. And the perverse conduct of the Egyptian king serves—
II. To further the interests of Israel. Their highest interest was furthered by their attaining a fuller knowledge of God, and their permanent interest was secured by these wonders impressing themselves on the popular mind. "And that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son's son, what things I have wrought in Egypt." Sin was not necessary to the development of mankind, but since it has forced its way into the universe, God overrules it to high and happy issues. From the sin of Egypt came the higher education of Israel, and through them the higher education of mankind at large, and from sectional evil God still educes general good. God reigns, and confounds evil, making that serve which was designed only to blast and destroy. Bad man are apostles, missionaries, martyrs, redeemers of society; but, alas! apostles whom Christ will deny, missionaries without Heaven's smile, martyrs without the palm, redeemers to whom pertains the cross without the crown. Unconsciously, unwillingly, they glorify God, and serve society. Let not the Church fear, let the sinners be afraid. He "that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion." (Psa .)—W. L. Watkinson.
TRANSMITTING THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUE GOD
The world had then nearly lost the knowledge of the True God. The ordinary operations of his hands did not reveal him to men's callous hearts. Idols usurped his throne. He therefore manifested himself by "signs." The silence of uniformity was broken. He wrought wonders.
I. Jehovah made himself known to the Israelites in Egypt as the only true God by signs. He separated Himself form the idols of Egypt by overthrowing their power and bringing them into contempt. His wondrous acts revealed His supremacy. Miracles manifest the presence of the True God. Acts reveal character. The Bible, which contains the fullest revelations of God, is a record of His acts. The plagues did not however fully reveal the character of God. Judgment is His strange work. God adapts Himself in His revelations to the spiritual condition of men. The Israelites were in a state of of spiritual infancy. God revealed to them his power and faithfulness. He asserted His supremacy over all false deities, His power over nature and ability to protect his chosen people, and His truth in "remembering His covenant" with their forefathers. He revealed himself more fully in after years. Christ is the fullest revelation of the true God.
II. That this knowledge is to be transmitted from generation to generation. God would have Himself known. He delights to reveal Himself to men. He acts in one age for all time. Divine knowledge must not be hidden. Men have to transmit it. Posterity should be cared for. The knowledge of useful inventions, scientific discoveries, social achievements is gladly transmitted, how much more this which is far more valuable! The young should be instructed in this knowledge above everything else. This is a public duty. Society should make provision for the transmission of the knowledge of the true God. Especially is this a parental duty. Tell it "in the ears of thy son and of thy son's son." Relationship, peculiar affection, and the tender solicitude which every parent feels for the welfare of his children should lead him to instruct them in Divine knowledge. To shew them His acts is to reveal Him. To give to them a clear conception of the true God is to bestow upon them the greatest of all blessings. Parents can impart no higher good. It is eternal. It is greater than wealth, or rank, or any other temporal advantage. Parental influence the most potent in telling of God's acts. No lips teach like the lips of loving authority. Some parents neglect this solemn duty. Ever ready to speak about worldly enterprises, the acts of great men, their own, but they are silent about God's. Such neglect is ruinous to their children, and dishonouring to God.
III. In the transmission of the knowledge of the true God is the hope of the world. Wherever the knowledge of the true God prevails, righteousness and peace are found. Idolatry has ever been the bane of mankind. A false conception of God debases. Worship becomes a degradation. Men's ideas of God affect not only their religious views but their moral principles and social customs. In knowing the true God is true life. "This is life eternal, to know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou has sent." Just as men acknowledge and serve the God that revealed himself by Moses in Egypt, and afterwards more fully by Jesus Christ are they elevated, saved, and blessed. In the spread of this knowledge is every uplifting influence. Superstition, violence and error will disappear. The Heavenly Jerusalem will be built on earth. God being known will be loved and obeyed. "Men rising from the ruin of the fall" will be "one with God, and God be all in all." For the sake of future ages God's mighty acts should be told in "the ears of thy son and of thy son's son." In the instruction of the young is the truest hope of the advancement of mankind. The future of the world depends upon how much knowledge of the true God is possessed.