7:1
At the end of chapter 6 Moses has again expressed doubts about his ability to confront Pharaoh. This is another example of the chapter division being in a rather dubious place. Anyway, God is having none of Moses’ doubts and tells him that he will be like God to Pharaoh, and Aaron will be his prophet. God has far more confidence in our ability to fulfil the tasks given to us than we have, and God knows all our sins and weaknesses.
7:2,3
Moses would tell Pharaoh all that God commanded, and Aaron would tell him to let the people go. However, God would harden Pharaoh’s heart. I’ve said this before, but will say it again because it is such an area of misunderstanding. This does not in any way absolve Pharaoh of responsibility. The Bible has no problem with God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility. Paul faced questions over this matter in Rom 9:14ff. We could perhaps phrase it as “I know Pharaoh’s heart will be hard and he will not listen”, but that is not right. For while it rightly says Pharaoh has responsibility for his hardness of heart, and God is not taken by surprise, it neglects to say that God had ordained this situation. All three aspects are crucial, God ordaining the situation, man’s responsibility, and God’s foreknowledge. If any one of these elements is missing, our teaching is not Biblical.
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