Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 4:21
And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.
21a. He is to do the portents which God has put in his hand, i.e. not the signs of vv. 2 9 (which were to be done before the people), but those enjoined in v. 17 (E), which ( v. 21) were to be done by Moses before Pharaoh, by means of the ‘rod’: see p. 56.
wonders ] portents. The Heb. mphth is more than a ‘wonder’; it means an unusual phenomenon, natural or supernatural, as the case might be, arresting attention, and calling for explanation: see 1Ki 13:3; 1Ki 13:5 (EVV. sign); Deu 13:1-2; Deu 28:46, Isa 8:18; Isa 20:5 (EVV. wonder); Eze 12:6; Eze 12:11 (EVV. sign). Elsewhere in Ex. it occurs only in P (Exo 7:3; Exo 7:9, Exo 11:9-10): in Dt., coupled with ‘signs,’ it is often used of the ‘portents’ wrought in Egypt (Deu 4:34, Deu 6:22, Deu 7:19 al.). It is quite different from the word rightly rendered wonders in Exo 3:20, and elsewhere.
21b. but I ] the pron. is emphatic. The effect of the portents would be only to ‘harden’ Pharaoh’s heart against letting the people go.
harden ] Lit., as marg., make strong. See on Exo 7:13.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
21 23. A summary statement of what Moses is to do when he comes to negotiate with Pharaoh, of the failure of his first ‘portents’ to produce any effect upon him ( v. 21), and of the threat which he is ultimately to hold out to him ( v. 22 f.).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
I will harden – Calamities which do not subdue the heart harden it. In the case of Pharaoh, the hardening was at once a righteous judgment, and a natural result of a long series of oppressions and cruelties.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Exo 4:21
See that thou do all these wonders before Pharaoh.
Moses before Pharaoh
Israel was under the sovereign control of the King of Egypt. He had property in them. Moses in the name of the Lord suddenly asked Pharaoh to give Israel their freedom. He was startled. He did not acknowledge the Lord. A political petition was presented to him, and he dealt with it on political grounds. It was not a spiritual question which was proposed to Pharaoh. It was exclusively a political question. It was therefore within this sphere that the Divine action was taken, and that action is fitly described in the text as a hardening of Pharaohs heart. The question will then arise, what the meaning of that hardening was, and what useful results accrued from a process which appears to us to be so mysterious. The hardening of Pharaohs heart, as involving the development of a merely political scheme, may amount in effect to no more than this, I will delay the process, this request shall not be granted at once; and I will prolong the process in order that I may bring out lessons for Pharaoh himself, for the children of Israel, and for mankind at large; were Pharaoh to let the children of Israel escape from him at once, the result would be mischievous to themselves; therefore in mercy, not in anger, I will harden Pharaohs heart. So far, the question is not a moral one, except in the degree in which all questions have more or less of a moral bearing. It has been supposed by some that in the case of this exercise of Divine sovereignty, the sum total of Pharaohs wickedness was increased. Not so. There is the greatest difference between wickedness being localized and wickedness being increased. As the history proceeds, we see that the political situation enlarges itself into a spiritual problem. Pharaoh made a promise to Moses, which he did not keep. Thus he hardened his own heart. Applying these lessons to ourselves as sinners, I have now to teach that Jesus Christ tasted death for every man, and that whosoever will may avail himself of the blessings secured by the mediation of the Saviour. If any man excuses himself on the ground that God has hardened his heart, that man is trusting to an excuse in the most solemn affairs of his being which he would not for a moment tolerate in the region of his family life or commercial relations. We must not be sensible in ordinary affairs and insane in higher concerns. Were a servant to tell her mistress that she is fated to be unclean in her habits, that mistress would instantly and justly treat her with angry contempt. Were a clerk to tell a banker that he was fated to come late every morning, and go away early every afternoon, the statement would be received as a proof of selfishness or insanity. Were a travelling companion to tell you to make no attempt to be in time for the steamboat or train, because if you were fated to catch it there would be no fear of your losing it, you would treat his suggestion as it deserved to be treated. Yet men who can act in a common-sense manner in all such little affairs, sometimes profess that they will not make any attempt in a religious direction, because they believe in the doctrine of predestination or fatalism. Wicked and slothful servants, they shall be condemned out of their own mouth! Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Whosoever will, let him come. Him that cometh to Me, I will in no wise cast out. How often would I have gathered you, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! In presence of such statements as these, it must be the very consummation of blasphemy to turn round upon God and say, I wanted to be saved, but Thou didst harden my heart and condemn me to hell. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 21. But I will harden his heart] The case of Pharaoh has given rise to many fierce controversies, and to several strange and conflicting opinions. Would men but look at the whole account without the medium of their respective creeds, they would find little difficulty to apprehend the truth. If we take up the subject in a theological point of view, all sober Christians will allow the truth of this proposition of St. Augustine, when the subject in question is a person who has hardened his own heart by frequently resisting the grace and spirit of God: Non obdurat Deus impertiendo malitiam, sed non impertiendo misericordiam; Epist. 194, ad Sixtum, “God does not harden men by infusing malice into them, but by not imparting mercy to them.” And this other will be as readily credited: Non operatur Deus in homine ipsam duritiam cordis; sed indurare eum dicitur quem mollire noluerit, sic etiam excaecare quem illuminare noluerit, et repellere eum quem noluerit vocare. “God does not work this hardness of heart in man; but he may be said to harden him whom he refuses to soften, to blind him whom he refuses to enlighten, and to repel him whom he refuses to call.” It is but just and right that he should withhold those graces which he had repeatedly offered, and which the sinner had despised and rejected. Thus much for the general principle. The verb chazak, which we translate harden, literally signifies to strengthen, confirm, make bold or courageous; and is often used in the sacred writings to excite to duty, perseverance, c., and is placed by the Jews at the end of most books in the Bible as an exhortation to the reader to take courage, and proceed with his reading and with the obedience it requires. It constitutes an essential part of the exhortation of God to Joshua, Jos 1:7: Only be thou STRONG, rak chazak. And of Joshua’s dying exhortation to the people, Jos 23:6: Be ye therefore VERY COURAGEOUS, vachazaktem, to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law. Now it would he very strange in these places to translate the word harden: Only be thou hard, Be ye therefore very hard and yet if we use the word hardy, it would suit the sense and context perfectly well: Only be thou HARDY; Be ye therefore very HARDY. Now suppose we apply the word in this way to Pharaoh, the sense would be good, and the justice of God equally conspicuous. I will make his heart hardy, bold, daring, presumptuous; for the same principle acting against God’s order is presumption, which when acting according to it is undaunted courage. It is true that the verb kashah is used, Ex 7:3, which signifies to render stiff, tough, or stubborn, but it amounts to nearly the same meaning with the above.
