theExodus Governmental Providence
• Exodus 11:9 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Pharaoh will not listen to you, that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt." 10 Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, and the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go out of his land.
In a situation of Governmental Providence, God only allows one outcome.
Governmental Providence • God’s means of control: increasing levels of influence –Truth & LovingKindness –Law & Consequence –National Calamity
• Governmental Providence goes outside of influence to causation.
Means of Control Self-Government
External Government
Final Judgment
Govt Prov
Natl Calamity
Law & Conq
Truth & Lov
0 Influence ---------------------------------------------------------------- Control
100%
When would this need to happen? Who makes it necessary?
Means of Control • God does this with increased consequences. • In the beginning there are no consequences • Consequences step up with each step of selfishness and rejection of God’s direction Pleasant Occupation
Toil & Struggle
Pain & Hardship
Suffering & Death
Means of Control • Whether the regulation is one of force, or instinct, or by mental coercion, the exact desired effects always occur .
• An adequate cause produces a definite result.
Governmental Providence
God will not let selfishness completely derail His goals/plans for the world. This thing WILL happen.
Toward a definition • Governmental:
–Direction, regulation, control or restraint
• Providence: –Level of provision through exercising wisdom to bring forth a desired effect
Pre-Definition
• God works in a situation to remove all possible outcomes except one • (Example: Ezra 1:3) look at whole context. –Or just verses 1 – 5
Definition
• This is the abnormal, unusual control of man by God’s removal of alternative choices. • God removes all possible directions except one, leaving a man with no alternatives to choose.
Definition • Thus, an activity can only go in one direction, in order to establish a specific external event or action which the love and wisdom of God absolutely require in order to maintain a tolerable level of order in the moral universe.
RESULT
This, in effect, temporarily over-rules the person’s will, for a moment removing his moral freedom and accountability.
Accountability 1. A person must have the intellectual ability to actually understand his essential obligations to God and to mankind. 2. A person must have access to truth and let it impress his mind and conscience with what he ought to do. Right action can only follow right understanding. 3. A person must have the ability to obey what he knows he must do.
PURPOSE • God does this in order to bring about some particular plan of His mercy or judgment. • In this way God prepares for the salvation of man, constrains the selfishness of governments within certain bounds, and enacts consequences for the moral choices of individuals and nations. • God had to use this method of rule because of the entrance of sin into the world.
Tower of Babel
• Exodus 11:9 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Pharaoh will not listen to you, that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt." 10 Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, and the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go out of his land.
• Deuteronomy 2:25 This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you on the peoples who are under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you and shall tremble and be in anguish because of you.'
• Joshua 11:20 For it was the LORD's doing to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle, in order that they should be devoted to destruction and should receive no mercy but be destroyed, just as the LORD commanded Moses.
• Proverbs 21:1 The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will.
• 2 Kings 7:6-7 For the Lord had made the army of the Syrians hear the sound of chariots and of horses, the sound of a great army, so that they said to one another, "Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Egypt to come against us." 7 So they fled away in the twilight and abandoned their tents, their horses, and their donkeys, leaving the camp as it was, and fled for their lives.
• Jeremiah 32:27-30
Text in notes below
• Jeremiah 50:9 For behold, I am stirring up and bringing against Babylon a gathering of great nations, from the north country. And they shall array themselves against her. From there she shall be taken. Their arrows are like a skilled warrior who does not return empty-handed.
• Daniel 4:17 The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.‘ [continued next slide]
• Daniel 4:32 and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will."
• Luke 4:28-30 When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29 And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. 30 But passing through their midst, he went away.
• John 7:30 So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.
• Romans 13:1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.
• Revelation 17:16-17 And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire, 17 for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.
FINAL THOUGHTS BEFORE PHARAOH • The thing is…God has the right to do whatever He finds most loving and wise. He alone has the right to rule over people. He has the right to remove people’s wills. • The idea is that He is making sure history goes the right direction to ultimately bring about the right setting for salvation and freedom.
FINAL THOUGHTS BEFORE PHARAOH God’s purpose in history: FREEDOM & people being in right relationship with Him and people
PHARAOH
INTRO • We have to be open to the possibility that there will be moments in history where God has to restrain a person’s will because there is no other way available at that time. That person will not be held accountable for their actions during that time
INTRO • What if God is so powerful that He doesn’t need to use a cause to control the path of history, but uses instead influences that do not control or force man, but promotes the will of God?
Question • What about Pharaoh’s heart being hardened? • Is this God causing him or is it influence? • NOT SURE.
