Hardened Hearts

Reading through Exodus today, I pondered what it means to have a hardened heart. Scripture mentions the hardened heart of Pharaoh over and over again:

Exodus 4:21
The Lord said to Moses, "When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go."

Exodus 7:3
But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in Egypt.

Exodus 7:13
Yet Pharaoh’s heart became hard and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.

Exodus 7:22
But the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts, and Pharaoh’s heart became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said.

Exodus 8:15
But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said.

Exodus 8:19
The magicians said to Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God." But Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he would not listen, just as the Lord had said.

Exodus 8:32

But this time also Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let the people go.

Exodus 9:12

But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said to Moses.

Exodus 9:34

When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder had stopped, he sinned again: He and his officials hardened their hearts.

Exodus 9:35

So Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he would not let the Israelites go, just as the Lord had said through Moses.

Exodus 10:1
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these signs of mine among them."

Exodus 10:20
But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go.

Exodus 10:27
But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was not willing to let them go.

Exodus 11:10

Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go out of his country.

Exodus 14:4
And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” So the Israelites did this.

Exodus 14:8

The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly.

Exodus 14:17
I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen.

Pharaoh's heart was hard because he was unwilling to change. His people suffered plagues of blood, frogs, gnats, and flies (Ex 7-8). Their livestock died off (Ex 9). The people themselves got boils. The hail beat down the flax and the barley (Ex 9:31). The locusts ate the wheat and spelt (Ex 9:32; 10:5). Whenever the plagues would remit, however, Pharaoh would refuse to let the Israelites go.

Pharaoh's heart was hard because he was proud. God even asked him, "'How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me?'" (Ex 10:3). Proverbs 16:18 says that pride goes before a fall.

Pharaoh's heart was hard because he was unrepentant. He asked Moses to forgive his sin (Ex 10:17), but he never admitted his sin before God, or even acknowledged God's power. He was most likely sorry for the consequences of his sin in not letting the Israelites go. It does not appear that he was sorry for the state of his heart.

Before I beat up on Pharaoh for his hard heart, though, I must examine my own. Where am I unwilling to change? Where am I proud, thinking I know the right ways, paths, and decisions for my life. In 1 Samuel 6:6, the priests asked the Philistines, "Why do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh did? When Israel’s god dealt harshly with them, did they not send the Israelites out so they could go on their way?" Am I unrepentant for my sins of not acknowledging God, of trying to be my own god, of worshipping idols? Am I truly sorry for my sins, or due I just rue their consequences? Do I have a hardened heart?

(All verses from The New International Version, 2011)