In Exodus when Moses is trying to get Pharaoh to free the Israelites, it says multiple times that God hardens Pharaoh’s heart, which causes Pharaoh to refuse to let the Israelites go and then God has to send more plagues on Egypt.
So, the question is, “If God wanted the Israelites to be set free, why would He harden Pharaoh’s heart, forcing Himself to send plagues on Egypt?”
If you read close enough, you will find that God actually answers this question with His own words within the story, and while I recommend you read the entire story of Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt, I will put a spotlight on a couple areas you can focus on in order to find this answer.
Exodus 7:3-5 (NLT) But I will make Pharaoh’s heart stubborn so I can multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. Even then Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you. So I will bring down my fist on Egypt. Then I will rescue my forces—my people, the Israelites—from the land of Egypt with great acts of judgment. When I raise my powerful hand and bring out the Israelites, the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.”
Exodus 10:1-2 (NLT) Then the LORD said to Moses, “Return to Pharaoh and make your demands again. I have made him and his officials stubborn so I can display my miraculous signs among them. I’ve also done it so you can tell your children and grandchildren about how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and about the signs I displayed among them—and so you will know that I am the LORD.”
So, according to God, He hardened Pharaoh’s heart so that He would have to send the plagues on Egypt in order to show both the Egyptians and the Israelites that He is the one true God.
The Egyptians used to worship lots and lots of different gods, each god had his or her own special ability and realm of control.
Here are a few examples: they believed in the existence of a goddess named Iset or Isis. She was seen by the Egyptians as both a protector and mother of the Pharaohs. They even used to believe that the Pharaoh who was ruling at any given time in Egypt was the living image of the god of the sky, named Horus. If they wanted something like a good harvest or healthy cattle they would pray and offer sacrifices to the god which they believed controlled those things.
The Israelites had been living in Egypt for a long time at this point and many of them had been born and raised there so some of them had stopped believing in the real God and had started following the Egyptian religion and praying to their idols.
Of course God is not okay with people believing things which aren’t true and praying to idols. So, He had to show the Israelites and the Egyptians the truth about who really created them and how to best live their lives. This is why He sent the plagues, not to punish people, but to show them that their idols do not control the health of their cattle or the sunlight, so praying and sacrificing to idols was a waste of time. The idols are not real and could not do anything. The God of the Bible controls the health of cattle, the sunlight, and everything in existence.
Psalm 115:1-13 (NLT)
Not to us, O LORD, not to us,
but to your name goes all the glory
for your unfailing love and faithfulness.
Why let the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
Our God is in the heavens,
and he does as he wishes.
Their idols are merely things of silver and gold,
shaped by human hands.
They have mouths but cannot speak,
and eyes but cannot see.
They have ears but cannot hear,
and noses but cannot smell.
They have hands but cannot feel,
and feet but cannot walk,
and throats but cannot make a sound.
And those who make idols are just like them,
as are all who trust in them.
O Israel, trust the LORD!
He is your helper and your shield.
O priests, descendants of Aaron, trust the LORD!
He is your helper and your shield.
All you who fear the LORD, trust the LORD!
He is your helper and your shield.
The LORD remembers us and will bless us.
He will bless the people of Israel
and bless the priests, the descendants of Aaron.
He will bless those who fear the LORD,
both great and lowly.
When God performed the plagues He made Pharaoh admit he couldn’t fix the problem himself, despite the fact that Pharaoh and his people all believed that Pharaoh was a god. Every time a plague came on Egypt, Pharaoh had to turn to God to get the plagues to stop. This showed everyone, the Egyptians and the Israelites, that the God of the Bible was who everyone should be worshiping, not false idols.
God didn’t want to just free the Israelites from slavery. He wanted to free them, and the Egyptians, from the lies of a false religion. God wanted them to know the truth about the reality they live in. The truth is that there is only one God and He has the power to control everything. So, it is Him they should be turning to and not some fake gods which humans made up.
Now, what does this mean for us today?
Well, God is and always will be the only true and living God. It is Him you should turn to with your worries and questions. Don’t let yourself get tricked into praying to anything other than the God of the Bible. There are lots of idols and fake gods in the world, but none of them actually have the power to help. Pray and turn to the God of the Bible. He promises us that He loves us and is there for us when we turn to Him
1 John 5:14 (NIV) This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
