Torah Portion Bo – Do Not Have the Heart of Pharaoh

The video version is available at: https://youtu.be/FKPyUICXdMc

Reading: Exodus 10:1-11:10

 

By Dan and Brenda Cathcart

This week’s Torah portion picks up with the last three plagues of God’s judgment on Egypt just prior to Moses leading the children of Israel out of bondage and ultimately to the Promised land. The account of the plagues reads like a contest between God and Pharaoh. As the portion Bo begins, we read that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart.

Exodus 10:1-2 NKJV 1 Now the LORD said to Moses, "Go in to Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his servants, that I may show these signs of Mine before him, 2 "and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and your son's son the mighty things I have done in Egypt, and My signs which I have done among them, that you may know that I am the LORD."

The plagues that God brought on Egypt were a direct challenge to the gods of Egypt proving that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was and is the one and only true God and creator of the universe. God hardened Pharaoh’s heart so that He could demonstrate that He is God.

Many people think that Pharaoh should not be held accountable for his refusal to let the children of Israel go because it was God who hardened his heart. At least, this is what our English translations lead us to believe. A closer examination of the original Hebrew reveals something a little different.

When we examine these scriptures involving the interaction of Pharaoh and Moses, we see the English word hardened, as in Exodus 10:1 above. But in the original Hebrew text there are two different words in play. The Hebrew word for hardened in the case of Pharaoh making his own heart hard, as in Exodus 10:1 which we just read, is #3513 in the Strongs Concordance, kabad, meaning to be heavy. As in making one’s own heart heavy in that one would not be moved or changed. But when it comes to God making Pharaoh’s heart hard, the word used is “Chazak”, #2388, meaning to be strong or courageous, determined. God made Pharaoh courageous and determined in his heart to stand firm in his position regarding the children of Israel.

In Exodus 9:34 and 35 we see how both Hebrew words are used.

Exodus 9:34-35 NKJV 34 And when Pharaoh saw that the rain, the hail, and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet more; and he hardened (kabad) his heart, he and his servants. 35 So the heart of Pharaoh was hard (chazaq); neither would he let the children of Israel go, as the LORD had spoken by Moses.

Pharaoh was determined that he would not let the children of Israel go; He held this position strongly. We could read this passage as saying, “Pharaoh made his heart unmovable; the heart of Pharaoh was strong!

Why did God want this contest between Himself and Pharaoh to continue? Moses tells us that the purpose is so God can demonstrate His sovereignty before Pharaoh, that the children of Israel would testify of God’s mighty works, and that the children of Israel would know that God is Yahweh.

In ancient Egypt, Pharaoh was considered the mediator between the gods and the world of man as well as a god himself. Pharaoh is representative of the Egyptian god Sobek. Sobek is depicted in Egyptian art and hieroglyphics as a king with the head of a crocodile. Pharaoh was both high priest and king for the Egyptian people. For Pharaoh to humble himself before God, would mean to acknowledge that the God of Moses and the Hebrews is greater than all the gods of Egypt. To allow the children of Israel to go serve a different god other than the Egyptian gods, Pharaoh would have to step back from his role of mediator between the gods and man. He would have to acknowledge the sovereignty of Yahweh! In the heart of Pharaoh, that is not even remotely possible. God was looking for Pharaoh to humble himself.

Exodus 10:3 NKJV 3 So Moses and Aaron came in to Pharaoh and said to him, "Thus says the LORD God of the Hebrews: 'How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, that they may serve Me.

Pharaoh refused to change his heart, so God continued to strengthen Pharaoh’s resolve not to let the children of Israel go and continued to display His mighty works before all of Egypt. These mighty works amounted to judgments against the Egyptian gods represented in each of the ten plagues.

The second purpose of the contest between God and Pharaoh was so that the children of Israel would testify of God’s mighty works. The Song of the Sea that they sang after crossing the Red Sea testifies that there is no one like God.

Exodus 15:11 NKJV 11 "Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders?

The children of Israel were to teach their children in generation after generation about the mighty works God did among them. The result was that they would know that He is God. Again, in Exodus 10:2

Exodus 10:2 NKJV 2 "and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and your son's son the mighty things I have done in Egypt, and My signs which I have done among them, that you may know that I am the LORD."