All those who have read the Scriptures with care and attention, know well that God is frequently represented in them as doing what he only permits to be done. So because a man has grieved his Spirit and resisted his grace he withdraws that Spirit and grace from him, and thus he becomes bold and presumptuous in sin. Pharaoh made his own heart stubborn against God, Ex 9:34; and God gave him up to judicial blindness, so that he rushed on stubbornly to his own destruction. From the whole of Pharaoh’s conduct we learn that he was bold, haughty, and cruel; and God chose to permit these dispositions to have their full sway in his heart without check or restraint from Divine influence: the consequence was what God intended, he did not immediately comply with the requisition to let the people go; and this was done that God might have the fuller opportunity of manifesting his power by multiplying signs and miracles, and thus impress the hearts both of the Egyptians and Israelites with a due sense of his omnipotence and justice. The whole procedure was graciously calculated to do endless good to both nations. The Israelites must be satisfied that they had the true God for their protector; and thus their faith was strengthened. The Egyptians must see that their gods could do nothing against the God of Israel; and thus their dependence on them was necessarily shaken. These great ends could not have been answered had Pharaoh at once consented to let the people go. This consideration alone unravels the mystery, and explains everything. Let it be observed that there is nothing spoken here of the eternal state of the Egyptian king; nor does anything in the whole of the subsequent account authorize us to believe that God hardened his heart against the influences of his own grace, that he might occasion him so to sin that his justice might consign him to hell. This would be such an act of flagrant injustice as we could scarcely attribute to the worst of men. He who leads another into an offence that he may have a fairer pretence to punish him for it, or brings him into such circumstances that he cannot avoid committing a capital crime, and then hangs him for it, is surely the most execrable of mortals. What then should we make of the God of justice and mercy should we attribute to him a decree, the date of which is lost in eternity, by which he has determined to cut off from the possibility of salvation millions of millions of unborn souls, and leave them under a necessity of sinning, by actually hardening their hearts against the influences of his own grace and Spirit, that he may, on the pretext of justice, consign them to endless perdition? Whatever may be pretended in behalf of such unqualified opinions, it must be evident to all who are not deeply prejudiced, that neither the justice nor the sovereignty of God can be magnified by them. See Clarke on Ex 9:16.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
In thine hand, i.e. in thy power or commission, to be clone by thy hand, and the rod in it.
I will harden his heart, that he shall he unmerciful to all the groans and pressures of the Israelites, inexorable to the requests of Moses, unmovable and incorrigible by all my words and works. But God doth not properly and positively make mens hearts hard, but only privatively, either by denying to them, or withdrawing from them, that grace which alone can make men soft, and flexible, and pliable to the Divine will; as the sun hardens the clay by drawing out of it that moisture which made it soft; or by exposing them to those temptations of the world or the devil, which, meeting with a corrupt heart, are apt to harden it.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And the Lord said unto Moses,…. At the same time he appeared to him in Midian, and ordered him to go into Egypt, even before his departure thither:
when thou goest to return into Egypt; and when got thither; for before the thing directed to in the next clause could not be done:
see that thou do all these wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in thine hand; not the three signs or wonders, related in the preceding part of the chapter, for they were to be done not before Pharaoh, but before the children of Israel; but these are the wonders he was to do in the sight of Pharaoh, by inflicting the various plagues on him and his people, for refusing to let Israel go, and which God had put in the power of Moses to perform, and that by means of the rod in his hand he ordered him to take with him, Ex 4:17:
but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go; that is, not directly, not for some time, not until all the wonders are wrought, and plagues inflicted to bring him to it: he first hardening his own heart against God, and all remonstrances made unto him, it was but a righteous thing in God to give him up to the hardness of his heart, to deny him his grace, which only could soften it, and to leave him to the corruptions of his nature, and the temptations of Satan; and by leaving him to strong delusions, to believe the lying miracles of his magicians: this the Lord thought fit to acquaint Moses with, lest he should be discouraged by his refusal to dismiss Israel.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
21. When thou goest to return. Moses had not previously enumerated the wonders; but from this verse we gather, that whatever we shall presently read to be done, was already commanded by God. There is then, no doubt, but that God had already advised him of his whole course of proceeding, lest he might yield to the obstinacy of the proud tyrant, and when two or three miracles had been wrought in vain, might cast away his rod, together with the charge committed to him. Now, therefore, God exhorts him to perseverance; and although he might perceive after three or four miracles that the obstinacy of the king was indomitable, still that he should not turn back, nor be discouraged, but should continue even unto the end. This, then, is the sum, that he should not faint nor fail, when he saw the inutility of his first efforts; nor cease to contend boldly till he had fulfilled all the objects of his vocation. Moreover, lest he might think it the effect of chance, that he did not immediately obtain the victory, or might consider it strange that the miracles should be eluded with impunity by a mere mortal, as if he stood before God unconquered in his boldness, God himself foretells that he would be the moderator of all this contest, nay, that whatsoever should seem to oppose the deliverance of his people would arise from his own secret counsel. Thus he shews Moses the reason why he should not stop until he had performed all the miracles; because the tyrant must be gloriously conquered, and overwhelmed in so many hard-fought engagements, that the victory might be more splendid. In the meantime He declares that the king of Egypt would not be thus obstinate contrary to His will; as if He could not reduce him to order in a moment; but rather that He would harden his heart in order that He might violently overwhelm his madness. (59) The word which Moses uses signifies sometimes to apprehend, sometimes to restrain by force, sometimes to strengthen; but it seemed to me that I should best render its sense by the word “ constringo, ” to constrain; since undoubtedly God would make it appear that he would be the President (60) (as it were) of all the contests in which Moses was to engage, so as even to control the heart of his adversary, and to harden it into obstinacy. Since the expression seems harsh to delicate ears, many soften it away, by turning the act into mere permission; as if there were no difference between doing and permitting to be done; or as if God would commend his passivity, and not rather his power. As to myself, I am certainly not ashamed of speaking as the Holy Spirit speaks, nor do I hesitate to believe what so often occurs in Scripture, that God gives the wicked over to a reprobate mind, gives them up to vile affections, blinds their minds and hardens their hearts. But they object, that in this way God would be made the author of sin; which would be a detestable impiety. I reply, that God is very far from the reach of blame, when he is said to exercise his judgments: wherefore, if blindness be a judgment of God, it ought not to be brought in accusation against him, that he inflicts punishment. But if the cause be often concealed from us, we should remember that God’s judgments are not without reason called a “great deep,” and, therefore, let us regard them with admiration and not with railing. But those who substitute his permission in the place of his act, not only deprive him of his authority as a judge, but in their repining, subject him to a weighty reproach, since they grant him no more of justice than their senses can understand.
