Exodus 10:1-2 And the LORD said to Moses, Go in to Pharaoh: for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants… I. BY A MANIFESTATION OF RICH MERCY, WHICH OUGHT TO HAVE MELTED THE HEART OF THE KING. II. BY A MANIFESTATION OF GREAT POWER, WHICH OUGHT TO HAVE SUBDUED THE HEART OF THE KING. III. BY A MANIFESTATION OF SEVERE JUSTICE, WHICH MIGHT HAVE REBUKED THE HEART OF THE KING. IV. BY SENDING HIS SERVANTS TO INFLUENCE THE HEART OF THE KING TO THE RIGHT. God did not harden Pharaoh's heart by a sovereign decree, so that he could not obey His command; but by ministries appropriate to salvation, calculated to induce obedience — the constant neglect of which was the efficient cause of this sad moral result.Lessons: 1. That man has the ability to resist the saving ministries of heaven. 2. That when man resists the saving ministries of heaven he becomes hard in heart. 3. That hardness of heart is itself a natural judgment from God. 4. That hardness of heart will finally work its own ruin. (J. S. Exell, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: And the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh: for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I might shew these my signs before him: |
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