Today I read through the entire story of the plagues and the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt. I am very familiar with this story as I used it as the basis for my novel in November. However, when I read the story for Nano, I read it one plague at a time and picked it apart. I was very focused on if I could tell how long the plague lasted, where Moses and Aaron were when they confronted Pharaoh, who that plague affected, what Pharaoh’s response was, etc. Today, I read it like a storybook. Very different experience.
I still have questions about God “hardening Pharaoh’s heart.” I’ve heard a couple explanations, but none that rang true. Most explanations say that God allowed Pharaoh’s heart to be hardened, but that He didn’t actually cause it. The text specifically says in a number of places that “God hardened Pharaoh’s heart.”
Oh, how I wish I understood Hebrew so that I could read the original text. I know I miss so much because I don’t understand the culture and because the language was so different than English. The best example I can think of regarding language differences is Job 1:9.
Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
The word “fear” in English typically means to be afraid, a very negative connotation. In Hebrew, the word actually means “to revere,” “to worship,” or “to be in awe of.”
When I read the above verse, I know that Job worships God, reveres Him, and is in awe of Him. That meaning is very different from Satan asking the Lord if Job is afraid of Him.
