Yahweh said to Moses, “When you go back into Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in your hand, but I will harden his heart and he will not let the people go.
Parallel Translations
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Yahweh said to Moses, “When you go back into Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in your hand, but I will harden his heart and he will not let the people go.
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And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.
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And the LORD said unto Moses: 'When thou goest back into Egypt, see that thou do before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in thy hand; but I will harden his heart, and he will not let the people go.
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Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (23)
Passages linked to Exodus 4:21 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Romans 9:18 So then, he has mercy on whom he desires, and he hardens whom he desires.
- Exodus 14:8 Yahweh hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; for the children of Israel went out with a high hand.
- Joshua 11:20 For it was of Yahweh to harden their hearts, to come against Israel in battle, that he might utterly destroy them, that they might have no favor, but that he might destroy them, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
- Isaiah 63:17 O Yahweh, why do you make us wander from your ways, and harden our heart from your fear? Return for your servants’ sake, the tribes of your inheritance.
- Exodus 7:13 Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he didn’t listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken.
- Exodus 9:12 Yahweh hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he didn’t listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken to Moses.
- Exodus 9:35–10:1 The heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he didn’t let the children of Israel go, just as Yahweh had spoken through Moses. Yahweh said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these my signs among them;
- Exodus 3:20 I will reach out my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders which I will do among them, and after that he will let you go.
- Exodus 10:20 But Yahweh hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he didn’t let the children of Israel go.
- John 12:40 “He has blinded their eyes and he hardened their heart, lest they should see with their eyes, and perceive with their heart, and would turn, and I would heal them.”
- Exodus 7:3 I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.
- Exodus 14:4 I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will follow after them; and I will get honor over Pharaoh, and over all his armies; and the Egyptians shall know that I am Yahweh.” They did so.
- Romans 1:28 Even as they refused to have God in their knowledge, God gave them up to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting;
- Romans 11:8-10 According as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear, to this very day.” David says, “Let their table be made a snare, a trap, a stumbling block, and a retribution to them. Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see. Always keep their backs bent.”
- 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 and with all deception of wickedness for those who are being lost, because they didn’t receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. Because of this, God sends them a working of error, that they should believe a lie; that they all might be judged who didn’t believe the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
- Deuteronomy 2:30-33 But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him; for Yahweh your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into your hand, as it is today. Yahweh said to me, “Behold, I have begun to deliver up Sihon and his land before you. Begin to possess, that you may inherit his land.” Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Jahaz. Yahweh our God delivered him up before us; and we struck him, his sons, and all his people.
- Isaiah 6:10 Make the heart of this people fat. Make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and turn again, and be healed.”
- 1 Peter 2:8 and, “a stumbling stone and a rock of offense.” For they stumble at the word, being disobedient, to which also they were appointed.
- Genesis 6:3 Yahweh said, “My Spirit will not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; so his days will be one hundred twenty years.”
- Deuteronomy 2:36 From Aroer, which is on the edge of the valley of the Arnon, and the city that is in the valley, even to Gilead, there was not a city too high for us. Yahweh our God delivered up all before us.
- 1 Kings 22:22 Yahweh said to him, ‘How?’ He said, ‘I will go out and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ He said, ‘You will entice him, and will also prevail. Go out and do so.’
- Psalms 105:25 He turned their heart to hate his people, to conspire against his servants.
- 2 Corinthians 2:16 to the one a stench from death to death, to the other a sweet aroma from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?
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Explain this verse (18 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain By receiving my spirit and delivering him unto Satan…
By receiving my spirit and delivering him unto Satan to increase his malice.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Exo 4:21 And the LORD said unto Moses, When…
Exo 4:21 And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.
Ver. 21. But I will harden his heart.] With a judiciary penal hardness. And thus God is in this book eight times said to have hardened Pharaoh’s heart: thrice it is said that he hardened his own heart, and five times his heart is said to have been hardened - viz., by the devil, through the just judgment of God.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain In thine hand, i.e. in thy power or commission,…
In thine hand, i.e. in thy power or commission, to be clone by thy hand, and the rod in it.
