Scripture Daily

Context No. 3868 of 4322 · Exodus

Context · Reflection

Exodus 7:20-25: in context

20Moses and Aaron did so, as the LORD commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and struck the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. 21The fish that were in the river died. The river became foul. The Egyptians couldn’t drink water from the river. The blood was throughout all the land of Egypt. 22The magicians of Egypt did the same thing with their enchantments. So Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he didn’t listen to them, as the LORD had spoken. 23Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he didn’t even take this to heart. 24All the Egyptians dug around the river for water to drink; for they couldn’t drink the river water. 25Seven days were fulfilled, after the LORD had struck the river.

At God's command the Nile is struck and turned to blood, its fish dying, its water undrinkable, a devastating sign before Pharaoh's eyes. Yet the passage records Pharaoh's chilling response: he turned and went into his house, and he did not take even this to heart. Faced with an unmistakable act of God, Pharaoh simply walked away, refusing to let it touch him.

There is a sobering warning in that phrase, he did not take it to heart. God had given a clear sign, but Pharaoh hardened himself, choosing not to be moved, not to consider, not to let the warning reach him. It is possible to witness the plain evidence of God's hand and still refuse to take it seriously, to turn and go back into the house of our own concerns as though nothing had happened. Hardness of heart is not usually a single dramatic rejection but this quiet turning away, this refusal to take God's warnings to heart. The danger is not always open defiance; often it is simply declining to be moved, going back to business as usual when God has spoken.

When God gives me a clear warning or sign, do I take it to heart and let it move me, or do I quietly turn back to my own concerns as though nothing had happened, hardening myself by refusing to be moved?

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