Exodus 10:12-17: a reflection

12The LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up on the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail has left.” 13Moses stretched out his rod over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind on the land all that day, and all night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. 14The locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the borders of Egypt. They were very grievous. Before them there were no such locusts as they, nor will there ever be again. 15For they covered the surface of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened, and they ate every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left. There remained nothing green, either tree or herb of the field, through all the land of Egypt. 16Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste, and he said, “I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you. 17Now therefore please forgive my sin again, and pray to the LORD your God, that he may also take away from me this death.”

When the plague of locusts devastates Egypt, Pharaoh calls hastily for Moses and makes what sounds like a confession: I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you. Now therefore please forgive my sin. But his words are the confession of a man under pressure who wants relief, not a heart truly changed; for as soon as the pressure lifts, he will harden himself again. His I have sinned was pressured, driven by the desire to escape the plague, not by genuine repentance; he wanted the consequence removed, not his heart changed. His confession did not last, because it was never true repentance.

Notice the difference between Pharaoh's pressured confession and true repentance. Pharaoh said the right words, I have sinned, forgive me; but they were driven by his desire to escape the plague, not by a genuine turning of his heart. He wanted relief from the consequence, not a change of heart; and so, when the pressure lifted, he returned to his hardness. A pressured confession that only wants the consequence removed is not the same as true repentance, which turns from the sin itself. Pharaoh's words sounded like repentance, but his heart was unchanged; he sought escape, not transformation. The confession that only wants relief does not last, because it does not touch the heart.

That is worth taking to heart, for we too can offer a pressured confession that only wants relief, rather than true repentance. Under the pressure of consequences, we can say the right words, confess our sin, ask forgiveness, while really only wanting the consequence removed, not our hearts changed, as Pharaoh did; and such a confession, wanting relief but not transformation, does not last. True repentance turns from the sin itself, not merely from its consequences. Do not mistake a pressured confession that only wants relief for true repentance; let your turning be a genuine change of heart, not merely a desire to escape the consequence. Let your repentance be a true turning of the heart from sin, not a pressured confession that only wants relief from the consequences, as Pharaoh said I have sinned but hardened again once the plague lifted; for a confession that only seeks escape from consequences does not last, and true repentance turns from the sin itself, seeking not merely relief but a changed heart.

Lord, when the plague of locusts devastates Egypt, Pharaoh calls hastily for Moses and makes what sounds like a confession: I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you; now therefore please forgive my sin. But his words are the confession of a man under pressure who wants relief, not a heart truly changed; for as soon as the pressure lifts, he will harden himself again. His I have sinned was pressured, driven by the desire to escape the plague, not by genuine repentance; he wanted the consequence removed, not his heart changed. Show me the difference between Pharaoh's pressured confession and true repentance. Pharaoh said the right words, I have sinned, forgive me; but they were driven by his desire to escape the plague, not by a genuine turning of his heart. He wanted relief from the consequence, not a change of heart; and so, when the pressure lifted, he returned to his hardness. A pressured confession that only wants the consequence removed is not the same as true repentance. His words sounded like repentance, but his heart was unchanged. Take that to my heart, for I too can offer a pressured confession that only wants relief, rather than true repentance. Under the pressure of consequences, I can say the right words, confess my sin, ask forgiveness, while really only wanting the consequence removed, not my heart changed, as Pharaoh did. True repentance turns from the sin itself. Keep me from mistaking a pressured confession that only wants relief for true repentance; let my turning be a genuine change of heart, Lord, not merely a desire to escape the consequence, and let my repentance be a true turning of my heart from sin.