A Possibility • Clay, Butter and the Sun
Harden Three words used for harden 1.Qashah 2.Kabed 3.Chazaq
1.Qashah
S#7185
Idea of “to be hardened, harsh, stiffnecked” Ps 95:8-9 harden not your heart as in wilderness DON’T become stiffnecked against God’s purposes Ex 7:3 & 13:15 (God and Pharaoh) Possible that God just reinforces Pharaoh’s actions and decisions
2. Kabed
S#3513
– difficult, heavy, grievous – To be weighty, heavy – Lowness or dullness of heart (heaviness of heart)
2. Kabed
S#3513
– Pharaoh did it first 5:9 – So God did 8:24, 9:3, 9:24, 10:14 Possibly: Pharaoh glorified his heart (made it most weighty) & God allowed his heart to be exalted (reinforced)
3. Chazaq S#2388 – hold , severe, strengthen, caught, grew, Make effort, encourage, forces, firm, retain, prevail, repair, resolutely, establish secure, help, fasten, stands firmly – STRENGTHEN or ENCOURAGE
3. Chazaq S#2388 – Used 16x in Ex – 12 in reference to God’s interaction w/ Pharaoh – 4 are Pharaoh doing it to himself.
3. Chazaq S#2388 • Deut 1:38 (NASB) 'Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall enter there; encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it. • Josh 23:6 (NASB) "Be very firm, then, to keep and do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, so that you may not turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left
Harden It’s possible that every hardening is just a strengthening or encouraging of what is already there.
Background • Ex 1 – 3 • 80 years of severe persecution (killed the male babies) and slavery. The Egyptians sought to eradicate the Hebrew culture (they’d take the females as wives). • God tells Moses He has heard and known their suffering.
• Absolutely speaking, Pharaoh had no right to keep Israel in Egypt. • Moses had asked for the smallest request possible. (3 day journey) • Pharaoh was tyrannical. In daring defiance of Jehovah, the Pharaoh refused.
• KEY VERSE 2 vs 24 “So God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
• Gen 12:1-3 2-way blessing: SALVATION of WORLD
• What are God’s actions to bring this about and end their suffering? – calls Moses.
•Read this section 3:1022
• Ch. 3:10 • Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt. • Moses is worried about not being qualified to stand before THE Pharaoh! • VS 12 God says I’ll be with you. It’s gonna happen. The people WILL come out of Egypt. • Notice language: “when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.”
• Vs 16-17 God’s message to Israel: • “I am indeed concerned about you and what has been done to you in Egypt. So I said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the…to a land flowing with milk and honey.”
• 3:19 “But I know that the king of Egypt will not permit you to go, except under compulsion.” 20 “so I will stretch out
My hand and strike Egypt with all My miracles which I shall do in the midst of it; and after that he will let you go.” • And so on. Read these verses through 22
Launching In Now Exo 4:21 And the LORD said to Moses, "When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. 22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, 'Thus says the LORD, Israel is my firstborn son, 23 and I say to you, "Let my son go that he may serve me." If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.'"
Pharaoh has set the tone for how God is able to deal with this situation. It was a power struggle. 1. God could give in to Pharaoh. 2. Pharaoh could repent and reveal God’s power to Egypt in that way. 3. God could control Pharaoh through cause & effect. 4. God could break Pharaoh and perform miracles so mighty that Pharaoh would have to say, “Ok. Just go.”
Exo 7:2-5
You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of his land. (3) But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, (4) Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. (5) The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them."
Exo 7:10-13
So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent. (11) Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts. (12) For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs. (13) Still Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the LORD had said.
Exo 7:14 • Then the LORD said to Moses, "Pharaoh's heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go.
10 Plagues
1. Nile to blood 7:15-21
1. Magicians did this too 7:22 2. Pharaoh hardens his heart 7:22-23 (stubborn)
2. Frogs 8:2-6 1. Magicians did this too 8:7
2. Pharaoh hardens his heart 8:15 (READ THIS)
10 Plagues 3. Lice or gnats from dust 8:16-17 1. Magicians couldn’t do this one “this is God” 8:18-19 2. Pharaoh hardens his heart 8:19 (stubborn, unresponsive)
10 Plagues 4. Flies 8:20-32 – Pharaoh hardened his heart (28,32)
5. Death of Livestock 9:1-7 – Pharaoh was hardened 9:7 (strengthened himself all the more in his rebellion)
10 Plagues 6. Boils 9:8-12 – God hardens Pharaoh’s heart “and he did not listen to them, just as the LORD had spoken to Moses” 9:12 – Chazaq (strengthen, encourage)
10 Plagues 7. Hail 9:22-27 – Pharaoh: “I have sinned this time; the Lord is the righteous one, and I and my people are the wicked ones.” 9:27 – Pharaoh sinned and hardened his heart 3513 KABED…Pharaoh’s heart was hardened 2388 CHAZAQ 9:34-35
SIDE NOTE
• What was Pharaoh’s fundamental problem? • It was refusing to be humble and to obey God. • Exod 10:3 (NASU) Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, "Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, `How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, that they may serve Me. 4 `For if you refuse to let My people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory.