I will harden his heart, that he shall he unmerciful to all the groans and pressures of the Israelites, inexorable to the requests of Moses, unmovable and incorrigible by all my words and works. But God doth not properly and positively make men’s hearts hard, but only privatively, either by denying to them, or withdrawing from them, that grace which alone can make men soft, and flexible, and pliable to the Divine will; as the sun hardens the clay by drawing out of it that moisture which made it soft; or by exposing them to those temptations of the world or the devil, which, meeting with a corrupt heart, are apt to harden it.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And the Lord said unto Moses,.... At the same…
And the Lord said unto Moses,.... At the same time he appeared to him in Midian, and ordered him to go into Egypt, even before his departure thither:
when thou goest to return into Egypt; and when got thither; for before the thing directed to in the next clause could not be done:
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see that thou do all these wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in thine hand; not the three signs or wonders, related in the preceding part of the chapter, for they were to be done not before Pharaoh, but before the children of Israel; but these are the wonders he was to do in the sight of Pharaoh, by inflicting the various plagues on him and his people, for refusing to let Israel go, and which God had put in the power of Moses to perform, and that by means of the rod in his hand he ordered him to take with him, Exo 4:17,
but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go; that is, not directly, not for some time, not until all the wonders are wrought, and plagues inflicted to bring him to it: he first hardening his own heart against God, and all remonstrances made unto him, it was but a righteous thing in God to give him up to the hardness of his heart, to deny him his grace, which only could soften it, and to leave him to the corruptions of his nature, and the temptations of Satan; and by leaving him to strong delusions, to believe the lying miracles of his magicians: this the Lord thought fit to acquaint Moses with, lest he should be discouraged by his refusal to dismiss Israel.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain In thy hand - in thy power: I will…
In thy hand - in thy power: I will harden his heart - After he has frequently harden'd it himself, wilfully shutting his eyes against the light, I will at last permit Satan to harden it effectually.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 21. But I will harden his heart] The…
Verse 21. But I will harden his heart] The case of Pharaoh has given rise to many fierce controversies, and to several strange and conflicting opinions. Would men but look at the whole account without the medium of their respective creeds, they would find little difficulty to apprehend the truth. If we take up the subject in a theological point of view, all sober Christians will allow the truth of this proposition of St. Augustine, when the subject in question is a person who has hardened his own heart by frequently resisting the grace and spirit of God: Non obdurat Deus impertiendo malitiam, sed non impertiendo misericordiam; Epist. 194, ad Sixtum, "God does not harden men by infusing malice into them, but by not imparting mercy to them." And this other will be as readily credited: Non operatur Deus in homine ipsam duritiam cordis; sed indurare eum dicitur quem mollire noluerit, sic etiam excaecare quem illuminare noluerit, et repellere eum quem noluerit vocare. "God does not work this hardness of heart in man; but he may be said to harden him whom he refuses to soften, to blind him whom he refuses to enlighten, and to repel him whom he refuses to call." It is but just and right that he should withhold those graces which he had repeatedly offered, and which the sinner had despised and rejected. Thus much for the general principle. The verb חזק chazak, which we translate harden, literally signifies to strengthen, confirm, make bold or courageous; and is often used in the sacred writings to excite to duty, perseverance, c., and is placed by the Jews at the end of most books in the Bible as an exhortation to the reader to take courage, and proceed with his reading and with the obedience it requires. It constitutes an essential part of the exhortation of God to Joshua, Jos 1:7: Only be thou STRONG, רק חזק rak chazak. And of Joshua's dying exhortation to the people, Jos 23:6: Be ye therefore VERY COURAGEOUS, וחזקתם vachazaktem, to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law. Now it would he very strange in these places to translate the word harden: Only be thou hard, Be ye therefore very hard and yet if we use the word hardy, it would suit the sense and context perfectly well: Only be thou HARDY; Be ye therefore very HARDY. Now suppose we apply the word in this way to Pharaoh, the sense would be good, and the justice of God equally conspicuous. I will make his heart hardy, bold, daring, presumptuous; for the same principle acting against God's order is presumption, which when acting according to it is undaunted courage. It is true that the verb קשה kashah is used, Ex 7:3, which signifies to render stiff, tough, or stubborn, but it amounts to nearly the same meaning with the above.
All those who have read the Scriptures with care and attention, know well that God is frequently represented in them as doing what he only permits to be done. So because a man has grieved his Spirit and resisted his grace he withdraws that Spirit and grace from him, and thus he becomes bold and presumptuous in sin. Pharaoh made his own heart stubborn against God, Ex 9:34; and God gave him up to judicial blindness, so that he rushed on stubbornly to his own destruction. From the whole of Pharaoh's conduct we learn that he was bold, haughty, and cruel; and God chose to permit these dispositions to have their full sway in his heart without check or restraint from Divine influence: the consequence was what God intended, he did not immediately comply with the requisition to let the people go; and this was done that God might have the fuller opportunity of manifesting his power by multiplying signs and miracles, and thus impress the hearts both of the Egyptians and Israelites with a due sense of his omnipotence and justice. The whole procedure was graciously calculated to do endless good to both nations. The Israelites must be satisfied that they had the true God for their protector; and thus their faith was strengthened. The Egyptians must see that their gods could do nothing against the God of Israel; and thus their dependence on them was necessarily shaken. These great ends could not have been answered had Pharaoh at once consented to let the people go. This consideration alone unravels the mystery, and explains everything. Let it be observed that there is nothing spoken here of the eternal state of the Egyptian king; nor does anything in the whole of the subsequent account authorize us to believe that God hardened his heart against the influences of his own grace, that he might occasion him so to sin that his justice might consign him to hell. This would be such an act of flagrant injustice as we could scarcely attribute to the worst of men. He who leads another into an offence that he may have a fairer pretence to punish him for it, or brings him into such circumstances that he cannot avoid committing a capital crime, and then hangs him for it, is surely the most execrable of mortals. What then should we make of the God of justice and mercy should we attribute to him a decree, the date of which is lost in eternity, by which he has determined to cut off from the possibility of salvation millions of millions of unborn souls, and leave them under a necessity of sinning, by actually hardening their hearts against the influences of his own grace and Spirit, that he may, on the pretext of justice, consign them to endless perdition? Whatever may be pretended in behalf of such unqualified opinions, it must be evident to all who are not deeply prejudiced, that neither the justice nor the sovereignty of God can be magnified by them. See Clarke on Ex 9:16.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Exo 4:21-23. Which I have put in thy hand…
Exo 4:21-23. Which I have put in thy hand — In thy power: I will harden his heart — After he has frequently hardened it himself, wilfully shutting his eyes against the light, I will at last permit Satan to harden it effectually.
