Scripture:
Deuteronomy 2:30
“But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass through, for the Lord your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, that He might deliver him into your hand, as it is this day.
cf.
Exodus 4:21
And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in your hand. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.
Observation:
This seems like a really hard saying particularly if we believe that God gives us free will. I have had this question many times over the last year and find it appearing again today in my Bible readings relating to Sihon king of Heshbon.
So I have done a little research to get to the bottom of this saying and found the following:
- the Hebrew verbs used to express the hardening of Sihon's mind and will (heart) can mean that the Lord 'confirmed' what was already in Sihon's heart, namely his arrogance against the Lord and His people Israel. Sihon's arrogant refusal was a sure sign that he had just thrown away his last chance of survival (read the passage in full and you will realise that he had a seemingly easy decision to make)
- Pressure confirms what is already in the heart (personal note)
- The root of the word harden - is to effect an overly heavy yoke, which is hard to bear, and secondarily the rebellious resistance of the oxen to the yoke.
So that leaves me with a greater picture of what is going on here. God gave both Pharoah and Sihon a choice. However under a little pressure, their true hearts were exposed / revealed. They showed their rebellion against the Lord, their arrogance and independence of Him.
It seems like nothing much has changed. A little pressure, and certainly a lot of pressure, reveals things in our own lives that we may not have even been aware existed. However God knows the situation in our own hearts even when we do not. We are always left with a decision when the muck reaches the surface when under duress - repent and be saved, or fight it and go on resisting!
Application:
Before me today is a decision - chose Life! I need to watch my response to the situations in my life to see where my heart is at, and let those situations where the secrets of my inner being are released be times of healing and salvation that leads to a greater impartation of Life.
Prayer:
Lord, help me in the decisions I face today to homour You and not rebell against Your purposes. Help me in the time of trial to grow and not become weary and faint, but to see Your character being infused into me. That You would be Homoured and glorified in Jesus Name.
Amen