10 Plagues 8. Locusts 10:1-20
–God hardened his heart 10:1 –“how long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me?” 10:3 –Pharaoh: “GO!” 10:8-11 • But something not repentant in it. Just saving his skin. Plus God is still dealing with pagan gods (NUT - sky goddess and Osiris - crop god)
10 Plagues 8. Locusts 10:1-20
–Plague of locusts 10:12-15 –Pharaoh: I have sinned 10:16-17 forgive me AND REMOVE THIS DEATH FROM ME (motive for remorse) –God drove it away –But the LORD hardened [CHAZAQ] Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the sons of Israel go.
10 Plagues 9. Darkness 10:21-29 –Plague, ok go, but leave your flocks and herds –Moses: NO! –God hardens [CHAZAQ] pharaoh 10:27 –Pharaoh: get away! Don’t come back. The day you see my face you’ll die! 10:28
10 Plagues 10. Death of Firstborn 11:1-12:30 –God hardened Pharaoh’s heart 11:10 –Pharaoh let God’s people go 12:31-32
10 Plagues
–I will harden Pharaoh’s heart 14:4 –The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh
–14:17-18 I will harden (read this) –14:25 – let us flee from Israel…God is fighting for them. • Perhaps their wills were involved in chasing Israel.
Exodus 5:2 But Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD and besides, I will not let Israel go.”
The Pharaohs always held that their firstborn son was an incarnation of the Sun god Ra. Pharaoh was recognized as being divine and as having everlasting life. God was disproving this assumption.
Practical Lessons 1. even the most astounding miracles cannot cause a man to turn from rebellion. 2. Jesus Himself said that men would not believe even though one rose from the dead.1 History verifies that truth. Jesus commented to those who rejected Him, “You are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.�2
Practical Lessons 3. God reigned victorious over Pharaoh’s terrible pride. Yet this history lesson is ignored by so many, and they press onward in their pride and rebellion.
Practical Lessons 4. God must put an end to the hard heart by bringing fearful judgment. Each conviction suppressed, each admonition stifled, each loving offer rejected, tends towards increasing spiritual hardness. It is wisdom and safety to develop delicate sensitivity to the influences of God's Spirit, and to throw open our hearts to His grace.
Practical Lessons 4. (Cont.) Pharaoh boasted: "Who is Jehovah, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I know not Jehovah, neither will I let Israel go" (5:2),
In kindness, God provided miracles to answer the question.
Practical Lessons God told Moses: ‘I am who I am.’ God is not referring to His unchanging nature, but to the absolute constancy of faithfulness He lives out in His relationship towards man — unchangeable!
Practical Lessons Moses and Aaron threw down his rod, and it became a serpent. It was superior, and swallowed up the serpents of the magicians. The great symbol of Egypt was consumed by something greater. God right then made it perfectly clear that Egypt would be swallowed up because of their worship of false, perverted gods.
Practical Lessons Pharaoh should have understood that, when Aaron's rod swallowed up the others, it pointed to judgment upon Egypt. Pharaoh willfully shut his eyes! Instead of repenting and cooperating with God to turn the people away from their perverted gods, Pharaoh hardened his heart. In Ninevah, the king and the people repented. In Egypt, they hardened themselves, and suffered tragic judgments.
My Final Thoughts
My Final Thoughts
• Ultimately Pharaoh made the choice to rebel against God. • God didn’t force him to sin. • He knew Pharaoh’s heart. • He knew what would happen based on Pharaoh’s heart. • God’s only actions were messages and plagues – no explanation of a something where He changed something in Pharaoh
My Final Thoughts
• God used the plagues to show their religion to be wrong and weak • Pharaoh had exalted himself to such a level of selfishness that all God could do was use that selfishness to destroy their gods, show Himself sovereign and free Israel.
Definition • This is the abnormal, unusual control of man by God’s removal of alternative choices. • God removes all possible directions except one, leaving a man with no alternatives to choose.
RESULT • This, in effect, temporarily over-rules the person’s will, for a moment removing his moral freedom and accountability.
PURPOSE • God does this in order to bring about some particular plan of His mercy or judgment. • In this way God prepares for the salvation of man, constrains the selfishness of governments within certain bounds, and enacts consequences for the moral choices of individuals and nations. • God had to use this method of rule because of the entrance of sin into the world.