Thus saith the Lord — This is the first time that preface is used by any man, which afterward is used so frequently by all the prophets: Israel is my son, my firstborn — Precious in my sight, honourable, and dear to me. Let my son go — Not only my servant, whom thou hast no right to detain, but my son, whose liberty and honour I am jealous for. If thou refuse, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn — As men deal with God’s people, let them expect to be themselves dealt with.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain I will harden - Calamities which do not subdue…
I will harden - Calamities which do not subdue the heart harden it. In the case of Pharaoh, the hardening was at once a righteous judgment, and a natural result of a long series of oppressions and cruelties.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain I shall harden, &c. Not by being the efficient…
I shall harden, &c. Not by being the efficient cause of his sin; but by withdrawing from him, for his just punishment, the dew of grace, that might have softened his heart; and so suffering him to grow harder and harder. (Challoner) --- Non impertiendo misericordiam. (St. Augustine, ep. 194, ad Sixt.) Thus God permitted the false miracles of the magicians, and did not suffer the scourges to continue long, so that the tyrant soon relapsed and forgot his promises. (Origen, Philos. xx; Theodoret in Romans ix. 16.) (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 21. I will harden his heart — Lest Moses…
21. I will harden his heart — Lest Moses should be despondent in his long conflict with Pharaoh’s obstinate disobedience, he is now assured that this also has been fully foreseen and provided for by Jehovah, for it is to be taken up into His plan as one of the evils which “work together for good” to God’s elect. Rom_8:28. It would give Moses hope and courage to know that no step of the struggle had been unforeseen and unprovided for. Every action, good and bad, may be viewed in two aspects, either as proceeding from the voluntary and responsible agent, or as used by God in his providence; and it is the latter, or divine side, that is here specially emphasized, because the history is specially a history of providence — of the divine overruling. Yet both sides of the action are in this narrative equally presented, for it is notable that, while we read here ten times that God “hardened the heart” of Pharaoh, we read precisely the same number of times that “Pharaoh hardened his heart,” or that his heart “was hardened,” “stiff,” or “heavy.”
But this is not the whole meaning, nor is the interpretation adequate, that God permitted rather than caused. Hardness of heart is a judgment proceeding directly from God. It is a consequential punishment of sin. But before God inflicts this penalty man has deserved it by trifling with God’s goodness and mercy. Increasing stubbornness and moral insensibility are the judicial consequences of conscious resistance to God’s will; and this judgment proceeds directly from God, while the sin which invokes the judgment and brings man within the range of these consequences proceeds from man. Thus Pharaoh hardened his heart, and yet it was hardened by Jehovah. While ignorant of Jehovah, disobedience to his law could not harden him; but, from the moment that he knew him, resistance hardened. For this conscious disobedience and this judicial consequence Pharaoh was responsible. This sin of his was, moreover, foreseen. The prediction here made to Moses, and the providential preparations for the punishment of Pharaoh’s sin, were the effects of that sin, divinely foreseen — as, in a lower sphere, the erection of court-houses and jails are the effects of sin humanly foreseen. But knowledge, whether fore or after, in man or God, can never be the cause, but is ever the effect, of the thing known. See notes on Rom_8:29; Rom_9:18.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 21a. He is to do the portents which God…
21a. He is to do the portents which God has put in his hand, i.e. not the signs of vv. 2–9 (which were to be done before the people), but those enjoined in v. 17 (E), which (v. 21) were to be done by Moses before Pharaoh, by means of the ‘rod’: see p. 56.
wonders] portents. The Heb. môphçth is more than a ‘wonder’; it means an unusual phenomenon,—natural or supernatural, as the case might be,—arresting attention, and calling for explanation: see 1Ki_13:3; 1Ki_13:5 (EVV. sign); Deu_13:1-2; Deu_28:46, Isa_8:18; Isa_20:5 (EVV. wonder); Eze_12:6; Eze_12:11 (EVV. sign). Elsewhere in Ex. it occurs only in P (Exo_7:3; Exo_7:9, Exo_11:9-10): in Dt., coupled with ‘signs,’ it is often used of the ‘portents’ wrought in Egypt (Deu_4:34, Deu_6:22, Deu_7:19 al.). It is quite different from the word rightly rendered wonders in Exo_3:20, and elsewhere.
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21b. but I] the pron. is emphatic. The effect of the portents would be only to ‘harden’ Pharaoh’s heart against letting the people go.
harden] Lit., as marg., make strong. See on Exo_7:13.
21–23. A summary statement of what Moses is to do when he comes to negotiate with Pharaoh, of the failure of his first ‘portents’ to produce any effect upon him (v. 21), and of the threat which he is ultimately to hold out to him (v. 22 f.).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (21) All those wonders.—Not the “three signs” of Exo_3:3-9,…
(21) All those wonders.—Not the “three signs” of Exo_3:3-9, but the “portents” or “wonders “which were to be done before Pharaoh, and which had been alluded to in Exo_3:20. These were, in the counsel of God, already “put into Moses’ hand,” though their exact nature was as yet unknown to Moses himself.
