How does Pharaoh's response in Exodus 10:10 reveal his hardened heart toward God? Setting the Scene • Moses and Aaron have just warned Pharaoh of a coming plague of locusts (Exodus 10:3–6). • Pharaoh’s own officials beg him to relent (10:7). • Pharaoh summons Moses and Aaron, demanding to know exactly who will go into the wilderness to worship (10:8–9). • Their answer—“We will go with our young and our old, with our sons and daughters”—triggers Pharaoh’s scoffing reply in 10:10. The Text “Then Pharaoh said to them, ‘May the LORD be with you—if I ever let you and your little ones go! Clearly you are bent on evil.’” (Exodus 10:10) Key Observations on Pharaoh’s Heart • Mocking invocation of God’s name – “May the LORD be with you” sounds pious but is meant sarcastically. – Treats the covenant name (YHWH) as a rhetorical device rather than as the holy, personal God (cf. Exodus 20:7). • Flat refusal to obey – “If I ever let you and your little ones go!” is an emphatic negative; Pharaoh has no intention of yielding. – Contrast with God’s repeated, explicit command: “Let My people go” (Exodus 9:1; 10:3). • Accusation of evil – “Clearly you are bent on evil.” Pharaoh labels God’s worship plan as wicked, reversing good and evil (Isaiah 5:20). – Demonstrates moral blindness—unable to recognize his own oppression as the true evil (Exodus 1:13–14). • Self-preservation over submission – Fearful of losing a slave workforce, Pharaoh masks politics with spirituality. – Hardened heart clings to power instead of bowing to divine authority (Exodus 9:17). • Pattern confirmed – Previous refusals: Exodus 7:13, 8:15, 9:34. – God’s judicial hardening works alongside Pharaoh’s own stubborn choices (Exodus 9:12; Romans 9:17). Implications • Hardened hearts can use religious language yet resist God’s will. • External pressure (plagues, counsel of officials) cannot soften a heart dead-set against God. • Calling good “evil” betrays a conscience seared by sin’s deceit (Hebrews 3:13). • Continued defiance invites increasing judgment (Proverbs 28:14). Application Snapshot • Examine any sarcastic or dismissive use of God’s Word in our speech. • Watch for times we rationalize disobedience by accusing godly counsel of “evil motives.” • Remember that true submission involves the entire household—young and old alike—just as Moses insisted. • Seek the Spirit’s softening work daily, lest repeated refusals calcify into a Pharaoh-like hardness. |
    |