Plagues of Egypt
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in the land of Egypt. The disposing of events is of God’s providence.
He could have placed upon the throne a more merciful king, who
would not have dared to withstand the mighty manifestations of divine
power. But in that case the Lord’s purposes would not have been
accomplished. His people were permitted to experience the grinding
cruelty of the Egyptians, that they might not be deceived concerning
the debasing influence of idolatry. In His dealing with Pharaoh, the
Lord manifested His hatred of idolatry and His determination to punish
cruelty and oppression.
God had declared concerning Pharaoh, “I will harden his heart, that
he shall not let the people go.”
Exodus 4:21
. There was no exercise
of supernatural power to harden the heart of the king. God gave to
Pharaoh the most striking evidence of divine power, but the monarch
stubbornly refused to heed the light. Every display of infinite power
rejected by him, rendered him the more determined in his rebellion.
The seeds of rebellion that he sowed when he rejected the first miracle,
produced their harvest. As he continued to venture on in his own
course, going from one degree of stubbornness to another, his heart
became more and more hardened, until he was called to look upon the
cold, dead faces of the first-born.
God speaks to men through His servants, giving cautions and
warnings, and rebuking sin. He gives to each an opportunity to correct
his errors before they become fixed in the character; but if one refuses
to be corrected, divine power does not interpose to counteract the
tendency of his own action. He finds it more easy to repeat the same
course. He is hardening the heart against the influence of the Holy
Spirit. A further rejection of light places him where a far stronger
influence will be ineffectual to make an abiding impression.
He who has once yielded to temptation will yield more readily the
second time. Every repetition of the sin lessens his power of resistance,
blinds his eyes, and stifles conviction. Every seed of indulgence sown
will bear fruit. God works no miracle to prevent the harvest. “What-
soever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
Galatians 6:7
. He who
manifests an infidel hardihood, a stolid indifference to divine truth, is
but reaping the harvest of that which he has himself sown. It is thus
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that multitudes come to listen with stoical indifference to the truths
that once stirred their very souls. They sowed neglect and resistance
to the truth, and such is the harvest which they reap.