Compare Pharaoh's defiance in Exodus 5:2 with Romans 1:21-22. What similarities exist? Setting the Scene: Two Voices of Rebellion • Exodus 5:2 – “But Pharaoh replied, ‘Who is the LORD, that I should obey His voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and I will not let Israel go.’” • Romans 1:21-22 – “For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools.” Shared Heart Posture • Open rejection of God’s authority • Conscious refusal to honor or obey Him • Arrogant confidence in human wisdom or power • Moral blindness that follows spiritual rejection Roots of Rebellion • Suppressing revealed truth – Pharaoh had seen God’s name through Joseph’s legacy (Genesis 41:38-44) yet dismissed it – Humanity in Romans suppresses clear divine revelation in creation (Romans 1:19-20) • Prideful self-exaltation – Pharaoh: “Who is the LORD…?” (authority challenge) – Romans: “claimed to be wise” (self-congratulation) • Willful ignorance – Pharaoh: “I do not know the LORD” (choosing not to know) – Romans: “their foolish hearts were darkened” (choosing darkness over light; cf. John 3:19) Consequences Paralleled • Darkened understanding → irrational decisions – Pharaoh’s hardening escalates plagues (Exodus 7-11) – Romans: futile thinking leads to deeper sin (Romans 1:24-32) • Divine judgment that exposes folly – Pharaoh’s empire humbled at the Red Sea (Exodus 14:17-18) – Romans: God “gives them up” to degrading passions (Romans 1:24) • Ultimate vindication of God’s glory – “that My name may be proclaimed in all the earth” (Exodus 9:16) – “so that every mouth may be silenced” (Romans 3:19) A Universal Warning • Psalm 14:1 – “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” • Proverbs 18:12 – “Before destruction the heart of man is haughty.” • Hebrews 3:15 – “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” |
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