Pharaoh’s Resistance and God’s Deliverance
Passover, described in Exodus 12, is one of the foundational stories of the Bible. It’s an illustration of human hubris and the power of God, and it has much to teach us about sin and deliverance as Easter approaches.
On one side of the story is Pharaoh, refusing to free the oppressed Hebrew people… even after Egypt is afflicted by horrifying plagues. On the other side is Moses with a divine ultimatum: let God’s people go or face God’s wrath. Can human pride and stubbornness prevail over God’s will?
Ultimately, God’s will is done, but Pharaoh’s continued refusal to listen to God has terrible results for his country and his own household. It isn’t until the tenth plague that Pharaoh relents. It claims the lives of every first-born child in Egypt, including Pharaoh’s own son. Death spreads across all of Egypt, with one important exception: any household whose doorpost is marked with the blood of a lamb is spared.
The story of Passover is closely intertwined with our Easter celebration of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Passover imagery is seen throughout the Easter story, Jesus himself taking on the role of the sacrificed Passover lamb. Pharaoh’s refusal to obey God mirrors our own spiritual lives without Christ: left to our own devices, our recalcitrance leads us to spiritual death. But when we trust in the power of the blood of the Passover Lamb, we find life.
Our stubborn refusal to listen to God may not have the outwardly dramatic results that Pharaoh’s did. But how often has a spiritually hardened heart led to even more heartache in your life?
There’s nothing spiritually magical about the observation of Easter, but it’s a good time to assess ourselves. Is there any part of your heart that you’ve hardened against God? What do you need to do in order to soften your heart?