I will harden his heart.—The hardening of Pharaoh’s heart has been the subject of much controversy. It is ascribed to God in this place, and again in Exo_7:3; Exo_9:12; Exo_10:1; Exo_10:20; Exo_10:27; Exo_14:4; Exo_14:8; to Pharaoh in Exo_8:15; Exo_8:32; and Exo_9:34; to the action of the heart itself in Exo_7:13; Exo_7:22; Exo_9:7; Exo_9:35. It is conceivable that these may be simply three forms of speech, and that the actual operation was one and the same in every case. Or, three different modes of operation may be meant. It is in favour of the latter view, that each term has a period during which it is predominant. In the narrative of what happened, the action of the heart is itself predominant in the first period; that of Pharaoh on his heart in the second; that of God in the third. We may suppose that, at first, Pharaoh’s nature was simply not impressed, and that then his heart is said to have “hardened itself,” or “remained hard;” that after a while, he began to be impressed; but by an effort of his will controlled himself, and determined that he would not yield: thus “hardening his own heart;” finally, that after he had done this twice (Exo_8:15; Exo_8:32), God stepped in and “smote him with a spirit of blindness and infatuation,” as a judgment upon him (Exo_9:12), thus, finally, “hardening” him (comp. Rom_9:18). This divine action was repeated, on three subsequent occasions (Exo_10:20; Exo_10:27; Exo_14:8), Pharaoh’s time of probation being past, and God using him as a mere means of showing forth His glory. There is nothing in this contrary to the general teaching of the Scriptures, or to the Divine Perfection.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Vers. 21-23. And the Lord said, etc. Now that…
Vers. 21-23. And the Lord said, etc. Now that Moses had at last given up his own will and entered on the path of obedience, God comforted him with a fresh revelation, and gave him fresh instructions as to what exactly he was to say to Pharaoh. The statements of ver. 21 are not new, being anticipated in Exo_3:19-20; but the directions in vers. 22-23 are wholly new, and point to the greatest of all the miracles wrought in Egypt the death of the firstborn.
All those wonders. The miracles wrought in Egypt are called nipheloth, "marvels," mophethim, "portents," and "othoth, "signs." Mophethim, the word here used signifies something out of the ordinary course of nature, and corresponds to the Greek terata and the Latin portenta. It is a different word from that used in Exo_3:20. In "all these wonders" are included, not only the three signs of Exo_4:3-9, but the whole series of miracles afterwards wrought in Egypt, and glanced Exo_3:20. I will harden his heart. This expression, here used for the first time, and repeated so frequently in chs. 7-14., has given offence to many. Men, it is said, harden their own hearts against God; God does not actively interfere to harden the heart of anyone. And this is so far true, that a special interference of God on the occasion, involving a supernatural hardening of Pharaoh"s heart, is not to be thought of. But among the natural punishments which God has attached to sin, would seem to be the hardening of the entire nature of the man who sins. If men "do not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gives them up to a reprobate mind"; (Rom_1:28) if they resist the Spirit, he "takes his holy Spirit from them"; (Psa_51:11) if they sin against light he withdraws the light; if they stifle their natural affections of kindness, compassion and the like, it is a law of his providence that those affections shall wither and decay. This seems to be the "hardening of the heart here intended not an abnormal and miraculous interference with the soul of Pharaoh, but the natural effect upon his soul under God"s moral government of those acts which he wilfully and wrongfully committed.
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Hardening.
God communicates anew with Moses, fortifying his resolution to appear before Pharaoh, putting words into his mouth, and warning him of the effect his message would produce. He was not to fail to do all his wonders before Pharaoh, though the only effect would be to harden the monarch"s heart to confirm him in his resolution not to let the people go.
I THE WORD OF GOD IS TO BE ADDRESSED TO MEN, WHATEVER RECEPTION IT MAY MEET WITH. It is to be set forth, and the evidence which attests it exhibited, "whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear"; (Eze_2:5) and this
1. That God"s will may be made known.
2. That men"s dispositions may be tested.
3. That if men disobey they may be left without excuse.
4. That ulterior purposes may be fulfilled.
For men"s unbelief cannot make the faith of God without effect. (Rom_3:3) If men disbelieve and are hardened, God will use even their hardening as the point of attachment for some new link in the chain of his providential developments.
II GOD INFALLIBLY FOREKNOWS THE EFFECT OF EVERY APPEAL OR MESSAGE HE ADDRESSES TO HIS MORAL CREATURES. He knows those to whom his servants will be "the savour of death unto death," and those to whom they will be "the savour of life unto life". (2Co_2:16) But the knowledge that his Word will be rejected is not a reason for keeping it back. As respects these foreknown effects, we are not permitted to say either
1. That God wills (i.e. desires) that his Word should harden; or
2. That in any case it hardens by his arbitrarily withholding the grace which would have produced an opposite result. Yet Divine sovereignty is not to be denied in the effects produced by the preaching of the Word, or in God"s dealings with men in mercy and judgment generally. He will be a bold student of Divine things who ventures to assert that by no means known to him could God have subdued the obstinacy even of a Pharaoh. Hearts as stubborn have yielded before now. We cannot solve these anomalies. Enough for us to know that God"s sovereignty, however exercised, is ever righteous, holy, and, could we see all, loving.
III GOD"S WORD, WHEN ITS MESSAGE IS RESISTED, HARDENS THE HEART THAT RESISTS IT. The hardening of the heart is here attributed to God, as in other places it is attributed to Pharaoh himself. The latter statement occasions no difficulty. It is the invariable law, and one which is constantly being exemplified, that he who resists grace and truth incurs the penalty of being hardened. That result follows from the constitution of the moral nature. But precisely in this fact lies the explanation of the other mode of statement, that the hardening of the heart is from God. For God is concerned in the results which flow from the operation of his own laws, and takes (providentially) the responsibility of them. We may go even further, and say that God designs that those who resist his truth shall be hardened by it; just as he designs that those who believe and obey it shall be saved. And the stronger way of putting the matter, harsh as it seems, has its own advantages. Resisters of the truth do well to remember that in their attitude of opposition they have to do, not merely with "laws," reacting to darken the mind and indurate the heart, but with a living God within and behind these laws, lending his solemn sanction to their operations, willing the results which flow from them, and righteously punishing sin by means of them. This explanation, indeed, is not complete. Other phases of the subject come into view later. Meanwhile the preacher of the Gospel is not to be astonished that his word, in many cases, produces hardening effects. This is foreseen by God, and is taken up into his plan. Learn also how a career of iniquity is often punished by the transgressor being brought into circumstances which, merciful in their own operation, yet lead to his greater hardening. J.O.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain See that thou do all these wonders before Pharaoh.