(59) חזק. Constrinxit, revinxit; hinc roboravit, confirmavit; intransitive etiam invaluit, praevaluit. — Prof J Robertson Clavis Pentateuch, in loco — W
(60) Agonotheta. — Lat. Le maistre du camp. — Fr.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Exo. 4:21-23
THE ANTICIPATION OF CHRISTIAN SERVICE
I. That very frequently God causes good men to anticipate Christian service.
1. It is often anticipated as the hour of severe trial. See that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh. It is almost instinctive in man to anticipate the future, especially if any important duty is awaiting him. And the mental experiences awakened by the thought of future service are often more painful than those which come upon the soul in the hour of its performance. It is right and wise of good men to anticipate religious work, that by prayer and thought they may get prepared for it, that it may not take them by surprise. This kind of anticipation will make them strong in their appearance before Pharaoh. But at such a time it is distrustful of the Divine promise and aid to harbour feelings of timidity and painful anxiety, as they will cover a Christian worker with defeat before he comes to the battle. Good men should not doubtfully anticipate the hour of service, they have everything on their side indicative of victory and success. The joyful experiences in the service, of vision and communion with heaven, will compensate for the difficulty of the work.
2. It is often anticipated as the moral crisis of life. Sometimes a man views a certain service demanded of him as most difficult and importantas more so than any before undertaken. All his fears are awakened, and surround the future toil with a gloom into which there scarcely gleams one ray of hope. The Pharaoh of difficulty is far more prominent in the picture than the God who has promised to help him. Moses no doubt felt that this conflict with Pharaoh would decide his entire future; if successful, he will proceed on the mission of Israels emancipation; if not, he will return, a runaway from duty. Christian workers know what this means. They have frequently undertaken work with the feeling that its issue would have a very happy or injurious effect upon their lives. The destiny of a man has more than once depended upon the performance of one act of important service.
3. It is often anticipated with a desire to make the best use of all the means placed at the disposal of the worker. Moses feels that he must employ in the act of service all the instrumentalities that he can command. God has abundantly prepared him for the task. The Divine Being never sends any man to a great mission without placing at his disposal all the necessary aids to it, and he who neglects to make use of them is guilty of supreme folly and sin. When God sends Christian workers to appear before Pharaoh, He always provides them with a rod to take with them. If we spend much time in thinking over the agencies that are calculated to give success in the approaching mission, we shall be more likely to use them well, than if our only thought be of the difficulty of the work.
4. It is often anticipated as shewing the intention of Providence in reference to the future. After Moses had appeared before Pharaoh, and had passed through his hour of trial, his work would not be ended as the servant of God in the emancipation of Israel. But the result of this interview with Egypts monarch would indicate new work. One service is always suggestive of, and leads into, another. Men, if they are willing, will find employment in the service of God to occupy the whole of their lives.
II. That when God causes good men to anticipate Christian service, He often informs them of their probable difficulties, and of the best method of work.
1. Moses was informed of the moral obstinacy of Pharaoh. The Divine Being is here said to harden the heart of Pharaoh. In subsequent chapters it is said that Pharaoh hardened his own heart. We must therefore view both sides of the case, and find a principle of underlying harmony. God works directly and indirectly: the former when He exerts His own power in any undertaking, the latter when He employs a secondary agency, or when He permits anything to be done. God presented his wish to Pharaoh in reference to the freedom of Israel, accompanied by evidences which ought to have wrought a conviction of duty within his heart, but, being rejected by him, they tended to moral obstinacy. The sun melts some substances while it hardens others, and so it is with the revelation of the Divine will in its effect upon human hearts. Pharaoh had the power to let Israel go free, but he had not the disposition. Moses was informed that he would have to contend with the unwillingness of this monarch. He was thus prepared to meet it.
2. He was told to make use of all his resources of work. See that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand. The Christian has more resources of work than any other workman. They are God given. They were at one time miraculous. Now they are of a purely moral character, and are far more influential, and adapted to the present requirement of human experience and thought. If Christian workers would but make use of all the resources at their command, they would not so frequently have to lament failure, but they would achieve great victories of service.
3. He was told of the method of argument which he was to employ. And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my first-born: And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold I will slay thy son, even thy first-born. This language was authoritative in its demand, pathetic in its mention of Israel, and terrible in its threat to Pharaoh if he refused to grant the request of Moses. LESSONS.
1. It is not wrong to anticipate Christian service.
2. That the voice of God should ever be heard by Christian workers.
3. That a remembrance of God should give hope to all our anticipations of great toil.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Exo. 4:21. God is at hand to instruct servants who are willing to undertake His work.
God alone can put it into the power of creatures to work miracles.
It is Gods will that His servants should see and consider that power delegated.
Gods will is that His miracles should be wrought before His proudest enemies.
Miracles sometimes will not prevail with persecutors to dismiss Gods people.
Hardness of heart is that which makes men resist Gods wonders.
When men harden themselves by sin, God often hardens them by judgment.
Moral obstinacy:
1. A great sin of man.
2. A common sin of man.
3. A sad judgment on man.
MOSES BEFORE PHARAOH
There are, of course, many difficulties, by us insoluble, in connexion with the sovereignty of God. This must be distinctly recognised, and no man must expect to have all mysteries dwarfed to the measure of his own understanding. The greatest of all mysteries is God himself, yet we are not therefore to doubt His existence, or to deny His loving Providence. The mere fact of any question being mysterious does not alter its truthfulness. Look at the text in this spirit; generally in relation to Divine sovereignty three things are clear.
I. That all nations are not equally honoured. This difference amongst the nations is not made by the Bible, or by any system of theology; it is simply a matter of fact. One nation is highly civilized, another is in the lowest condition of barbarism; yet all nations are under the government of the same gracious God. Every day the sun sees some nations worshipping the true Spirit, and others bowing to idols. This is matter of fact, however we may account for it.
II. That all individuals are not equally endowed. We are all men, and yet no two men are alike. In every history you find the great man and the little man, yet all are men, and acknowledge the same God.