The word translated as “know” is #3045, “yada” meaning to know by seeing or perceiving, to know by experience. God wanted the children of Israel to truly experience His power and sovereignty, including those in later generations. The children of Israel experienced God’s power as He brought the plagues, and His sovereignty was demonstrated as He differentiated between His people and the Egyptians.

This Torah portion begins with the plague of locusts covering the land of Egypt and eating every green thing and every fruit that was left after the plague of hail.

Exodus 10:4-6 NKJV 4 …if you refuse to let My people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory. 5 'And they shall cover the face of the earth, so that no one will be able to see the earth; and they shall eat the residue of what is left, which remains to you from the hail, and they shall eat every tree which grows up for you out of the field. 6 'They shall fill your houses, the houses of all your servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians-which neither your fathers nor your fathers' fathers have seen, since the day that they were on the earth to this day.'" And he turned and went out from Pharaoh.

Following the locusts was a plague darkness which covered the land of Egypt for three days, but there was light in the land of Goshen where the children of Israel lived.

Exodus 10:22-23 NKJV 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. 23 They did not see one another; nor did anyone rise from his place for three days. But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.

The final plague, the death of the firstborn, demonstrated God’s mercy. Anyone who sacrificed the Passover Lamb and put its blood on the doorposts and lintels of their homes, dwelled safely within the protection of the blood. Anyone who did not sacrifice the Passover Lamb and put the blood on the doorposts and lintels of their home, lost the firstborn of that household. This plague affected everyone. The children of Israel as well as the Egyptians directly experienced God’s mighty works.

Because of God’s actions in Egypt, not only did the children of Israel come to know their God in a powerful way, but the surrounding nations would hear of this and fear the coming of the Hebrew people and their powerful God.

Exodus 15:14-15 NKJV 14 "The people will hear and be afraid; Sorrow will take hold of the inhabitants of Philistia. 15 Then the chiefs of Edom will be dismayed; The mighty men of Moab, Trembling will take hold of them; All the inhabitants of Canaan will melt away.

To this day the events of this exodus from Egypt are commemorated in the Feasts of Passover and Unleavened Bread. The Jewish people, along with those of us grafted in, continue to teach about the events of the Exodus and God’s mighty power.

In the time of Yeshua, The Jewish people were teaching their children how God judged Pharaoh and delivered them. They were teaching their children that He would deliver them again as Moses and the prophets revealed!

At this time in history, when the nation of Israel was once again under great oppression, this time by occupation of the Roman Empire, they were again looking for a deliverer; one like Moses. They were looking for the overthrow of Roman rule and the reestablishment of the kingdom of Israel by a descendent of David.

God sent Yeshua to bring a message of repentance to the Jewish people as well as to the Gentiles. Especially those Gentiles who had joined themselves to the Jewish people and their God.

One year, at the celebration of the Passover in Jerusalem, Yeshua died as the Passover Lamb and was raised from the dead three days later on the Feast of Firstfruits. Over the next forty days while He was present with his disciples, Yeshua commanded them to testify to God’s salvation through His resurrection.

Luke 24:46-48 NKJV 46 Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 47 "and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 "And you are witnesses of these things.

Unlike Pharaoh, Yeshua was and is the true mediator between God and man. Paul writes to Timothy in 1^st Timothy 2:4-5 that it is God…

1 Timothy 2:4b-5 NKJV 4b …who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.

All nations were to be told that He is coming again. Yeshua spoke of that day in Matthew 24:14.

Matthew 24:14 NKJV 14 "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Yeshua goes on to say that great tribulation would come, and after this tribulation, Yeshua would return.

Matthew 24:29-30 NKJV 29 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Yeshua’s return would be preceded by great darkness like the three days of darkness in the land of Egypt. The tribes of the earth would mourn like they mourned in Egypt at the death of the firstborn. God’s power would once again be demonstrated for all to see! Only this time, not just a single country or kingdom, but the entire world would witness the power and judgments of God!

God’s people will once again be separated out as the time of judgment and wrath would fall on the nations, just like the children of Israel were separated out in Goshen.

