Walk the Walk

Unveiling the Hardened Heart: Pharaoh's Tale and the Choice of Eternal Destiny

• Tina Perry

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Discover the true significance behind Pharaoh's hardened heart as we venture into the narrative depths of the book of Exodus. Pharaoh's legacy, often clouded by misconceptions of inherent goodness, is laid bare, revealing the chilling reality of his malevolence from the very start. Delving into the realm of spirituality and destiny, our episode peels back the layers of ancient scripture to find startling parallels in our modern world. From the alarming parallels between Pharaoh's heart and the way substances can reveal our darkest traits, to the broader consequences of his actions that rippled through an entire kingdom, we tackle the hard questions about divine will and human agency.

Then, steel yourself as we grapple with the ultimate choice that confronts every soul: Heaven or Hell. The episode casts a spotlight on the eternal weight of this decision, rooted in the Christian tenet that our earthly bonds with Jesus Christ forge our afterlife's fate. It's a pressing call for introspection and a candid discussion on the potential of a hardened heart to seal one's doom. For those wrestling with doubt or seeking spiritual clarity, this episode is an urgent nudge toward understanding the path to redemption. Join us for a compelling exploration of biblical history, personal faith, and the hope that lies in the possibility of transformation.

Speaker 1:

Hello and welcome to Walk the Walk. Well, if you're following along in reading your Bible, you would probably be now in the book of Exodus. So we've gotten through Genesis. We've gotten through Job. If you're reading it chronologically, you'll have read Job, because apparently that's the time span of when Job has happened. So in my chronological Bible it goes from Genesis to Job to Exodus.

Speaker 1:

This is a very intriguing book of the Bible and can be kind of confusing for some of us. Who want to know excuse me, I'm adjusting my microphone who want to know why did God harden the heart of Pharaoh? Some people their take on God hearting his heart. Is God making Pharaoh do something that he would not normally do? Let's all take a look at Pharaoh Now.

Speaker 1:

Don't put Pharaoh in the category of a good old guy, a good old boy. He just, you know, loved people, and God came along and gave him this heart, this stone cold heart. Actually, it's just the opposite. Pharaoh was a very bad, evil man, and you're saying well, how do you know that? Well, what did he order about the firstborn of the Israelites? That their firstborn male was to be killed off because he knew the power of reproduction? Obviously you would need a male as well. And you're saying well, why didn't he kill all the firstborn women or girls? Well, because Pharaoh had a men of his own that he could pair up and force these women to have sex with his men. So I digress a little bit there, but I want to go back to the heart of Pharaoh. Pharaoh's heart was already stone, it was already hardened. It wasn't like all God came along and softened this good old guy into being bad.

Speaker 1:

When I look up the word hardened heart because it's really one that's kind of confusing for people is that God doesn't harden hearts of people who already have a softened heart. God strengthens if you want to use the word strengthen instead of harden strengthens the hardened heart. Think about this. You know of people who have I don't know if you know of, but you have seen on TV of people who have committed heinous crimes, murders, people that have done things that are just uncomprehensible, and a lot of times when you dissect that person's behavior, there may have been some influence of alcohol or drugs. Think of that as the hardening or strengthening of that hardened heart. Okay, let's try that again. What I mean is people will do things under the influence. Think of that as having a hardened heart. And then you know I've always said that even to my kids when you're drinking alcohol, it gives you the courage to do things you would not normally do, thus being very regretful. How many times have you talked to your kids about drinking and driving and we think, oh, after we have one or two drinks, we're fine, look, I can walk. Get in the car. Before you know it, the blue flashing lights are right behind you and then you are charged with a DUI. I didn't mean. To the next day you wake up and you're like what did I do? You were hardened by the use of some type of drug or alcohol which makes you do things you would not normally do.

