Those who are disposed to cavil, make a great deal of capital out of: "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)
One who is not predisposed to find fault with the Bible, will have little difficulty with this passage as it stands; but the best critics, among whom is Dr. Clarke, tell us that our translation does not convey the idea of the original. As Dr. Clarke says, God did not bring a pestilence upon Egypt, although the first-born were slain; nor was Pharaoh cut off from the earth at that time. The true meaning is said to be expressed by these words: "For now indeed had I stretched forth my hand and smitten you and your people with the pestilence, then had you been cut off from the earth. And in very deed for this cause have I made you to stand [allowed you to live until the present time], for to show in you my power." etc.
This relieves the subject of all difficulty, and makes the passage harmonize with the context.
In (verse 13), God tells Moses to command Pharaoh to let His people go. If he refuses, He says that He will send all His plagues upon him and upon his servants upon his people.
In (verse 14), in order that he may not think lightly of the judgments of God, or that He has already exhausted His power, God tells Pharaoh that if He had so ordered it, he would have been cut off from the earth. And then He assures him that it is only an act of mercy that his life has been spared.
God might have destroyed Pharaoh at the very outset, and delivered Israel at once; but that, to short-sighted man, would have appeared to be an act of unwarranted cruelty. Instead of this, He allowed Pharaoh to show out his real character, and so vindicated His course, and at the same time displayed His wonderful power.
The Hardening of Pharaoh's Heart
"And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh and he hearkened not unto them." (Exodus 9:12)
With what avidity skeptics seize upon this passage!
"If the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, he was not to blame for what he did, and the Lord was arbitrary and cruel to punish him for what he could not help."
Thus they will talk, and having once satisfied themselves that God is a hard taskmaster, and a cruel tyrant, they feel justified in refusing to serve Him. But before we jump at such a conclusion, let us see just how it happened that Pharaoh's heart was made hard.
Notice first the character of the king. He was ungrateful, as shown by the statement that he "knew not Joseph." (Exodus 1:8)
This does not mean that he was not familiar with Joseph's history, and what he had done for Egypt; but that he cared nothing for him. The fact that Joseph had saved all Egypt from starvation, did not seem to the king to be any reason why he should befriend Joseph's people. This was a nature upon which kindness had no softening effect.
His treatment of the Israelites shows that he was selfish, cruel, and vindictive, and utterly regardless of human life. He had grown insolent and haughty, and when the demand was made upon him to let Israel go, he replied: "I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go." (Exodus 5:2)
Then plagues were sent upon him. When the frogs covered the land, and the magician's could not remove them, he relented, and promised that if they were taken away, he would let the people go. He was taken at his word, but what was the result? "But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them." (Exodus 8:15)
Again another plague was sent, but he remained stubborn. Then swarms of flies filled their houses, so that everything was corrupted. This induced the king to say: "I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness." (Exodus 8:28)
So Moses entreated the Lord, and the flies were removed at the time appointed; but the result was the same as before. The record says: "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 8:31-32)
Yet again, after the cattle had been killed by the murrain, and boils, and hail; when the terrible storm of thunder and hail and fire had devastated the land, Pharaoh was alarmed. Sending for Moses and Aaron, he said: "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)
As before Moses set a time for the removal of the plague and the result is stated thus: "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." (Exodus 9:34-35)
Now we can see just how it was that the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart. He did it by His manifestations of mercy. The king was very humble in the face of death, but as soon as the cause of fear was removed, he became stubborn. Had he not been so willful, the mercy of the Lord would have moved him to repentance; but he was one of those persons who think that an exhibition of kindness is a manifestation of weakness. Having nothing like mercy or kindness in his own nature, he was unable to appreciate it in others.
Theodoret very aptly says:
The sun by the action of the heat makes wax moist, and mud dry, pardoning the one while it softens the other, by the same operations producing exactly opposite results; thus from the long-suffering of God some derive benefit, and others harmed, some are softened while others are hardened.
