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Hardening of the Heart, March 24
Exodus 7:11-17
But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that he would not let the
children of Israel go.
Exodus 10:20
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How does the Lord harden the hearts of men? In the same way in which the
heart of Pharaoh was hardened. God sent this king a message of warning and
mercy, but he refused to acknowledge the God of heaven, and would not render
obedience to His commands. He asked, “Who is the Lord that I should obey his
voice?”
The Lord gave him evidence of His power by working signs and miracles
before him. The great I AM acquainted Pharaoh with His mighty works, showing
him that He was the ruler of heaven and earth, but the king chose to defy the God
of heaven. He would not consent to break his proud, stubborn heart even before
the King of kings, that he might receive the light; for he was determined to have
his own way, and work out his rebellion. He chose to do his own will, and set
aside the command of God, and the very evidence given him that Jehovah was
above all the gods of the nations, above all the wise men and magicians, only
served to blind his mind and harden his heart.
Had Pharaoh accepted the evidence of God’s power given in the first plague,
he would have been spared all the judgments that followed. But his determined
stubbornness called for still greater manifestations of the power of God, and
plague followed plague, until at last he was called to look upon the dead face of
his own first born, and those of his kindred; while the children of Israel, whom
he had regarded as slaves, were unharmed by the plagues, untouched by the
destroying angel. God made it evident upon whom rested His favor, who were
His people
Every additional evidence of the power of God that the Egyptian monarch
resisted, carried him on to a stronger and more persistent defiance of God....
This case is a clear illustration of the sin against the Holy Ghost. “Whatsoever a
man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Gradually the Lord withdrew His Spirit.
Removing His restraining power, He gave the king into the hands of the worst
of all tyrants—self
[90]
38
Letter 31, 1891
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39
The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 1:1100
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91