Exo_4:21
See that thou do all these wonders before Pharaoh.
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Moses before Pharaoh
Israel was under the sovereign control of the King of Egypt. He had property in them. Moses in the name of the Lord suddenly asked Pharaoh to give Israel their freedom. He was startled. He did not acknowledge the Lord. A political petition was presented to him, and he dealt with it on political grounds. It was not a spiritual question which was proposed to Pharaoh. It was exclusively a political question. It was therefore within this sphere that the Divine action was taken, and that action is fitly described in the text as a hardening of Pharaohs heart. The question will then arise, what the meaning of that hardening was, and what useful results accrued from a process which appears to us to be so mysterious. The hardening of Pharaohs heart, as involving the development of a merely political scheme, may amount in effect to no more than this, I will delay the process, this request shall not be granted at once; and I will prolong the process in order that I may bring out lessons for Pharaoh himself, for the children of Israel, and for mankind at large; were Pharaoh to let the children of Israel escape from him at once, the result would be mischievous to themselves; therefore in mercy, not in anger, I will harden Pharaohs heart. So far, the question is not a moral one, except in the degree in which all questions have more or less of a moral bearing. It has been supposed by some that in the case of this exercise of Divine sovereignty, the sum total of Pharaohs wickedness was increased. Not so. There is the greatest difference between wickedness being localized and wickedness being increased. As the history proceeds, we see that the political situation enlarges itself into a spiritual problem. Pharaoh made a promise to Moses, which he did not keep. Thus he hardened his own heart. Applying these lessons to ourselves as sinners, I have now to teach that Jesus Christ tasted death for every man, and that whosoever will may avail himself of the blessings secured by the mediation of the Saviour. If any man excuses himself on the ground that God has hardened his heart, that man is trusting to an excuse in the most solemn affairs of his being which he would not for a moment tolerate in the region of his family life or commercial relations. We must not be sensible in ordinary affairs and insane in higher concerns. Were a servant to tell her mistress that she is fated to be unclean in her habits, that mistress would instantly and justly treat her with angry contempt. Were a clerk to tell a banker that he was fated to come late every morning, and go away early every afternoon, the statement would be received as a proof of selfishness or insanity. Were a travelling companion to tell you to make no attempt to be in time for the steamboat or train, because if you were fated to catch it there would be no fear of your losing it, you would treat his suggestion as it deserved to be treated. Yet men who can act in a common-sense manner in all such little affairs, sometimes profess that they will not make any attempt in a religious direction, because they believe in the doctrine of predestination or fatalism. Wicked and slothful servants, they shall be condemned out of their own mouth! Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Whosoever will, let him come. Him that cometh to Me, I will in no wise cast out. How often would I have gathered you, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! In presence of such statements as these, it must be the very consummation of blasphemy to turn round upon God and say, I wanted to be saved, but Thou didst harden my heart and condemn me to hell. (J. Parker, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Exo_4:21-23
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Exo_4:21-23
THE ANTICIPATION OF CHRISTIAN SERVICE
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I. That very frequently God causes good men to anticipate Christian service.
1. It is often anticipated as the hour of severe trial. “See that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh.” It is almost instinctive in man to anticipate the future, especially if any important duty is awaiting him. And the mental experiences awakened by the thought of future service are often more painful than those which come upon the soul in the hour of its performance. It is right and wise of good men to anticipate religious work, that by prayer and thought they may get prepared for it, that it may not take them by surprise. This kind of anticipation will make them strong in their appearance before Pharaoh. But at such a time it is distrustful of the Divine promise and aid to harbour feelings of timidity and painful anxiety, as they will cover a Christian worker with defeat before he comes to the battle. Good men should not doubtfully anticipate the hour of service, they have everything on their side indicative of victory and success. The joyful experiences in the service, of vision and communion with heaven, will compensate for the difficulty of the work.
2. It is often anticipated as the moral crisis of life. Sometimes a man views a certain service demanded of him as most difficult and important—as more so than any before undertaken. All his fears are awakened, and surround the future toil with a gloom into which there scarcely gleams one ray of hope. The Pharaoh of difficulty is far more prominent in the picture than the God who has promised to help him. Moses no doubt felt that this conflict with Pharaoh would decide his entire future; if successful, he will proceed on the mission of Israel’s emancipation; if not, he will return, a runaway from duty. Christian workers know what this means. They have frequently undertaken work with the feeling that its issue would have a very happy or injurious effect upon their lives. The destiny of a man has more than once depended upon the performance of one act of important service.
3. It is often anticipated with a desire to make the best use of all the means placed at the disposal of the worker. Moses feels that he must employ in the act of service all the instrumentalities that he can command. God has abundantly prepared him for the task. The Divine Being never sends any man to a great mission without placing at his disposal all the necessary aids to it, and he who neglects to make use of them is guilty of supreme folly and sin. When God sends Christian workers to appear before Pharaoh, He always provides them with a rod to take with them. If we spend much time in thinking over the agencies that are calculated to give success in the approaching mission, we shall be more likely to use them well, than if our only thought be of the difficulty of the work.