III. That Divine judgment is regulated by Divine allotment. We open the Bible and find that to whom much is given, from him shall much be required, and that it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than fur nations which enjoy a fuller revelation of Divine purpose and requirements. First of all, and last of all, it must be our unalterable conviction that God must do right, or He is no longer God. Israel was under the sovereign control of the King of Egypt. He had property in them. Moses in the name of the Lord suddenly asked Pharaoh to give Israel their freedom. He was startled. He did not acknowledge the Lord. A political petition was presented to him, and he dealt with it on political grounds. It was not a spiritual question which was proposed to Pharaoh. It was exclusively a political question. It was therefore within this sphere that the Divine action was taken, and that action is fitly described in the text as a hardening of Pharaohs heart. The question will then arise, what the meaning of that hardening was, and what useful results accrued from a process which appears to us to be so mysterious. The hardening of Pharaohs heart, as involving the development of a merely political scheme, may amount in effect to no more than this, I will delay the process, this request shall not be granted at once; and I will prolong the process in order that I may bring out lessons for Pharaoh himself, for the children of Israel, and for mankind at large; were Pharaoh to let the children of Israel escape from him at once, the result would be mischievous to themselves; therefore in mercy, not in anger I will harden Pharaohs heart. So far, the question is not a moral one, except in the degree in which all questions have more or less of a moral bearing. It has been supposed by some that in the case of this exercise of Divine sovereignty, the sum total of Pharaohs wickedness was increased. Not so. There is the greatest difference between wickedness being localized and wickedness being increased. As the history proceeds, we see that the political situation enlarges itself into a spiritual problem. Pharaoh made a promise to Moses, which he did not keep. Thus he hardened his own heart. Apply these lessons to ourselves as sinners, I have now to teach that Jesus Christ tasted death for every man, and that whosoever will may avail himself of the blessings secured by the mediation of the Saviour. If any man who now hears me is excusing himself on the ground that God has hardened his heart, I charge that man with trusting to an excuse in the most solemn affairs of his being, which he would not for a moment tolerate in the region of family or commercial life. Were your servant to tell you that she is fated to be uncleanly in her habits, you would justly treat her with angry contempt. Were your travelling companion to tell you to make no attempt to be in time for the train, because if you were fated to catch it there would be no fear of your losing it, you would treat his suggestion as it deserved to be treated. Yet men who act in a common-sense manner in all such little affairs as these, sometimes profess that they will not make any attempt in a religious direction, because they believe in the doctrine of predestination. Wicked and slothful servants, they shall be condemned out of their own mouth, Whosoever will let him come.
City Temple.
THE PRIMOGENITURE OF THE GOOD
Exo. 4:22. Israel is my son, even my first-born.
I. That the good have a Divine Father.
1. He is merciful to the children. God was merciful to Israel. Though they had rebelled against Him, and given themselves up to idolatry and degradation, yet in the time of their sorrow, He came to deliver them from slavery. Is there a good man in the universe who can say that God has not been merciful to him? His mercy has been seen in the forgiveness of sin, and in our adoption into His spiritual and heavenly family.
2. He vindicates the children from their foes.
II. That the good have heavenly privileges.
As the sons of God.
1. They have the privilege of high birth. Men may boast of their descent from a renowned ancestry; what ancestry so ancient and renowned as that of the heavenly Father. When a man is born of God, he is allied to the grandest spirits of the unseen universe. Only they who are the subjects of this new birth know the privileges it confers upon them. Nor can the meanest ancestry of earth be excluded therefrom.
2. They have the privilege of good moral culture. In Gods family all the children are well disciplined. They are not exempt from sorrow and pain. Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth. We are made perfect through suffering. This culture of our moral nature is designed to fit us more thoroughly for the high relationship into which we are called, that we may be responsive to all its duties, and in harmony with its sacred destinies.
III. That the good have inspiring hopes.
1. The hope of a happy death. The children of God can die happily. When passing through the valley and shadow of death they are conscious of a companion who can chase away all their fears. He comforts them. In this trying hour the good man joyfully breathes his spirit into the hand of God who gave it. Instance Stephen. The end of that man is peace.
2. The hope of a vast inheritance. There is reserved in heaven for the good a vast inheritance, that is undefiled, and that can never pass away.25 This inheritance of our moral life is the animating hope of our soul.
3. The hope of a sublime future. A future to be spent in eternal communion with God, in perpetual study of His character, in a happy solution of the dark mysteries which so perplexed the soul on earth, and in a service ever welcome. They serve him day and night. In this future we shall be in companionship with the good of all ages, and with them shall hold inspiring converse. Christians are the sons of God.26
1. Live worthy of your Great Parent.
2. Act worthy of your noble ancestry.
3. Embrace your glorious privileges.
4. Let nothing dim your bright hopes.
Exo. 4:23. The Divine intention in the moral freedom of man. Let my son go, that he may serve me.
I. That God has a definite purpose in the moral freedom of men.
He does not relieve men from one kind of slavery that they may go into anothernot that they may spend life in inactivity. Indolence is not freedom. His great aim is to bring men from the tyranny of passion, pride, covetousness, and self, into the freedom of a tranquil, humble, and self-denying service. Hence the Divine preparation that is given to the varied agencies that are to achieve this freedom.
II. That the purpose of God in the moral freedom of men is that they should serve Him.
1. That we should serve Him in our business.
2. That we should serve Him in our social life.
3. That we should serve Him with all our energies.
Why should we serve Him?
(1) Because we are His sons.
2. Because of the freedom He has wrought for us.
The service of God is perfect freedom. Would that men were as earnest about their moral freedom as they are in reference to their civil. In the service of God we gain the highest remuneration.
Gods ambassadors, though never so mean, must speak to kings what God enjoineth them.
Gods name must be attached to His message, that kings may stoop to hear it.
Gods Church is His first-born.
Jehovah requireth His first-born from the hand of all oppressors.
The wicked powers of Hell will deny the dismission of Gods Son as long as they can hold him.
The sons of the world God will slay for the redemption of His own.
Gods first-born sons are dearer to Him than all the first-born of the world.
A Divine threat:
1. Claims attention.
2. Certain of Execution.
3. Stern in requirement.
ILLUSTRATIONS
BY THE
REV. WM. ADAMSON
Exo. 4:21-23.
