What is the meaning of Exodus 9:12? But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart • God’s sovereign action is front-and-center. Long before the plagues began, the LORD told Moses, “I will harden his heart” (Exodus 4:21; 7:3). Romans 9:17-18 echoes the same truth: “Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden.” • The hardening does not make Pharaoh a puppet; it confirms him in the rebellion he already loves. Earlier verses show Pharaoh hardening his own heart (Exodus 8:15, 19). Joshua 11:20 offers a parallel instance where God’s hardening of Canaanite kings sealed a judgment they had earned. • By hardening Pharaoh, the LORD magnifies His glory. “I raised you up…that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth” (Romans 9:17). Each plague, including the hailstorm that has just ended in this chapter, showcases the LORD’s supremacy over Egypt’s gods. and he would not listen to them • “Them” points to Moses and Aaron, God’s appointed messengers (Exodus 9:1). Spurning prophetic warning is a hallmark of hardened hearts (2 Chronicles 36:16; Acts 7:51). • Pharaoh’s refusal is persistent: after the frogs (Exodus 8:15), after the gnats (8:19), after the hail (9:34). The pattern underlines that miraculous signs alone cannot soften a will that resists God. • This deafness illustrates a sobering principle: when people continually reject truth, God may hand them over to deeper deception (2 Thessalonians 2:11). Pharaoh’s closed ears become a cautionary tale for every generation (Hebrews 3:7-8). just as the LORD had said to Moses • The phrase anchors the narrative in God’s unbreakable word. Back at the burning bush the LORD declared, “I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him” (Exodus 3:19). • Each plague fulfills earlier promises: “Yet Pharaoh’s heart is stubborn—he still refuses to let the people go” (Exodus 7:14). Numbers 23:19 reminds us, “God is not a man, that He should lie.” • The reliability of God’s prior statements reassures His people. If He keeps His warnings with precision, He will also keep every promise of deliverance (Exodus 6:6-8). summary Exodus 9:12 spotlights three truths working together: God rules even the hearts of kings (Proverbs 21:1), human rebellion remains morally responsible, and every event unfolds exactly as God said it would. Pharaoh’s hardened heart, his refusal to listen, and the perfect consistency of God’s forecasts all weave into a single tapestry that exalts the LORD’s power and faithfulness. |
    |