E9-5: Was Pharaoh admitting he sinned true repentance before God?

“When Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail and thunder had ended, he sinned still more by making himself hardhearted, he and his servants. Pharaoh was made hardhearted, and he didn’t let the people of Israel go, just as YHVH had said through Moshe.” -Exodus 9:34-35

So God lets loose his fury from the sky in the form of a thunderous storm of hail.

The destruction was devastating.

People were killed.

Trees were toppled.

The livestock and field crops were completely laid to waste.

Yet we are told that the land of Goshen, where the people of Israel resided, was left completely untouched.

Pharaoh responds by saying  “This time I have sinned: YHVH is in the right; I and my people are in the wrong. Intercede with YHVH — we can’t take any more of this terrible thunder and hail; and I will let you go, you will stay no longer.”

Yet once the hail and thunder end, Pharaoh again goes back on his word to free Israel.

Interestingly, verse 34 tells us that Pharaoh’s servants also hardened their hearts.

This would include both the government officials and citizens of Egypt.

So we’re talking about a collective hardening of Egypt towards Israel here.

Pharaoh’s back and forth flippant attitude is so characteristic of the person who thinks that just believing God exists and complying with His demands out of fear of consequences is the basis for attaining righteousness and salvation. 

When Pharaoh said he had sinned, it wasn’t true repentance.

He had never taken God into his heart.

It was only that he now fully realized that YHVH was real and powerful.

He just feared the consequences of disobedience.

A true saving faith means trusting God, taking Him into our hearts and responding in obedience to Him out of love and gratitude.

The Scripture says that even the demons believe that God is and tremble before Him.

Just like the herd of pigs that left out of a man at Yeshua’s command, we can see that even the demons obey God.

But their obedience is never out of love but fear of repercussions.

If you’re just going to worship service or attending a billion church or synagogue social events simply out of guilt feelings or retarded social obligations, you’re in the wrong place man! 

Remember, you’ve already been saved.

You’re obedience should be motivated out of love and a sincere desire to want to obey based on what God has already done for you.

Finally, we can see that before the rain and hail fell, many of the Egyptians brought their livestock and field workers indoors into caves and other shelters.

We now see a healthy respect for the Lord emerging from among some of the Egyptian people.

Yet, as always, many more followed Pharaoh’s mindset and ignored the warning.

And of course, they would pay dearly for this decision.

NEXT TIME WE BEGIN EXODUS CHAPTER TEN