(20)Hope!Dr. Judson was once asked whether the prospect of the speedy conversion of the heathen was bright; whereupon he immediately responded: as bright as the promises of God. On these promises Moses was to rely. On these divine assurances Moses was to hope; for God assured him that. He would certainly be with him. This hopeas Smiles has itis like the sun which, as we journey towards it. casts the shadow of our burden behind us. So Moses found when he laid hold of the Divine Assurance. The islanders of St. Kilda gain their subsistence by searching for nests along dangerous heights and down precipitous cliffs. Their waists are girdled with a cord let down from above. Moses girdled his heart with the golden cord of Gods promises, ere be lowered himself from Horebs frowning heights to Egypts dark abyss.
With him went Hope in rank, a handsome maid,
Of cheerful look, and lovely to behold;
In silken samite she was light arrayd,
And her fair locks were woven up in gold.
Spenser.
Exo. 4:21-23.
(21)Wonders!The scientific man asserts as the latest generalization of his science that there is in nature the uniformity of natural sequencein other words, that nature always moves along the same path, and that law is a necessity of things. He thus indirectly asserts the probability of miraclesindeed admits them; for where there is no law there is no transgression, and the very belief in miracles depends upon this uniformity. In nature there are deviations from this law of uniformity; and so it is in grace. God has a certain course of dealing generally with man, and He is pleased to diverge from that course at timesthat the exception may prove the rule:For
Order is heavens first lawa glorious law,
Seen in those pure and beauteous isles of light
That come and go, as circling months fulfil
Their high behest.
Milton.
Exo. 4:21-23.
(22)Fear!Fear secretes acids, but love and trust are sweet juices. Who has not learned this as truly as Moses did? The fear of man bringeth a snare; but whoso trusteth in the Lord, mercy encompasseth him on every side. It is like a hedge which keeps off the wild beasts; like the coral reef, which baffles the angry waves in their recurring daily attempts to leap over and disturb the calm still lagoon of tropical islands.
The saints should never be dismayed,
Nor sink in hopeless fear;
For when they least expect his aid,
The Saviour will appear.
Exo. 4:21-23.
(23)Divine Sovereignty!Bishop Hall says, I leave Gods secrets to Himself: it is happy for me that God makes me of His court, and not of His counsel. As another expresses himself, it is not given to man to discover all the works and ways of God, either in nature or in grace. Perhaps those of naturenotwithstanding all our beasted discoveries and pride of sciencelie as unknown to us as the wide forest to the microscopic insect, whose life is a day, and whose world is a leaf. Laplace wrote that it was the little that we knew, the great that remained unknown. And Newtons matchless imagery of the pebbles on the seahorse displays the profound conviction of the Christian philosopher that we areign rant of far more than we know. Nor is the warning of puritan Adams out of date when he monishes that he who will be sifting every cloud may be smitten with a thunderbolt:
Those puzzled souls of ours grow weak,
With beating their bruised wings against the rim
That bounds their utmost flying, when they seek
The distant and the dim.
Ingelow.
Exo. 4:21-23.
(24)Mysteries!It is for man to accept them. Grosart remarks that he could drink of the clear, cool spring, though he might not hope to pierce the awful foundation of granite from whence it came gushing up. I can rejoice in the shining sun, and fan my check with the breathing wind, though I am ignorant as an infant of the great palace of light, and know not whence the wind cometh. Believing, where we cannot prove
As sinks the moaning river in the sea,
In silver peace, so sinks my soul in Thee,
Stowe.
Exo. 4:21-23.
(25)Future Hopes!Moses had respect unto the recompense of the reward. Gods reward is exceeding great. When Zelilaus lost his hand in the service of his master, the king of Poland, he received from him a golden hand in its place. Agrippa had suffered much for Caligula at Rome, who therefore upon his elevation to imperial power presented him with chains of gold equivalent in weight to the iron fetters he had worn in the dungeon. Gods reward reserved in heaven is a vast inheritance, incorruptible and undefiled, a crown of righteousness, an exceeding and eternal weight of glory. And as the workman is paid after his work is done; so the Christian is rewarded when life is ended
For loss, nor shame, nor grief, nor sin, His promise may gainsay;
The name Divine bath spoke within, and God did neer betray.
Adams.
Exo. 4:21-23.
(26)Eternal Prospect!Melvill likens it to a glorious morning, with the sun rising higher and higherone blessed springtime, and yet richer summer, every plant in full flower, but every flower the bud of a lovelier. It would, however, be a poor prospect which such beings as ourselves could comprehend or anticipate. Give me, says one, the majestic cloudthe oracular veilthe mighty shadows which recede as we advance, filling the mind with amazement. I wish, when I have climbed the highest pinnacle that sanctified conception can soar to, to be compelled to own that I have not reached the base of the everlasting hills, whence to survey the eternal prospects:
Go, wing thy flight from star to star,
From world to luminous world as far
As universe spreads its flaring wall:
Take all the pleasures of all the spheres,
And multiply each through endless years,
One minute of heaven is worth them allMoore.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(21) All those wonders.Not the three signs of Exo. 3:3-9, but the portents or wonders which were to be done before Pharaoh, and which had been alluded to in Exo. 3:20. These were, in the counsel of God, already put into Moses hand, though their exact nature was as yet unknown to Moses himself.