Speaker 1:

Because we have to look at Pharaoh and look at all of these plagues that were placed upon him, and I also also think about this and I think gosh, pharaoh, you did not only harden or hurt yourself in all of the resistance, you hurt the people that were beneath you, although he did not care about these people, but everybody suffered because of Pharaoh's heart A couple of times, and I believe it's two times, and please don't put this down as fact. But Pharaoh does say you know, pray to your God for me. I believe at one time he even says you know, ask God for forgiveness for my sins. He was not about to do that on his own, because he had his own power. He was not about to reduce himself down to an Israelite or a Jew or a Hebrew person and be like well, I went to God. He was like do my bidding for me. I have the power to make you. Tell God to forgive me. God can do whatever he wants, and so you know.

Speaker 1:

I think at one point Moses did do that for Pharaoh, but Pharaoh was not sincere in anything that he did, even to the point where he finally let Moses lead the people out of Egypt, only to find out that as they got out, moses was like what have I done? We need these people. Imagine, I want you to imagine something. Imagine that you own a city and you have 800, 900,000 Hebrew people, or people that you find useless in the way of being a human being, but useful in the way that they help your economy. They help your city thrive. They do all the work that nobody else wants to do, only because they were slaves. Now imagine that these group of people because there were 600,000 men and that didn't include the women and the children and the animals, and all of that. And all those people had the ability to do the work that the Egyptians did not want to do. Imagine that in your city, these people just disappeared one day and now you're left with a bunch of useless citizens in this case Egyptians who did not do the work that the Hebrews did. I mean, you could probably lose your city, your economy would crash without the use of these people.

Speaker 1:

Well, that's what happened. Pharaoh realized that, oh no, these people are gone. Now I have nothing, I am powerless, I am useless. And he was not about to have that. And then we know the notorious chasing down of the Hebrew people. And God then parts the sea and lets all of the Hebrew people cross, and then the Egyptians are then thus and thus drowned. That is one hardened heart. That is a hateful, hateful heart. Had God not strengthened his hateful heart, the Egyptians or, excuse me, the Hebrew people would not have been allowed to flee. So it was all under the control and power of God.

Speaker 1:

Now you say, well, why didn't he soften his heart? Because chances are, if God would have softened the heart of Pharaoh, the Hebrew people would still be their slaves, because there probably would have been some negotiating and, okay, here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna let them work two hours a day instead of 15 hours a day, and I'm making this up so some other agreement that Pharaoh would have tried to come up with had God softened his heart, but in fact he needed to strengthen his, his hateful heart, in order to get those people out of there, to show God's ultimate power. God has the ultimate power and people needed to see that. They needed to see that. You know what, pharaoh? You can come back at me ten times, but God did not soften. He stood his ground through Moses and Aaron, and if God would have needed to do 15 plagues, he would have done it, but it was all under the power of God.

Speaker 1:

I want you to think about this what is your heart like? Because I tell you, you can be as stubborn as you want, you can be as hateful as you want, but mark my words here, folks there's two places that we go when we die Heaven or hell. Do not fool yourself in thinking that if you have a hardened heart against Jesus, that the day that you die he'll be like. You know what. You are such a good soul. You did all kinds of good things, but you were also very evil and you rejected me.

Speaker 1:

For those of you who reject Jesus Christ, hell is your. Heaven is your after-death home. For those who accept Jesus Christ into their hearts as their Lord and Savior, heaven is your eternal home. Watch the words that come out of your mouth. Watch the blast.

Speaker 1:

For me that, if, if, that's who you are right now, with that hardened heart, it's time to tell God. I need you, soften my heart. I accept you as my Lord and Savior. You are the power. I am not. You are in control. I am not. Do not fool yourselves in thinking that when that day comes, he's gonna let you in if you've rejected him. It's not gonna happen and, unfortunately for those who do reject Christ will have to live their eternity in hell. I do not want that for you and I sure don't want that for me. If you're not sure what you need to do, you need to. You need to find out. Go to a church, contact your Christian friends and find out what it is that you need to do to soften that heart of yours, because spending hell, your life, in hell for the rest of your life may not sound like anything now, but just imagine living in hell with the likes of Pharaoh. Sounds like hell to me.