SCRIPTURE: Exodus 10
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them [Matthew 13:12]. If we take the words of Exodus 10 at face value, then we can hardly blame pharaoh for being stubborn – God made him stubborn! The words of Jesus quoted above shed more light on this.
If a person has an open heart and mind, and if they are willing to listen and learn, they will receive understanding and knowledge. This is just plain common sense, we see it in schools and life all the time. The opposite is also true, if a person has a closed heart and mind, and if they are not willing to listen and learn, they will become even more foolish and ignorant.
The wisdom and truth of God is coming at us all the time. This is the ‘word’ or ‘message’ of God which, like a seed, is thrown by the sower over the fields. In the parable of the sower, the determining factor on whether the seed produced was the condition of the heart [Matthew 13:19-23].
Pharoah’s heart was closed, he was not open to listening or learning. Therefore “even what little understanding he had was taken away from him”. This is what it means when it says God made his heart stubborn.
God is not being cruel, He is actually being gracious. It is not until the pride of his heart is broken that he might be able to come to his senses. God allows us to crash so that we can wake up.
The question for me is, am I open or closed? Where am I not listening, where am I being stubborn? It’s easy to see the folly of Pharoah’s stubbornness, yet we are blind to our own folly. This is normal, we are usually quick to spot other peoples’ mistakes, yet ignore our own.
Why is it that when Jesus was born, so many of the Jews who wanted a messiah did not want to accept Him, especially the religious leaders? Their hearts were closed to the kind of savior that He was.
PRAYER:
Lord, open my eyes to see myself from Your perspective. Help me to be open, and willing to learn.