But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he was not willing to let them go. The ninth hardening. The pattern is now familiar: concession nearly complete, God hardens, Pharaoh refuses the final condition. The near-agreement of this moment — women, children, almost everyone — makes the final hardening more poignant. Pharaoh was closer than he has ever been to genuine compliance. But the last hoof withheld is still a hoof withheld, and partial obedience to God's command is disobedience. James 2:10 says whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. Pharaoh's inability to give completely what God asked completely is the story in miniature of every human attempt to manage obedience from a position of residual control.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

Publish a note on this verse