“Defiant Leaders” – FBC Morning Light (2/1/2024)

What a good Thursday morning to you. Today, first day of February, by the way,

January of 2024 is in the history books. Today we begin the new month and we continue reading in the book of Exodus.

We're reading Exodus chapters 9 through chapter 11 verse 10. And I want to point out a phrase that recurs over and over again in these couple of chapters in this whole time period of the play gigs.

And it starts off in chapter 9 verse 7 where it says the heart of Pharaoh became hard.

How did it become hard? Well, verse 12 tells us. But the

Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh and Pharaoh didn't heed Moses and Aaron.

And then in verse 35 it says the heart of Pharaoh was hard.

Why was the heart of Pharaoh hard? Because the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh.

And again you see this repeated in chapter 10 verse 1. The Lord said to Moses, go into Pharaoh for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his servants.

I have done this. And chapter 10 verse 20. Chapter 10 verse 20 says the

Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart and he did not let the people of the children of Israel go.

And verse 27, the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart and he would not let them go.

And chapter 11 verse 10 says again the Lord hardened

Pharaoh's heart and he did not let the children of Israel go out of his land. So, you know, get this

Moses and Aaron repeatedly go into Pharaoh and say, you know, let the people go or this plague is going to come on you.

And, you know, sometimes Pharaoh snubs his nose at them, sometimes he tries to make a compromise with them, but in every case he denies them.

And so then the plague comes upon the

Egyptians. And you would think that that would cause Pharaoh to say, get out of here,

I don't want you around anymore, I don't want any more of this to happen. But no, he hardens his heart. But, to be more precise, the

Lord hardened his heart. Well why would he do that? Why would he do that?

Well, the answer is given to us in chapter 9 verse 16, where the

Lord says, indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, he's speaking to Pharaoh, Moses speaking the words of the

Lord to Pharaoh, I have raised you up that I may show my power in you and that my name may be declared in all the earth.

And in chapter 10 verse 1, the Lord said to Moses, I have hardened

Pharaoh's heart and the hearts of his servant that I may show these signs of mine before him.

So the Lord is repeatedly hardening Pharaoh's heart, not allowing the people,

Pharaoh's not going to let the people go, he's not going to give him that liberty. But the Lord says, I'm doing that so that I may show my signs unto him.

In other words, the Lord says, I'm doing that so that I may bring judgment upon these people, especially

Pharaoh and his army, and I may show my glory among the nations.

Now this is something that happened thousands of years ago, but I wonder,

I wonder, when you look around in our world today and you see leaders on the world stage, many of them who are expressing strong, defiant attitudes against God and against God's people, the

Christians, the believers. I wonder, I wonder, how many of those people are like that just because of the wretchedness of the human heart and sin that has, you know, gone to seed and they've just become so hardened and bitter, or it's because God is deliberately hardening their hearts against his people and against himself, so that God may be able to bring glory to himself by showing his judgment upon such leaders and their nations.

I don't have the answer to that question, I said I'm wondering, I just wonder, I wonder how many of how many that is the case.

And then when you look at that couple of verses in chapter 9, verse 16 again, where the

Lord says, indeed for this purpose I've raised you up that I may show my power in you and that my name may be declared in all the earth,

I wonder what national leader the Lord has raised up specifically for that purpose.

I don't know, I don't know, but if there is one, the

Lord will make it clear, time will tell. In the meantime, what we do is we just simply trust and are confident in our

God, who is so powerful and sovereign and authoritative, that he can and will harden hearts for the purpose of the benefit of his people, the fulfillment of his promises, and the bringing of glory to himself.

Let's trust that God. Our Father and our God, we do thank you for who you are and your power, your authority, your sovereignty.

May we bow the knee before that today, we pray in Jesus' name, amen. All right, well listen, have a good rest of your