Moses Shall Be “Like God to Pharaoh”
During my Bible study session we came across this, in the book of Exodus:
Chapter 6…
28 Now when the Lord spoke to Moses in Egypt, 29 he said to him, “I am the Lord. Tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I tell you.”
30 But Moses said to the Lord, “Since I speak with faltering lips, why would Pharaoh listen to me?”Chapter 7
Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. 2 You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country. 3 But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in Egypt, 4 he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites. 5 And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.”6 Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded them. 7 Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.
It never really occurred to me just how terrifying a figure Moses must have been to Pharaoh (and especially Pharaoh’s officials). Moses wasn’t actually saying these predictions (of impending plagues, and cutting deals for relief), instead he was presumably just standing there while Aaron relayed the messages.
This is an interesting passage, wherein god admits to being a vengeful fake.
” But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in Egypt, 4 he will not listen to you. ”
And then of course unlistening Pharaoh will thereby bring suffering on the rest of the Egyptians. “Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment.”
And people complain about cable companies with negative-option billing.
God hardened Pharaoh’s heart in the same way He is hardening yours – the same sun melts wax or hardens clay. It’s the nature of the object that determines the effect.
“Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, “TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME, AS IN THE DAY OF TRIAL IN THE WILDERNESS…” Hebrews 3:7,8
Do you really not see that in one quote it is you hardening your own heart and in the other it is god doing the hardening? Most Christians are a bit more careful than you seem to be about telling people and god apart.
No, what I see is that you completely missed the point.
But that’s because Moses first refused to say the things himself, arguing that he wasn’t a good speaker.
It has just occurred to me that he DENIED something that God was asking him, and God wasn’t upset by that. On the other hand Catholics keeping reminding us that Virgin Mary ACCEPTED the mission of giving birth to Jesus. Why that difference? Is Moses worse because of that, maybe?
(I don’t know anything about these topics. Can we compare these Bible people like that?)