4. It is often anticipated as shewing the intention of Providence in reference to the future. After Moses had appeared before Pharaoh, and had passed through his hour of trial, his work would not be ended as the servant of God in the emancipation of Israel. But the result of this interview with Egypt’s monarch would indicate new work. One service is always suggestive of, and leads into, another. Men, if they are willing, will find employment in the service of God to occupy the whole of their lives.
II. That when God causes good men to anticipate Christian service, He often informs them of their probable difficulties, and of the best method of work.
1. Moses was informed of the moral obstinacy of Pharaoh. The Divine Being is here said to harden the heart of Pharaoh. In subsequent chapters it is said that Pharaoh hardened his own heart. We must therefore view both sides of the case, and find a principle of underlying harmony. God works directly and indirectly: the former when He exerts His own power in any undertaking, the latter when He employs a secondary agency, or when He permits anything to be done. God presented his wish to Pharaoh in reference to the freedom of Israel, accompanied by evidences which ought to have wrought a conviction of duty within his heart, but, being rejected by him, they tended to moral obstinacy. The sun melts some substances while it hardens others, and so it is with the revelation of the Divine will in its effect upon human hearts. Pharaoh had the power to let Israel go free, but he had not the disposition. Moses was informed that he would have to contend with the unwillingness of this monarch. He was thus prepared to meet it.
2. He was told to make use of all his resources of work. “See that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand.” The Christian has more resources of work than any other workman. They are God given. They were at one time miraculous. Now they are of a purely moral character, and are far more influential, and adapted to the present requirement of human experience and thought. If Christian workers would but make use of all the resources at their command, they would not so frequently have to lament failure, but they would achieve great victories of service.
3. He was told of the method of argument which he was to employ. “And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my first-born: And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold I will slay thy son, even thy first-born.” This language was authoritative in its demand, pathetic in its mention of Israel, and terrible in its threat to Pharaoh if he refused to grant the request of Moses. LESSONS.
1. It is not wrong to anticipate Christian service.
2. That the voice of God should ever be heard by Christian workers.
3. That a remembrance of God should give hope to all our anticipations of great toil.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Exo_4:21. God is at hand to instruct servants who are willing to undertake His work.
God alone can put it into the power of creatures to work miracles.
It is God’s will that His servants should see and consider that power delegated.
God’s will is that His miracles should be wrought before His proudest enemies.
Miracles sometimes will not prevail with persecutors to dismiss God’s people.
Hardness of heart is that which makes men resist God’s wonders.
When men harden themselves by sin, God often hardens them by judgment.
Moral obstinacy:—
1. A great sin of man.
2. A common sin of man.
3. A sad judgment on man.
MOSES BEFORE PHARAOH
There are, of course, many difficulties, by us insoluble, in connexion with the sovereignty of God. This must be distinctly recognised, and no man must expect to have all mysteries dwarfed to the measure of his own understanding. The greatest of all mysteries is God himself, yet we are not therefore to doubt His existence, or to deny His loving Providence. The mere fact of any question being mysterious does not alter its truthfulness. Look at the text in this spirit; generally in relation to Divine sovereignty three things are clear.
I. That all nations are not equally honoured. This difference amongst the nations is not made by the Bible, or by any system of theology; it is simply a matter of fact. One nation is highly civilized, another is in the lowest condition of barbarism; yet all nations are under the government of the same gracious God. Every day the sun sees some nations worshipping the true Spirit, and others bowing to idols. This is matter of fact, however we may account for it.
II. That all individuals are not equally endowed. We are all men, and yet no two men are alike. In every history you find the great man and the little man, yet all are men, and acknowledge the same God.
III. That Divine judgment is regulated by Divine allotment. We open the Bible and find that to whom much is given, from him shall much be required, and that it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than fur nations which enjoy a fuller revelation of Divine purpose and requirements. First of all, and last of all, it must be our unalterable conviction that God must do right, or He is no longer God. Israel was under the sovereign control of the King of Egypt. He had property in them. Moses in the name of the Lord suddenly asked Pharaoh to give Israel their freedom. He was startled. He did not acknowledge the Lord. A political petition was presented to him, and he dealt with it on political grounds. It was not a spiritual question which was proposed to Pharaoh. It was exclusively a political question. It was therefore within this sphere that the Divine action was taken, and that action is fitly described in the text as a hardening of Pharaoh’s heart. The question will then arise, what the meaning of that hardening was, and what useful results accrued from a process which appears to us to be so mysterious. The hardening of Pharaoh’s heart, as involving the development of a merely political scheme, may amount in effect to no more than this, “I will delay the process, this request shall not be granted at once; and I will prolong the process in order that I may bring out lessons for Pharaoh himself, for the children of Israel, and for mankind at large; were Pharaoh to let the children of Israel escape from him at once, the result would be mischievous to themselves; therefore in mercy, not in anger I will harden Pharaoh’s heart. So far, the question is not a moral one, except in the degree in which all questions have more or less of a moral bearing. It has been supposed by some that in the case of this exercise of Divine sovereignty, the sum total of Pharaoh’s wickedness was increased. Not so. There is the greatest difference between wickedness being localized and wickedness being increased. As the history proceeds, we see that the political situation enlarges itself into a spiritual problem. Pharaoh made a promise to Moses, which he did not keep. Thus he hardened his own heart. Apply these lessons to ourselves as sinners, I have now to teach that Jesus Christ tasted death for every man, and that whosoever will may avail himself of the blessings secured by the mediation of the Saviour. If any man who now hears me is excusing himself on the ground that God has hardened his heart, I charge that man with trusting to an excuse in the most solemn affairs of his being, which he would not for a moment tolerate in the region of family or commercial life. Were your servant to tell you that she is fated to be uncleanly in her habits, you would justly treat her with angry contempt. Were your travelling companion to tell you to make no attempt to be in time for the train, because if you were fated to catch it there would be no fear of your losing it, you would treat his suggestion as it deserved to be treated. Yet men who act in a common-sense manner in all such little affairs as these, sometimes profess that they will not make any attempt in a religious direction, because they believe in the doctrine of predestination. Wicked and slothful servants, they shall be condemned out of their own mouth, “Whosoever will let him come.”
