Hardening of the Heart
“To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your heart,” (Psalm 95:7-8)
To harden your heart is to refuse to obey God when He speaks. Pharaoh did that time and again. Moses and Aaron told Pharaoh, “Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.” (Exodus 5:1), Pharaoh replied, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.” (Exodus 5:2) Pharaoh would not accept God’s sovereignty over him, nor would he obey God.
The waters were turned to blood so Pharaoh could see God was sovereign: “In this thou shalt know that I am the LORD:” (Exodus 7:17) When the frogs came, Pharaoh asked Moses to “Intreat the LORD, that he may take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go,” (Exodus 7:8) Pharaoh called God “the LORD” but never recognized Him as his Lord, and he went back on his word.
Moses asked him when to pray for the plague of frogs to end. Pharaoh replied, “To morrow.” (Exodus 8:10) Moses said he would do as Pharaoh said, so Pharaoh would know it was no coincidence, but “…that thou [Pharaoh] mayest know that there is none like unto the LORD our God.” (Exodus 8:10) Pharaoh got what he wanted but still refused to recognize God’s sovereignty. “But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.” (Exodus 8:15)
When the lice came, Pharaoh’s magicians said, “This is the finger of God [not ‘a god’]:” (Exodus 8:19)
The flies came, which didn’t affect Israel. Pharaoh told Moses, “I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the LORD your God…” (Exodus 8:28) Pharaoh didn’t recognize the LORD as his God, and he went back on his word again. When the murrain killed Egypt’s cattle but not Israel’s, Pharaoh’s heart was still hard.
Before the plague of hail, God told Moses to tell Pharaoh, “And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power;” (Exodus 9:16) God told Pharaoh plainly that He, God, was sovereign. Not Pharaoh or the Egyptian gods. After the hail, Pharaoh admitted, “…the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.” (Exodus 9:27) Pharaoh asked Moses to pray for the hail to stop. Moses said he would, “…that thou [Pharaoh] mayest know how that the earth is the LORD’S.” (Exodus 9:29)
Moses also warned, “But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear the LORD God.” (Exodus 9:30) To fear the Lord is not simply to believe there is a God. “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” (James 2:19) To fear God is to realize He is sovereign over you and you are accountable to Him. Pharaoh refused to do that. His servants followed suit. Sin is like cancer. It spreads. When you sin, you don’t just affect yourself, but people around you.
When Moses warned Pharaoh of the locusts, he said, “Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? let my people go, that they may serve me.” (Exodus 10:3) God gave him many chances to repent. Pharaoh did not listen, and now Egypt was paying for his stubbornness. They were in deep economic trouble. Pharaoh’s servants begged him to free Israel for Egypt’s sake: “…knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?” (Exodus 10:7) Pharaoh still didn’t listen.
The words of our passage are still important today: “To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your heart,” (Psalm 95:7-8) God still deals with people’s hearts today. You may be thinking about eternity and about receiving Jesus as your Saviour for forgiveness of your sins and eternal life. If you are, please don’t be like Pharaoh. Please don’t harden your heart and refuse to obey. Go to www.clevelandbaptist.org, click “Helpful Links,” then “How Do I Go to Heaven?”