1. When the Lord sent to Moses to Egypt, what did He say that He knew of Pharaoh? "And that I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, but by strong hand." (Exodus 3:19, margin)
2. What did He say He would have to do before Pharaoh would relent? "And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go." (Exodus 3:20)
3. Then what was Pharaoh's natural disposition? Stubborn and self-willed; hard and unyielding.
4. Afterward, what did the Lord tell Moses He would do to Pharaoh? "And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt." (Exodus 7:3)
5. What did He say that Pharaoh's stubbornness would give Him an opportunity to do? "But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth my armies, and my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch forth my hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them." (Exodus 7:4-5)
6. What first tended to harden Pharaoh's heart? "And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the Lord had commanded; and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers; now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents; but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods. And He hardened Pharaoh's heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said." (Exodus 7:10-13)
7. What again confirmed him in this stubbornness? "And Moses and Aaron did so, as the Lord commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments; and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them; as the Lord had said." (Exodus 7:20-22)
8. Through whose power did the magicians resist the truth, and strengthened the king's evil purpose?
9. What first caused Pharaoh's determination to weaken? "Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Entreat the Lord, that He may take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the Lord." (Exodus 8:8)
10. When the Lord granted him this favor, what was the result? "And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh; and Moses cried unto the Lord because of the frogs which He had brought against Pharaoh. And the Lord did according to the word of Moses; and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the villages, and out of the fields. And they gathered them together upon heaps; and the land stank. But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said." (Exodus 8:12-15)
11. Did the next plague have any affect on the king? "And they did so; for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt. And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon beast. Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God; and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said." (Exodus 8:17-19)
12. When the plague of flies came, how was he affected? "And the Lord did so; and there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants' houses, and into all the land of Egypt; the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of flies. And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go, sacrifice to your God in the land. And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the Lord our God; lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us? We will go three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the Lord our God, as He shall command us. And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away; entreat for me." (Exodus 8:24-28)
13. When favor was again shown him, what was the result? "And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and entreated the Lord. And the Lord did according to the word of Moses; and He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there remained not one. And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go." (Exodus 8:30-32)
14. How was Pharaoh affected by the next two plagues? "And the Lord did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died; but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one. And Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not one of the cattle of the Israelites dead. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go. And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven; and it became a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast. ... And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had spoken unto Moses." (Exodus 9:6-7,10-12)
15. After Pharaoh had so often hardened his heart, what did the Lord do? "And the Lord said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. For I will at this time send all my plagues upon your heart, and upon your servants, and upon your people; that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth. For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite you and your people with pestilence; and you shall be cut off from the earth. And in very deed for this cause have I raised you up, for to show in you my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth. As yet, do you exalt yourself against my people, that you will not let them go? Behold, to morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as has not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now. Send therefore now, and gather your cattle, and all that you have in the field; for upon every man and beast which shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die. He that feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses: And he that regarded not the word of the Lord left his servants and his cattle in the field." (Exodus 9:13-21)
16. What was the seventh plague? "And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven; and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt. So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and broke every tree of the field." (Exodus 9:23-25)
17. How did this terrible plague affect the king? "And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time; the Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. Entreat the Lord (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer." (Exodus 9:27-28)
18. Was his request granted? "And Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread abroad his hands unto the Lord; and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth." (Exodus 9:33)
19. What did this favor lead Pharaoh to manifest more? "And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go; as the Lord had spoken by Moses." (Exodus 9:34-35)
20. When the terrible plague of locusts was sent, what request, confession, and promise did the king make? "Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. Now therefore forgive, I pray you, my sin only this once, and entreat the Lord your God, that He may take away from me this death only." (Exodus 10:16-17)
21. Did the Lord grant his request? "And the Lord turned a mighty strong west wind, which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red sea; there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt." (Exodus 10:19)
22. What did the Lord again do to Pharaoh, even by this act of kindness? "But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go." (Exodus 10:20)
23. In all this record, what especial thing is it that had the effect of hardening Pharaoh's heart? The rejection of light from God. See notes.
24. With what Scripture is this in harmony? "Let favor be shown to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the Lord." (Isaiah 26:10)
25. What is it that makes wicked persons more settled in their determination to sin? "Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil." (Ecclesiastes 8:11)
26. After the sixth plague, what did the Lord say was the reason He had preserved Pharaoh for so long the time? See note. "For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite you and your people with pestilence; and you shall be cut off from the earth. And in very deed for this cause have I raised you up, for to show in you my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth." (Exodus 9:15-16)
27. When God's judgments are in the land, for what purpose is it? "With my soul have I desired you in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek you early; for when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness." (Isaiah 26:9)
Notes:
"But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." (2 Corinthians 4:3-4)
Then God proceeded to harden his heart still more. Paul says of the heathen in general, who were wholly corrupt, that, "even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a mind void of judgment, to do those things that are not convenient." (Romans 1:28, margin)
So of those in the last days who willfully reject light, he says that: "For this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12)
God always lets men have just what they are determined to have. If they hunger and thirst after righteousness, he will fill them with it; but if they fortify themselves in stubbornness, resist the strivings of the Spirit, and are bound to have their own evil way, then His Spirit ceases to strive with them, and He lets them have darkness to the full. Of those who hate knowledge, and despise God's reproof, He says: "Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them." (Proverbs 1:31-32)
The bearing of this lesson upon the doctrine of the future probation is obvious. In this life God gives to every man ample opportunity to know Him, and to accept the salvation. The true Light "lights every man that comes into the world." (John 1:9)
The rejection of this Light leaves the man in darkness. The light tends to soften and subdue his heart; the rejection of it hardens his heart. After a man has deliberately rejected light, and hardened his heart, additional light and favor only harden his heart the more. So then if, after this life, God should grant man another probation, it would tend, not to his salvation, but to increase his wickedness, and would thus be useless.
So it is that if favor be shown to the wicked, his wickedness will not depart from him; and yet in the favor of God there is life, and it is His goodness that leads to repentance (Romans 2:4) all who do repent. The same thing which saves some destroys others, according to the way in which they receive it, just as the same sun which melts wax hardens clay.--Signs of the Times, January 28, 1889--Exodus Exodus 7 to 10.
E.J. Waggoner