—City Temple.
THE PRIMOGENITURE OF THE GOOD
Exo_4:22. “Israel is my son, even my first-born.”
I. That the good have a Divine Father.
1. He is merciful to the children. God was merciful to Israel. Though they had rebelled against Him, and given themselves up to idolatry and degradation, yet in the time of their sorrow, He came to deliver them from slavery. Is there a good man in the universe who can say that God has not been merciful to him? His mercy has been seen in the forgiveness of sin, and in our adoption into His spiritual and heavenly family.
2. He vindicates the children from their foes.
II. That the good have heavenly privileges.
As the sons of God.
1. They have the privilege of high birth. Men may boast of their descent from a renowned ancestry; what ancestry so ancient and renowned as that of the heavenly Father. When a man is born of God, he is allied to the grandest spirits of the unseen universe. Only they who are the subjects of this new birth know the privileges it confers upon them. Nor can the meanest ancestry of earth be excluded therefrom.
2. They have the privilege of good moral culture. In God’s family all the children are well disciplined. They are not exempt from sorrow and pain. Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth. We are made perfect through suffering. This culture of our moral nature is designed to fit us more thoroughly for the high relationship into which we are called, that we may be responsive to all its duties, and in harmony with its sacred destinies.
III. That the good have inspiring hopes.
1. The hope of a happy death. The children of God can die happily. When passing through the valley and shadow of death they are conscious of a companion who can chase away all their fears. He comforts them. In this trying hour the good man joyfully breathes his spirit into the hand of God who gave it. Instance Stephen. The end of that man is peace.
2. The hope of a vast inheritance. There is reserved in heaven for the good a vast inheritance, that is undefiled, and that can never pass away.25 This inheritance of our moral life is the animating hope of our soul.
3. The hope of a sublime future. A future to be spent in eternal communion with God, in perpetual study of His character, in a happy solution of the dark mysteries which so perplexed the soul on earth, and in a service ever welcome. They serve him day and night. In this future we shall be in companionship with the good of all ages, and with them shall hold inspiring converse. Christians are the sons of God.26
1. Live worthy of your Great Parent.
2. Act worthy of your noble ancestry.
3. Embrace your glorious privileges.
4. Let nothing dim your bright hopes.
Exo_4:23. The Divine intention in the moral freedom of man. “Let my son go, that he may serve me.”
I. That God has a definite purpose in the moral freedom of men.
He does not relieve men from one kind of slavery that they may go into another—not that they may spend life in inactivity. Indolence is not freedom. His great aim is to bring men from the tyranny of passion, pride, covetousness, and self, into the freedom of a tranquil, humble, and self-denying service. Hence the Divine preparation that is given to the varied agencies that are to achieve this freedom.
II. That the purpose of God in the moral freedom of men is that they should serve Him.
1. That we should serve Him in our business.
2. That we should serve Him in our social life.
3. That we should serve Him with all our energies.
Why should we serve Him?
(1) Because we are His sons.
2. Because of the freedom He has wrought for us.
The service of God is perfect freedom. Would that men were as earnest about their moral freedom as they are in reference to their civil. In the service of God we gain the highest remuneration.
God’s ambassadors, though never so mean, must speak to kings what God enjoineth them.
God’s name must be attached to His message, that kings may stoop to hear it.
God’s Church is His first-born.
Jehovah requireth His first-born from the hand of all oppressors.
The wicked powers of Hell will deny the dismission of God’s Son as long as they can hold him.
The sons of the world God will slay for the redemption of His own.
God’s first-born sons are dearer to Him than all the first-born of the world.
A Divine threat:—
1. Claims attention.
2. Certain of Execution.
3. Stern in requirement.
ILLUSTRATIONS
BY THE
REV. WM. ADAMSON
Exo_4:21-23.
(20)—Hope!—Dr. Judson was once asked whether the prospect of the speedy conversion of the heathen was bright; whereupon he immediately responded: “as bright as the promises of God.” On these promises Moses was to rely. On these divine assurances Moses was to hope; for God assured him that. He would certainly be with him. This hope—as Smiles has it—is like the sun which, as we journey towards it. casts the shadow of our burden behind us. So Moses found when he laid hold of the Divine Assurance. The islanders of St. Kilda gain their subsistence by searching for nests along dangerous heights and down precipitous cliffs. Their waists are girdled with a cord let down from above. Moses girdled his heart with the golden cord of God’s promises, ere be lowered himself from Horeb’s frowning heights to Egypt’s dark abyss.
“With him went Hope in rank, a handsome maid,
Of cheerful look, and lovely to behold;
In silken samite she was light array’d,
And her fair locks were woven up in gold.”
Spenser.
Exo_4:21-23.
