It was perhaps the greatest confrontation in history. An epic battle between good and evil. In one corner was a rough loner-used to living in the wild. In business terms he was a mere sheepherder, but that is only part of the story. As a baby he was adopted into the royal family and raised in the high courts of nobility. During those days he was on track for a stellar career. Perhaps even a contender for the throne. But he had shirked his responsibliities, committed murder and was a felon. That this man had the audacity to even return to these courts was enough to show he was a bit touched in the head and possibly insane. We know his name to be Moses.
In the other corner sits the refined establishment in it's glory. All of Egypt's religious and political power was embodied in a man considered to be a god - Pharaoh. Within the boundaries of his court was the accumulated wisdom and knowledge of the world. They were versed in astronomy, astrology, mathematics, engineering, history, logistics art and language. These men were descended from those who built the pyramids. The Egyptian civilization reached back beyond recorded history. Their culture was the finest and most advanced in the world and concerning knowledge and wisdom - unassailable.
We all know what happens next. The series of events that unfolded there brought about the destruction of one nation and birthed another. Within a short time the fledgling nation of Israel would be camped before Mount Sinai and this same rough sheepherder would receive the greatest law ever given to mankind. The Ten Commandments.
The question I would like to consider today is this. Was the outcome of this contest inevitable? Was it decided before it even happened? Was Pharaoh already set on a course of destruction and he actually had no choice in the matter. To do this we must also enjoin the third player in this drama. God Himself.
From the very beginning God tells Moses that his mission was going to be difficult. Exodus 4:21 says "... I will harden his (Pharaoh's) heart so that he will not let the people go..." In the past I have had some problems with that statement. I had interpreted it to mean that in some way God forced Pharaoh to take the course of action he did. The implication is that Pharaoh might have repented and done the right thing had not God interfered in his heart and mind. To me this is a serious charge and it took me quite a while to figure it out. What actually happened? God gave the Egyptian ruler an 'out'.
I will explain what an 'out' is. Let's say you are getting ready to go to the gym. You're not into it today and part of you wants to skip the workout. Right before you walk out the door your phone rings. What to do? You can ignore the call and let it go to voice mail, or answer it and risk that the call is important enough to keep you from the gym. You take the call. It turns out to be nothing and lasts less than a minute. You wind up not going to the gym. You took the 'out'. That little interlude was enough to 'convince' you to skip out of your workout.
The scriptures record that Pharaoh took every 'out' possible. When his magicians were able to perform by trickery the miraculous signs done through Moses, he used this as an excuse not to believe. Further, he didn't listen to his own staff when they reached the end of their tricks and told him 'this was the hand of God.' Later, he would apparently relent, but as soon as the various plagues ended his mind changed back shortly thereafter. When he finally gave permission for the Jews to go he set conditions to assert his authority.
Pharaoh was hard hearted and obstinate yet at all times he had a choice. Every time he went the wrong way. He would rather have taken any 'out', no matter how slim the rationalization, than accept the truth.
In the book of Romans Paul makes a case about Pharaoh: "...What shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all. For he says to Moses, 'I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. It does not, therefore depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy..." (9:14-16) When I had read this statement before I took the part where he says 'it does not ... depend on man's desire or effort' to mean that somehow God decided the outcome beforehand and that was just too bad for Pharaoh. Sorry guy! Even though Paul says this is not unjust, I thought it to be so. Certainly (to me anyway) it was unfair.
Just a little later in verse 22 Paul clarifies: "What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath-prepared for destruction? What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory....". Let's define a couple of things. First of all, who are the objects of wrath? Pharaoh? No. That would be everyone. We are all flawed. We all fall under God's wrath. There is none who does good, not even one. All have sinned and come short of the Glory of God.
What about the 'objects of his mercy'? They would be all who repent of their sins and put their faith in God. These are the ones who are 'prepared in advance for glory'. Paul's argument here is beautiful. Yes, Pharaoh was hard hearted and bull-headed. God's judgment was destined to fall on him. He could have killed him outright. But He didn't. He was willing to show His mercy to this man. In fact, God gave him 9 chances to repent! (I'm going to believe that by the time they got around to the 10th plague, Pharaoh's mind was made up.) At the same time God was teaching a lesson both to the rest of Egypt and Israel. He was '...making the riches of his glory known....'. At the end of this ordeal everybody knew who the real God was!
One day this man will stand before the Righteous Judge and give an account of his actions. Will he be able to make an accusation against God? No. Will he be able to say that God in any way was unfair? No. There will be no 'out' in that courtroom.
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