Numerous cases, besides that of Pharaoh, might be cited to further illustrate this. The same words and actions of Christ that bound His disciples closer to Him and gave Him many devoted followers, hardened the hearts of the wicked priests, and moved them to kill Him. It will ever be found the case that when a man falls, he falls on the side of his natural inclination.
A Lesson of Trust
The Israelites were commanded to gather of the manna "an omer for every man." (Exodus 16:16)
This was sufficient for the wants of one day, and as they were to "go out and gather a certain rate every day," (Exodus 16:4) it would have been useless to take any more, even if it would have kept. But the people were not content to follow the Lord's direction; some gathered more than the required amount. They doubtless reasoned thus: "It is true that this manna is promised every day, but there may come a time when it will fail, and it is no more than prudent to prepare for such a time, while we have abundance."
By gathering more than the specified quantity, more than they could use during the day, they showed their lack of faith in God's promise. They thought that they could provide for themselves better than God could. But their planning prove to be useless, for "when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack." (Exodus 16:18)
Thus there was an equality. During their sojourn in the wilderness, God wished to have his people learn to trust Him. As we look back on this incident, the course of the Israelites seems foolish; but we will not have to search far in order to find its counterpart. Paul makes their case the text for a lesson in giving. He desires that there should be an equality, that all should give in the same proportion. Then he quotes: "He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack." (2 Corinthians 8:15)
God has promised to care for each one of His children; to give them their bread day by day, if we gather millions, we can have no more than our daily sustenance, and if we are in the depths of poverty, God is able to provide for our daily wants.
Are we not, then, even more culpable than were the Israelites, if we refuse to return to God His rightful portion of our means? God is testing us just as He did them, but how many of us prove to be dull scholars. We have more faith in ourselves than we have in God.
The Murmurings of Israel
Now all this was extremely wicked. They were tempting God, and there can be no excuse for their course. But while we justly condemn their actions, let us see if we are not condemning ourselves. Human nature has not changed much since that time. We have received blessings innumerable from the hand of God. We can truly say with the psalmist that: "goodness and mercy have followed us all the days of our life." (Psalm 23:6)
Israel had a standing manifestation of God's power and goodness in the manna, which was furnished fresh every day. But it is just as true in our case that the mercies of the Lord are "new every morning." (Lamentations 3:23)
And yet we murmur and become discouraged at everything that crosses us. If discouragements come we, like the Israelites, are tempted to turn back, and imagine that we cannot gain the promised land. It is doubtful if we possess any more faith than they did.
We can easily see how much better it would have been for the Israelites if they had been grateful to God for His favors, and had trusted Him in times of need. It is well that we are able to do this, for the apostle says: "Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples; and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come." (1 Corinthians 10:11)
If we can see wherein they erred, let us see to it that we do not follow their course.
"Wherefore let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." (1 Corinthians 10:12)
The Flight From Egypt--Its Memorial
It is claimed by many that the Sabbath commemorates the flight from Egypt. They argue thus, because in (Deuteronomy 5:15) their deliverance from Egypt is noted as a thing for which the Israelites should be grateful, and an additional reason why they should remember His commandments.
But the fourth commandment itself shows what the Sabbath is intended to commemorate, and no hint of the flight from Egypt is given. That claim is so palpably absurd that it must disappear upon the slightest candid investigation. It may not, however, be amiss to notice (Exodus 12:41-42), in this connection.
"And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. It is a night to be much observed unto the Lord for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this is that night of the Lord to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations." (Exodus 12:41-42)
The people fled in the night; and the Passover, which was the true memorial of their deliverance, (See Exodus 12:26-28) was celebrated in the night.
"And you shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. And you shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remains of it until the morning you shall burn with fire." (Exodus 12:6-10)
"But at the place which the Lord your God shall choose to place His name in, there you shall sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that you came forth out of Egypt." (Deuteronomy 16:6)
God's memorials are always fitting and appropriate; when man attempts to improve upon God's plan, he always makes confusion.--Signs of the Times, January 25, 1883--Thoughts on Review Lesson for February 3--Exodus 9 to 12.
E.J. Waggoner