(21)—Wonders!—The scientific man asserts as the latest generalization of his science that there is in nature the uniformity of natural sequence—in other words, that nature always moves along the same path, and that law is a necessity of things. He thus indirectly asserts the probability of miracles—indeed admits them; for where there is no law there is no transgression, and the very belief in miracles depends upon this uniformity. In nature there are deviations from this law of uniformity; and so it is in grace. God has a certain course of dealing generally with man, and He is pleased to diverge from that course at times—that the exception may prove the rule:—For
“Order is heaven’s first law—a glorious law,
Seen in those pure and beauteous isles of light
That come and go, as circling months fulfil
Their high behest.”
—Milton.
Exo_4:21-23.
(22)—Fear!—Fear secretes acids, but love and trust are sweet juices. Who has not learned this as truly as Moses did? The fear of man bringeth a snare; but whoso trusteth in the Lord, mercy encompasseth him on every side. It is like a hedge which keeps off the wild beasts; like the coral reef, which baffles the angry waves in their recurring daily attempts to leap over and disturb the calm still lagoon of tropical islands.
“The saints should never be dismayed,
Nor sink in hopeless fear;
For when they least expect his aid,
The Saviour will appear.”
Exo_4:21-23.
(23)—Divine Sovereignty!—Bishop Hall says, “I leave God’s secrets to Himself: it is happy for me that God makes me of His court, and not of His counsel.” As another expresses himself, it is not given to man to discover all the works and ways of God, either in nature or in grace. Perhaps those of nature—notwithstanding all our beasted discoveries and pride of science—lie as unknown to us as the wide forest to the microscopic insect, whose life is a day, and whose world is a leaf. Laplace wrote that it was the little that we knew, the great that remained unknown. And Newton’s matchless imagery of the pebbles on the seahorse displays the profound conviction of the Christian philosopher that we areign rant of far more than we know. Nor is the warning of puritan Adams out of date when he monishes that he who will be sifting every cloud may be smitten with a thunderbolt:—
“Those puzzled souls of ours grow weak,
With beating their bruised wings against the rim
That bounds their utmost flying, when they seek
The distant and the dim.”
—Ingelow.
Exo_4:21-23.
(24)—Mysteries!—It is for man to accept them. Grosart remarks that he could drink of the clear, cool spring, though he might not hope to pierce the awful foundation of granite from whence it came gushing up. I can rejoice in the shining sun, and fan my check with the breathing wind, though I am ignorant as an infant of the great palace of light, and know not whence the wind cometh. Believing, where we cannot prove—
“As sinks the moaning river in the sea,
In silver peace, so sinks my soul in Thee,”
Stowe.
Exo_4:21-23.
(25)—Future Hopes!—Moses had respect unto the recompense of the reward. God’s reward is exceeding great. When Zelilaus lost his hand in the service of his master, the king of Poland, he received from him a golden hand in its place. Agrippa had suffered much for Caligula at Rome, who therefore upon his elevation to imperial power presented him with chains of gold equivalent in weight to the iron fetters he had worn in the dungeon. God’s reward reserved in heaven is a vast inheritance, incorruptible and undefiled, a crown of righteousness, an exceeding and eternal weight of glory. And as the workman is paid after his work is done; so the Christian is rewarded when life is ended—
“For loss, nor shame, nor grief, nor sin, His promise may gainsay;
The name Divine bath spoke within, and God did ne’er betray.
—Adams.
Exo_4:21-23.
(26)—Eternal Prospect!—Melvill likens it to a glorious morning, with the sun rising higher and higher—one blessed springtime, and yet richer summer, every plant in full flower, but every flower the bud of a lovelier. It would, however, be a poor prospect which such beings as ourselves could comprehend or anticipate. Give me, says one, the majestic cloud—the oracular veil—the mighty shadows which recede as we advance, filling the mind with amazement. I wish, when I have climbed the highest pinnacle that sanctified conception can soar to, to be compelled to own that I have not reached the base of the everlasting hills, whence to survey the eternal prospects:—
“Go, wing thy flight from star to star,
From world to luminous world as far
As universe spreads its flaring wall:
Take all the pleasures of all the spheres,
And multiply each through endless years,
One minute of heaven is worth them all”—Moore.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain harden his heart
harden his heart
(Cf) Exo 8:15; Exo 8:32; Exo 9:34. In the face of the righteous demand of Jehovah and of the tremendous attestations by miracle that He was indeed God, and that Moses and Aaron were His representatives, Pharaoh "hardened his heart." Instrumentally God hardened Pharaoh’s heart by forcing him to an issue against which he hardened his own heart in refusal. Light rejected, rightful obedience refused, inevitably hardens conscience and heart. Rom 9:17-24.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 will harden his heart
will harden his heart
Here "heart" refers to Pharaoh. His stubborn attitude is spoken of as if his heart was hard. AT: "will cause Pharaoh to be stubborn" (See: Synecdoche and Metaphor)
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Israel is my son
The word "Israel" here represents all the people of Israel. AT: "The people of Israel are my own children" (See: Metonymy)
is my son, my firstborn
Here the people of Israel are spoken of as if they were a firstborn son who causes joy and pride. AT: "is like my own firstborn son" (See: Metaphor)
you have refused to let him go
The word "him" refers to the people of Israel as God's son. AT: "you have refused to let my son go" (See: Metonymy)
I will certainly kill your son, your firstborn
The word "son" here refers to the actual son of Pharaoh.
translationWords
Yahweh
Moses
Pharaoh
miracle
power
heart
Israel
son
firstborn
worship
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 4:21-23 These verses summarize the events of the next…
4:21-23 These verses summarize the events of the next several chapters, beginning with the request to let the people go so that they could worship God (5:3) and concluding with the final plague, the death of the firstborn (11:4-6). God was preparing the rescuer for the difficult task ahead (see 11:9).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.