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February 17, 2008

The Pharaoh Syndrome
Romans 1:24-32

Moses' story confused me for a long time. As we read in Exodus 7-14, we learn that God hardened Pharaoh's heart. And because of this hardened heart, God punished him. I thought this unfair. Why would God punish a man for acting according to his heart, a heart tampered with by God?

I would like to share with you my study discoveries. In at least a dozen places, in the account of the ten plagues on Egypt, Pharaoh's heart is declared to be hard, or is made hard or hardened. (See Exodus 7:13, 22; 8:15, 19, 32; 9:7, 12, 35; 10:1, 20, 27; 11:10.) Various translators have played games in an effort to deflect this odd-sounding deed from God. But God does not need defending. The translation problem is our discomfort with hard truth.

Especially clear is Exodus 10:1, where God seemingly admits to "tampering with" Pharaoh's heart:
Exodus 10:1 (NIV) . . . Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these miraculous signs of mine among them...."
Slide #1

"hardened his heart"

" assorted renderings "

Exodus 7:13 Exodus 8:15 Exodus 9:7
Slide #2

Exodus 10:1 (NIV)

" as it is in MOST translations "

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these miraculous signs of mine among them...."
Translations vary in the wording of these verses. The softest (see slide #1) read, "...and Pharaoh's heart was hard...." Others shuffle "was hardened" to leave questions over "who did what?" Regardless of the end result of our translation gymnastics, we cannot soften this uncomfortable verse (Exodus 10:1) . . . "Then the LORD said, ‘I have hardened his heart....'" (see slide #2) What did God do to Pharaoh? And should we be concerned that He did?

This is one of those times when a verse MUST be studied in context with the whole Bible. And for us, this morning, as we continue our study in Romans, we will find this study principle necessary, helpful and illuminating.

So far, we have considered 23 verses. We have discovered that the Gospel is God's power unto salvation, and that the Gospel reveals God's righteousness and wrath against sin. We have learned that all have sinned and are lost, and that the Gospel is an invitation to a better life. We have also learned that God hates sin, but loves the sinner. The place and work of the Cross proves God's love while punishing sin.

Now that we understand these truths, that God hates all sin, and that all men are equally perverse, and prone to want to sin, we can solve the dilemma of Pharaoh: What did God do to Pharaoh when He "hardened his heart" before the threat of the ten plagues?

The truth principles we might learn will help us explain, or at least grapple with, the nature and power of sin in our own lives.

Allow me to establish the boundaries of the playing field:

God is love.
1 John 4:8 . . . Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. {16} And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.
God loves everyone.
John 3:16 . . . "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
God hates sin.
Habakkuk 1:13a . . . Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong [sin].
God does not sin.
James 1:13 . . . When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;

1 John 1:5 . . . This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness [sin] at all.
These truths about God will prevent unnecessary wandering.

Now, let's turn to Paul's words in Romans chapter one. As I read, I will emphasize the key phrase that overlaps the questions we have about the Pharaoh story.
Romans 1:24 . . . Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. {25} They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. {26} Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. {27} In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. {28} Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. {29} They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, {30} slanderers, God_haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; {31} they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. {32} Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
Our study passage follows Paul's clear explanation regarding man's sin problem: we all have sinned. And we all choose to sin. And left to our natural abilities and limitations, what we are capable of doing is more sin. And wandering farther from God.

According to Paul, because God is love, His response to sinners is the sacrifice of His Son, the offer of salvation by faith, AND what we read here: space and freedom to say "No." God does not force the gift of salvation on anyone.

And so, as Paul writes, we observe that people who embrace sin as a lifestyle find themselves sliding farther away from God. With Pharaoh, we observe that his heart was hard, or hardened. His response to God, to God's impressive display of power, was rebellion and rejection.

Paul described this slide into sin. Though they knew God from Creation, they worshiped the creature. And God, according to Paul, "gave them over." Remember the rules: God is love. God loves everyone. God hates sin. God does not sin.

Whatever we decide regarding this phrase, we cannot change the rules. If God's nature cannot change, and if He never sins, then whatever "he gave them over" means is consistent with the rules.

The phrase "gave them over" captures Paul's teaching from the previous verses, that willful sinners reject God and His truth by embracing their own ideals, whereby they willingly separate themselves from God's influence. Once separated from God's influence, they find themselves doing life on their own terms, in their own power.

In essence, "gave them over" means that God releases willful sinners to their desire, to sin more. God grants them permission to choose to sin. I know this seems harsh or cruel, maybe even unbiblical. But it is quite to the contrary. Remember the rules: God is love. God loves everyone. God hates sin. God does not sin.

God is love, and God loves everyone. This perfect love painfully surrenders to our rebellion. God could force us to obey. But our surrender would not be love. God releases us to our choices, allows us to suffer life apart from His influence. And He does so, that we might awaken to our great need for God. Many turn to God on the other side of their sin(s).

Slide #3

Exodus 10:1 (Les Cool paraphrase)

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, for I have released him, and his officials, to follow their heart's desires so that I may perform these miraculous signs of mine among them...."
In the case of Pharaoh (see slide #3), God released Pharaoh to rebellion, ultimate punishment at God's hand, and God's glory in triumph over sinful powers.

God did not make Pharaoh sin. God does not make anyone sin. Similarly, God also makes no one love or obey Him. As creatures molded in His image, we are free to choose. Obedience and disobedience, as well as love, are free choices.

You might be wondering what this is doing in this chapter, this book, or even in the Bible. Context! Paul is explaining the Gospel, the power of God unto salvation, the revelation of God's righteousness, the revelation of God's wrath.

I think it rather obvious that a spiral into further sin, and ultimate death, expresses God's wrath against sin.

But what we must not overlook is that God's response to our sinfulness, along with permission to sin, is the Cross. And the Cross reveals God's righteousness and His power unto salvation. The Cross is an invitation, as Jeff Cassel so clearly explained two weeks ago. The Cross is an invitation to allow God to rescue us from ourselves. The Cross is an invitation to yet other expressions of love: rescue, cleansing, re-creation, renewal, and freedom to choose. And that is where Paul began this discussion:
Romans 1:16 . . . I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
To be given over to our sinful passions is selfless love. God made us for Himself. But he allows us to run away. Our running away breaks the tender heart of God. And yet He allows us to run.

But God is love, unchanging love. God raises a beacon, a signpost, pointing us home. Love makes us free. Love allows us to run away. Love keeps the door open. Love is the invitation of the Gospel: "please come home."

Pharaoh chose to not return home. God was glorified in victory over sinful choices. According to Paul, we have the same choice: to die in freedom or to live in freedom. We can choose to rest in His restoring love and arms. We can choose to do life on our own, and die alone. What will you do? And note well, postponing a choice could be choosing to die. Choose life today.