Sermon Tone Analysis

HARD HEARTS

Exodus 7:1–4 (ESV)

1 And the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. 2 You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of his land.

3 But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, 4 Pharaoh will not listen to you.

NOT A SIMILE, ‘LIKE GOD’ BUT A METAPHOR ‘I HAVE MADE YOU ELOHIM TO PHAROAH’

HARDEN: DIFFERENT VERB FROM 4:21.

qšh MEANS TO MAKE HAVY, HARD OR DIFFICULT.

STUBBORN.

IT’S THE SAME VERB THAT WAS USED OF PHAROAH’S ACTIVITY TOWARDS THE HEBREWS IN EX. 1:14:

GOD IS GIVING PHAROAH WHAT HE GAVE.

GOD HARDENING PHAROAH’S HEART IS NOT UNJUST BUT ACTUALLY HIS JUSTICE IN JUDGEMENT.

GOD IS NOT PUSHING AN OVERIDE OF FREEWILL BUTTON.

PHAROAH IS NOT INNOCENT.

HE HARDENS HIS HEART THE FIRST 5 PLAGUES.

Exodus 7:4–5 (ESV)

4b Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment.

5 The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.”

NOT JUST PHARAOH BUT EGYPT WILL PAY – THEY WILL NEITHER LEGALLY NOT MORALLY GO UNPUNISHED AND YHWH WILL REDEEM ISRAEL AS A SLAVE IS REDEEMED FROM A CRUEL MASTER.

KNOW: IN EX. 5:2 PHAROAH SAYS “WHO IS YHWH…I DO NOT KNOW YHWH”

MULTI-PURPOSE: REDEEM AND FREE ISRAEL AND JUDGE EGYPT AND BE KNOWN

KNOWING YHWH IS MENTIONED 10 TIMES IN THE PLAGUE NARRATIVE.

GOD IS DEMONSTRATING HIS RIGHT AND POWER TO RULE OVER ALL PEOPLE.

EVEN 40 YEARS LATER WHEN THE PEOPLE FINALLY ENTER THE PROMISED LAND THE NATIONS REMEMBER:

Joshua 2:9–10 (ESV)

9 “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you.

10 For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt,

YHWH IS MAKING A POINT IN WHAT HE DOES AND HOW HE DOES IT!

THIS PRECURSOR TO THE PLAGUES IS SYMBOLIC OF THE BATTLE BEING WAGED.

SERPENT IS NOT NACHESH BUT TANNIN – DRAGON/SEA MONSTER

PHARAOH WOULD HAVE BEEN WEARING A CROWN WITH THE URAEUS SERPENT - A FEMALE COBRA READY TO STRIKE.

APOPHIS AND WADJIT EGYPTIAN SNAKE GODS.

YHWH CLEARLY DEMONSTRATES HIS SUPERIORITY AND YET PHARAOH HARDENS HIS HEART.

WHAT DO WE DO WITH THIS TEXT?

WHAT DO WE NEED TO LEARN?

FIRST, DON'T BE LIKE PHAROAH.

DON'T HARDEN YOUR HEART!

THERE ARE TWO PROVERBS THAT COME TO MIND:

FIRST.

DON'T BE LIKE PHAROAH.

DON'T HARDEN YOUR HEART.

SECOND.

RUN TO JESUS - THE INITIATOR OF THE NEW COVENANT.