I will harden his heart.The hardening of Pharaohs heart has been the subject of much controversy. It is ascribed to God in this place, and again in Exo. 7:3; Exo. 9:12; Exo. 10:1; Exo. 10:20; Exo. 10:27; Exo. 14:4; Exo. 14:8; to Pharaoh in Exo. 8:15; Exo. 8:32; and Exo. 9:34; to the action of the heart itself in Exo. 7:13; Exo. 7:22; Exo. 9:7; Exo. 9:35. It is conceivable that these may be simply three forms of speech, and that the actual operation was one and the same in every case. Or, three different modes of operation may be meant. It is in favour of the latter view, that each term has a period during which it is predominant. In the narrative of what happened, the action of the heart is itself predominant in the first period; that of Pharaoh on his heart in the second; that of God in the third. We may suppose that, at first, Pharaohs nature was simply not impressed, and that then his heart is said to have hardened itself, or remained hard; that after a while, he began to be impressed; but by an effort of his will controlled himself, and determined that he would not yield: thus hardening his own heart; finally, that after he had done this twice (Exo. 8:15; Exo. 8:32), God stepped in and smote him with a spirit of blindness and infatuation, as a judgment upon him (Exo. 9:12), thus, finally, hardening him (comp. Rom. 9:18). This divine action was repeated, on three subsequent occasions (Exo. 10:20; Exo. 10:27; Exo. 14:8), Pharaohs time of probation being past, and God using him as a mere means of showing forth His glory. There is nothing in this contrary to the general teaching of the Scriptures, or to the Divine Perfection.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
21. I will harden his heart Lest Moses should be despondent in his long conflict with Pharaoh’s obstinate disobedience, he is now assured that this also has been fully foreseen and provided for by Jehovah, for it is to be taken up into His plan as one of the evils which “work together for good” to God’s elect . Rom 8:28. It would give Moses hope and courage to know that no step of the struggle had been unforeseen and unprovided for . Every action, good and bad, may be viewed in two aspects, either as proceeding from the voluntary and responsible agent, or as used by God in his providence; and it is the latter, or divine side, that is here specially emphasized, because the history is specially a history of providence of the divine overruling . Yet both sides of the action are in this narrative equally presented, for it is notable that, while we read here ten times that God “hardened the heart” of Pharaoh, we read precisely the same number of times that “Pharaoh hardened his heart,” or that his heart “was hardened,” “stiff,” or “heavy . ”
But this is not the whole meaning, nor is the interpretation adequate, that God permitted rather than caused. Hardness of heart is a judgment proceeding directly from God. It is a consequential punishment of sin. But before God inflicts this penalty man has deserved it by trifling with God’s goodness and mercy. Increasing stubbornness and moral insensibility are the judicial consequences of conscious resistance to God’s will; and this judgment proceeds directly from God, while the sin which invokes the judgment and brings man within the range of these consequences proceeds from man. Thus Pharaoh hardened his heart, and yet it was hardened by Jehovah. While ignorant of Jehovah, disobedience to his law could not harden him; but, from the moment that he knew him, resistance hardened. For this conscious disobedience and this judicial consequence Pharaoh was responsible. This sin of his was, moreover, foreseen. The prediction here made to Moses, and the providential preparations for the punishment of Pharaoh’s sin, were the effects of that sin, divinely foreseen as, in a lower sphere, the erection of court-houses and jails are the effects of sin humanly foreseen. But knowledge, whether fore or after, in man or God, can never be the cause, but is ever the effect, of the thing known. See notes on Rom 8:29; Rom 9:18.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Three Sons ( Exo 4:21-26 ).
This section could be described as being at the heart of the book of Exodus, for it deals with three attitudes that lie at the heart of God’s dealings with the world: His dealings with Israel, His dealings with Pharaoh and His dealings with each individual who is to serve Him. It takes up three aspects of sonship and faces us all up with a choice, for each of us must decide whose sons we will be. And the passage centralises on Yahweh’s attitude towards these three sons.
The first sonship relates to Yahweh Himself. In Exo 4:22 He declares true Israel’s relationship with Him. He declares, ‘Israel is my son, my firstborn.’ What amazing words were these. They depicted God’s love for Israel as being like a father’s love for his firstborn son. He was declaring that they had become so precious to Him that He had adopted them as His firstborn. It was they who were chosen to receive His inheritance. It is this concept that lies at the root of all that will follow. In His sovereign power He has elected to make them His son (compare Deu 7:6-8; Deu 14:1; Deu 1:31 also Exo 19:5-6). And the corollary was, woe betide those who failed to treat His firstborn son rightly. It should, however, be noted that here it is Israel as a whole which is His son, Israel as He intended it to be. It was on them that He had set His love.
In contrast with Yahweh’s firstborn is the firstborn of Pharaoh (Exo 4:23). Here was one whom Pharaoh treasured, and who was paraded as a budding god, one who was the delight of Egypt. And Pharaoh was to be warned that if he did not deal rightly with Yahweh’s firstborn, his own firstborn would be slain. Behind this warning lies the very basis on which the world exists. The world as represented by Egypt is responsible for its response to God and His people. And if the world does not respond rightly then it can only come into judgment, and will be punished like for like.
But there is a third son brought into the reckoning, and that is Moses’ own son, although he is not said to be his firstborn, even if in context it might be assumed. And here was a real problem. Moses’ son had not been circumcised. He was not marked off as belonging to God, and because of this was ‘cut off’ from the people of God (Gen 17:14). He was not a part of God’s firstborn son. This demonstrated Moses’ divided loyalty. Here was a paradox indeed. On the one hand this son was the son of God’s chosen servant, but on the other he was aligned with those who were not of God because Moses had not circumcised his son. This situation could not be allowed to continue and explains the severity of the passage. Moses had to choose to Whom his son and his family would belong. Would they belong inside the covenant or outside it? Would their future lie with Israel, or with their tribe? Behind the passage lies a message to us all. Whose son will we choose to be? And by our response will be determined our destiny.
Exo 4:21-23
‘And Yahweh said to Moses, “When you go back into Egypt see that you do before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in your hand, but I will make his heart strong and he will not let the people go. And you will say to Pharaoh, ‘Israel is my son, my firstborn, and I have said to you let my son go that he may serve me. And you have refused to let him go. Behold I will slay your son, your firstborn.’ ” ’
Yahweh now let Moses know what was in store for him. He told him that he must begin by showing Pharaoh the wonders that he would first have shown to the elders of the children of Israel. That was why he had brought with him the rod of God. But Yahweh would give Pharaoh strength of heart to resist so that he would refuse to let them go to worship Yahweh. It will, however, be noticed later that at first Pharaoh hardened his own heart. The divine will and the human purpose went along in parallel. It was only later, once Pharaoh had proved his obduracy, that God’s action was more direct.
Then he must issue him with a dire warning. He must tell him that Israel is to Yahweh like a firstborn son, beloved and treasured, and that because he has refused them permission to go to worship Him and offer sacrifices to Him in the wilderness He will slay Pharaoh’s firstborn in return. If he sought to break Yahweh’s heart, Yahweh would break his heart. This will be a direct challenge to Pharaoh’s deity. He may see himself as a god, as may his people, but the assertion is that he will not be able to protect his son, also a budding god. And he will deserve it.
The use of the term firstborn demonstrates how important Yahweh’s people are to Him. The firstborn son was always received with the greatest joy. Here was the one who would inherit and maintain the continuance of the family name. Here was the one who would receive the choice portion. He was highly prized. And this was what Israel were to God. But the idea behind the word ‘Israel’ is fluid. It was not fixed and immutable. Men could refuse to be recognised as Israelites, and God would let them go. Men could prove that they were not Israelites by their behaviour and then God would cut them off. And men could become Israelites by joining permanently the households of those who were, by being circumcised into the covenant (Exo 12:48) and by committing themselves to Yahweh.