Matthew 24:31 NKJV 31 "And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

The Harvest of the Earth will begin.

Revelation 14:14-15 NKJV 14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. 15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, "Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe."

All those who believe Yeshua and call on His name will be gathered to Him, just like those who put the blood of the Passover lamb on the doorposts and lintels of their homes dwelled safely while in Egypt. All those who are not in the company of Yeshua and written in His book of life, will face destruction like those who did not put the blood of the Passover Lamb on the doorposts and lintels of their homes.

Revelation 20:12-15 NKJV 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

In both the case of acceptance of Yeshua, and with the children of Israel in Egypt, the blood of the Passover Lamb brought life; without the blood of the Passover Lamb, death was and is certain.

Those who are victorious once again sing of victory like the children of Israel sang after the crossing of the Red Sea. They sing the Song of Moses and the song of the Lamb!

Revelation 15:3-4 NKJV 3 They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: "Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints! 4 Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, For Your judgments have been manifested."

Pharaoh hardened his heart; he made it heavy and unmovable. He refused to humble himself and acknowledge that God alone is God, and that God would provide His own mediator to bring men to the knowledge of the truth.

In the time of Yeshua, many of the Jewish people, especially the leaders and the teachers, should have recognized Yeshua as the Messiah because they had the words of the Father through Moses. Instead, they had the heart of Pharaoh. Yeshua himself said they hardened their hearts as He quoted the prophet Isaiah in John 12:37-40.

John 12:37-40 NKJV 37 But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, 38 that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: "Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?" 39 Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again: 40 "He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, Lest they should see with their eyes, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them."

The word “harden” in this verse is the Greek word Po-ro-o, #4456, meaning to petrify. This word is equivalent to the Hebrew kabad. They, literally, made their heart so hard it was like stone! It was so heavy and so hard; they made their hearts unmovable!

Today the nations of the world face the same choice as Pharaoh and the leaders of Yeshua’s day. Will the nations of today’s world humble themselves and acknowledge that God is sovereign? The Psalmist tells us that most of the nations will be like Pharaoh and harden their hearts.

Psalms 2:1-3 NKJV 1 Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, 3 "Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us."

Like the death of the firstborn in Egypt, it will be preceded by darkness.

Zechariah 14:6-7 NKJV 6 It shall come to pass in that day That there will be no light; The lights will diminish. 7 It shall be one day Which is known to the LORD-Neither day nor night. But at evening time it shall happen That it will be light.

God will send a plague against all those who fight against Jerusalem.

Zechariah 14:12 NKJV 12 And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet, Their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets, And their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths.

As a result, all the nations will know that God alone is God and worthy to be worshiped.

Zechariah 14:16 NKJV 16 And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.

We have a choice. We can be like Pharaoh or the teachers of Yeshua’s day. Or we can choose to hear God’s voice and humble ourselves.

Hebrews 4:7 NKJV 7 again He designates a certain day, saying in David, "Today," after such a long time, as it has been said: "Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts."

Today, we have the opportunity to accept Yeshua as our mediator with God. We have the opportunity to repent and receive the remission of our sins. We have the opportunity to have our names written in the book of life. Do not have the heart of Pharaoh. Make your heart light, and open to hearing the words from our Father. He is worthy of all our praise.

Study Questions:

Teaching Questions

 

1.      How do the events surrounding and leading up to the death of the firstborn reflect the grace and mercy of God?

 

2.      Further analyze the two Hebrew words translated as “hardened” in our English Bible. (#3513 kabad, and #2388 Chazak.) How does the meaning of these two words change, or effect our perception of Pharaoh and his interactions with Moses and Aaron?

 

3.      In what ways is Yeshua’s message of repentance also the message of Moses and Aaron to both The Egyptians and the Hebrews?

 

General Portion Questions

 

4.      When faced with the plague of locusts, what was the compromise that Pharaoh offered Moses?  How does this play out in our world today? In both the secular and religious circles.

 

5.      How does the placing of the blood of the Passover Lamb on the doorposts and lintels of the homes in Egypt reflect, or is a foreshadow of salvation through Messiah Yeshua?

 

6.      What other insights did you gain from this teaching? What indicators are there in this Torah Portion that point to Messiah Yeshua?

 

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