The significance of the application of this term firstborn is brought out in Deuteronomy. They are the people chosen and loved by Yahweh from their commencement, a holy people and a special treasure which was why He had bound Himself to them by an oath (Deu 7:6-8).
So in all this central to God’s actions is His love for Israel. As the descendants of Jacob they are as a firstborn son to Him. As He cherished Abraham, Isaac and Jacob so will He cherish these His people. He is their father and they are his adopted son, treated as His firstborn and therefore of great importance. This will one day be a strong weapon in the hands of the prophets as they seek to convince Israel and Judah of their sins (Mal 1:6) and a basis on which the people will plead with God (Isa 63:16; Isa 64:8). See also Psa 68:5. Yet it is not a prominent thought in the prophetic teaching.
This is the second use in Exodus of ‘Israel’ without the phrase ‘children of–’ (see Exo 3:16 and contrast Exo 4:29). In both cases it is caused by the requirements of the thought. In the first ‘elders of Israel’ still has in mind that these men stand in the place of and represent Israel/Jacob as heads of the tribe, here it is used by God as a collective personal name, with Jacob as the representative of the fathers well in mind, for the purpose of speaking to Pharaoh. (See also on Gen 34:7; Gen 49:7). It is also the name by which Pharaoh will speak of the children of Israel (Exo 5:2). There will be a gradual movement towards using it as a tribal name but it has not yet solidified. It will be a slow and gradual process. However, from now on Pharaoh sees them mainly as ‘Israel’ (5:1-2; 9:4; 14:5).
The wonders which I have put in your hand.’ This refers to his staff which was now the symbol of his authority and power from God, and was the evidence of what God would do through Moses.
“I will make his heart strong.” But why should God give Pharaoh the strength to resist Him? Instead of love, for Pharaoh there is to be a hardening. The answer lies partly in the way that He has made men, and is partly given in the account that follows. In one sense it was Pharaoh who strengthened his own heart against God. Literally ‘his heart was heavy’. But then God would confirm his attitude and, as it were, give him a little help through circumstances so that he kept firm. Indeed it was necessary for Him to do so, so that Pharaoh could learn his lesson. We have here the paradox of God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility. Pharaoh would in fact have been hardhearted in this matter whatever God did. But the writer recognises that all is of God, and therefore if he was hardhearted, then God had done it. (And even then Pharaoh chased after Israel once he had let them go, which was very much the result of his own hardness of heart).
Furthermore there would come a time, foreseen by God, when he had so hardened himself that every attempt to soften him could only result in a further hardening. Then God knew that everything He did would harden Pharaoh’s heart even more. So He could say quite truly, ‘I will harden his heart.’
As we have seen, in contrast to Yahweh’s firstborn is the firstborn of Pharaoh. He was the pride and hope of Egypt. But Pharaoh is warned that because he will not deal rightly with Yahweh’s firstborn, his own firstborn will be doomed. What a man sows he will reap.
This thought of the slaying of the firstborn now leads on to an incident in Moses’ life that followed these words, where Moses life was put in danger because his son has not been circumcised. It is not only Pharaoh who was to be judged if he failed to obey God. Here was Moses going to deliver God’s firstborn, a sonship evidenced by their having been circumcised, and yet at least one of his own sons was not circumcised. We may even surmise that God had put a strong feeling within him that he should circumcise his sons, but had been strongly resisted in the case of one by his wife.
Exo 4:24-26
‘And it came about on the way, at the lodging place, that Yahweh met him and sought to cause his death. Then Zipporah took a flint, and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at his feet. And she said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me.” So he let him alone. Then she said, “A bridegroom of blood because of the circumcision.” ’
It is clear from this passage that at least one of Moses’ sons had not been circumcised. But now that Moses was going among his own people, to whom circumcision was a sign of the covenant, this could not be allowed. It was a sign of disobedience and refusal to respond to the covenant requirements. And it may well have indicated the divided loyalties of his family. And this with Moses of all people, the one who would act in the name of the covenant! Thus God moved in to warn him.
“Her son.” The relative pronoun may signify that she saw the firstborn as especially her son, or it may be that while Moses had insisted on circumcising his firstborn son, his wife had claimed the second to be more peculiarly hers, and had resisted his being circumcised.
“Yahweh met him and sought to cause his death.” (Literally ‘to kill him’). Clearly this means that in some way Moses was brought face to face with death, probably through some illness, in a way that made him and his wife conscious of their flagrant disobedience. (Had Yahweh really wanted to kill him he would have been dead). It is clear that Zipporah knew precisely where the problem lay, for she acted rapidly and circumcised her son, averting the threat of death. This suggests that she had been holding out against it and was only brought to submit by the perilous situation.
“At the lodging place.” Because he had his family with him it is possible he lodged at some kind of primitive inn, but such would be unlikely here in the wilderness. It may simply mean that they received hospitality in a tent, or in a lean-to left to be used by travellers, or took up residence by a convenient spring.
“Took a flint.” It was the custom that circumcision as an ancient rite had to be performed with a flint knife (compare Jos 3:5). This was in fact a good custom as a flint knife would be sterilised.
“Of her son.” In Exo 4:20 she had more than one son, but it may be that it was recognised that it was the circumcision of the firstborn that was important at this point. Or perhaps one had already been circumcised as suggested above, and this was the second son whom she looked on as more peculiarly her own.
“Cast it at his feet.” Literally ‘made it touch his feet.’ Presumably as an offering to Yahweh to avert the tragedy, like the application of the blood of sacrifice, or possibly in annoyance at what was to her a distasteful rite, or because she was having to choose between loyalty to her tribe and loyalty to Moses and to Yahweh. It may have been that, having given way on the first son, she had opposed the circumcision of her second son (or vice versa). Thus one son was part of Yahweh’s ‘firstborn’ while the other paralleled Pharaoh’s firstborn.
“Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me.” Her words are considered important for they are repeated twice. It would appear to be an indirect petition, a pious petition to Yahweh, signifying that the required blood had been spilt. Or it may have been a complaint suggesting that marriage to him had introduced her to this distasteful rite of blood. She may have been saying ‘It was not until I married you that I had to put up with this kind of thing.’
Blood was in fact important in all serious relationships. Covenants were sealed in blood. It may thus be that she was angry at being forced into a covenant that she did not want to partake in, and recognised that now the covenant blood was binding on her too.
“Because of the circumcisions.” Circumcision is in the plural. This may simply be a plural of intensity indicating the importance of circumcision, or it may be seen as confirming Zipporah’s anger that she had previously had to circumcise one son, and had now had to circumcise the other. It would seem to confirm that both sons had now been circumcised.
A vital lesson arises from this passage to which we must all take heed, and that is that it is no good our going forward to take our place in the purposes of God if there is failure with our own personal lives. Unless we are prepared to put right our personal lives and cease to have divided loyalties then seeking to serve God can only bring us into judgment. It is an insult to God. We must first make right the situation and then we can come and offer our gift (Mat 5:23-24).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Exo 4:21. Goest to return Houbigant renders this, And the Lord said unto him, when he was returning into Egypt. The Vulgate renders it in the same manner.
I will harden his heart For a full explication of this phrase, see the note on ch. Exo 9:34.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
So many objections vain and carnal men have in all ages brought against the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart; that I wish the Reader, be who he may, to pause once for all over this account of it, and consider seriously the justice, as well as the wisdom, displayed in it. Every man by nature since the fall is averse to divine things and, if this aversion be not removed by Almighty grace, becomes more and more so in proportion as the demonstrations of God’s sovereignty are brought before the hardened heart; so that it may be truly said, God hardens the heart by every renewed instance which he displays. Hence the miracles which Moses at God’s command wrought before Pharaoh, tended but to this purpose. So that while the children of Israel felt more convinced in every succeeding miracle, that the Lord was about to deliver them; Pharaoh and his people became more callous to conviction. Just as the same heat which melts the wax until it be dissolved, when applied to the clay tends only to harden it the more. See those scriptures. 2Co 4:3-4 ; Heb 3:12-13 ; Isa 6:9-10 ; Rom 11:5-10 ; 2Th 2:8-12 ; Rom 1:28-32 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Exo 4:21 And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.
Ver. 21. But I will harden his heart. ] With a judiciary penal hardness. And thus God is in this book eight times said to have hardened Pharaoh’s heart: thrice it is said that he hardened his own heart, and five times his heart is said to have been hardened – viz., by the devil, through the just judgment of God.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
I will harden = I will embolden. By Hebrew idiom active verbs of doing are used of suffering or permitting a thing to be done. Compare Gen 31:7, e.g. Hebrew “God did not give him to do me evil”. Compare Authorized Version Exo 5:22. Psa 16:10 (give = suffer); Jer 4:10 (deceived = suffered to be deceived). So Eze 14:9; Eze 20:25. Mat 6:13; Mat 11:25 (hid = not revealed); Exo 13:1. Act 13:29 (took him down = permitted). Rom 9:18 (hardeneth = suffereth to be). Used six times by Jehovah (Exo 9:12; Exo 10:1, Exo 10:20, Exo 10:27; Exo 11:10; Exo 14:8), but not till Pharaoh had done it seven times. Three words used for “harden”:
(1) hazak = to brace or tighten up (opposite to relax). Compare Exo 4:21; Exo 7:13, Exo 7:22; Exo 7:8.; Exo 9:12, Exo 9:35; Exo 10:20, Exo 10:27; Exo 11:10; Exo 14:4, Exo 14:8, Exo 14:17 (and once of the Egyptians, Exo 12:33), thirteen times in all.
(2) kashah = to make sharp, hard, severe, cruel. Used twice, Exo 7:3; Exo 13:15 (compare Gen 49:7).
(3) kdbed = to become heavy (Exo 7:14; Exo 8:15, Exo 8:32; Exo 9:7, Exo 9:34; Exo 9:10. Exo 9:1), six times.
It was in each case God’s clemency and forbearing goodness which produced the hardening. That good ness which “leadeth to repentance “(Rom 2:4): just as the same sun which softens the wax hardens the clay.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
harden his heart
(Cf) Exo 8:15; Exo 8:32; Exo 9:34. In the face of the righteous demand of Jehovah and of the tremendous attestations by miracle that He was indeed God, and that Moses and Aaron were His representatives, Pharaoh “hardened his heart.” Instrumentally God hardened Pharaoh’s heart by forcing him to an issue against which he hardened his own heart in refusal. Light rejected, rightful obedience refused, inevitably hardens conscience and heart. Rom 9:17-24.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
wonders: Exo 3:20
I will harden: Exo 7:3, Exo 7:13, Exo 9:12, Exo 9:35, Exo 10:1, Exo 10:20, Exo 14:8, Gen 6:3, Deu 2:30-33, Deu 2:36, Jos 11:20, 1Ki 22:22, Psa 105:25, Isa 6:10, Isa 63:17, Joh 12:40, Rom 1:28, Rom 9:18, Rom 11:8-10, 2Co 2:16, 2Th 2:10-12, 1Pe 2:8
Reciprocal: Exo 8:15 – he hardened Exo 8:32 – General Exo 9:34 – and hardened Exo 10:27 – General Exo 11:10 – the Lord Exo 14:4 – harden 1Ki 22:23 – the Lord 2Ch 18:22 – the lord hath
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Exo 4:21-23. Which I have put in thy hand In thy power: I will harden his heart After he has frequently hardened it himself, wilfully shutting his eyes against the light, I will at last permit Satan to harden it effectually.
Thus saith the Lord This is the first time that preface is used by any man, which afterward is used so frequently by all the prophets: Israel is my son, my firstborn Precious in my sight, honourable, and dear to me. Let my son go Not only my servant, whom thou hast no right to detain, but my son, whose liberty and honour I am jealous for. If thou refuse, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn As men deal with Gods people, let them expect to be themselves dealt with.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Exo 4:21-23 J. The Death of Pharaohs Firstborn is Threatened.
Exo 4:22 f. seems to have been moved back hither from before Exo 10:28 to serve as a general introduction to the Plagues, receiving Exo 4:21 as preface. The portents of Exo 4:21 are not the signs of Exo 4:2-9 J, to be done for Israels benefit, but those of Exo 4:17 E, to be done with the rod before Pharaoh.With Exo 4:22 cf. Hos 11:2. The prophetic intuition which saw Yahwehs love for Israel as a fathers for his firstborn became one of the grand commonplaces of Heb. religion. We find it christened in Gal 3:26-29. It may have had its root in a cruder notion, found outside the OT, of a physical relation between a people and a divine ancestor, but in Israel, as Driver points out, the idea was spiritual.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
4:21 And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will {i} harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.
(i) By receiving my spirit and delivering him to Satan to increase his anger.