THE HEART REFLECTS THE MAN
Text: Exodus 10:3
So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, “This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews says”: `How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go so that they may worship me’.
“A fan once pressed actor Don Johnson for an autograph while Johnson's eight-year-old son was there. After the autograph-seeker left, little Jesse looked at his famous dad and said, "Can you believe they want your autograph?" Some of the best teachers on humility live in our homes”. * Houston Post, July 21, 1991, p. A-2 McHenry Humility The lesson Maker Can you imagine how humbling this perception seems to have been?
Take this same story and imagine that Pharaoh is the father in this story. As we know from the movie the Ten Commandments this Pharaoh probably had a son that was important to him. Pharaoh was a powerful man in his day. There is no doubt that his son probably looked up to him. There is no doubt that he swelled with pride because of the prestige of his position. One thing was definitely evident, and that is that Pharaoh’s heart reflected his nature and sternness of character. Proverbs 27:19 says, “As in water face reflects face, so a man’s heart reveals the man” (NKJV). In Matthew 7:16a, & 20, Jesus tells us that we can find out who people are by their fruits. If we go back and read the preceding chapters and the chapters that follow this one, we can confirm his nature because of what we observe from his fruits. His fruit tells us volumes about who he was. His fruit also reveals something about his heart and the kind of man he was.
THE HEART IS A HARBOR
Everyone has traits that they harbor in their hearts that are good or bad and leaders are no exception. A leader is usually known by what kind of person he or she is. The Pharaoh of this time, Pharaoh Menephthath, seemed to harbor ambition rather than compassion in his heart. (Herbert Lockyer. All the Kings And Queens Of The Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1961, pp. 40, 37). As someone (Herbert Lockyer) has said, “If Seti I be the king who commenced the oppression, and Ramses II the monarch from whom Moses fled, the Pharaoh whom he found seated on the throne upon his return must have been Menephthah”. (Herbert Lockyer. All the Kings And Queens Of The Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1961, p. 41). Another source calls the fellow Merneptah. (Merril C. Tenney. Ed. The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia Of The Bible. K. A Kitchen. “Pharaoh”. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1978, p. 744). There was a new king who did not know Joseph as it says in Exodus 1:8. You have probably heard of the slogan “under new management”. Such was the case with this new dynasty---it was a new management. This new dynasty felt no reason to be obligated to Joseph. Now why is that important? It is important because Joseph helped Egypt to succeed in her time of need when they were on the brink of famine. One can definitely notice the difference between the Pharaoh of Joseph’s day and the Pharaoh of Moses’ return. The pharaoh, Pharaoh Apepi II of Joseph’s day had compassion compared to the contemptuous attitude of Merneptah.
The heart can harbor humility as well as pride. The heart has always been thought of as the seat of the emotions. We speak out of the abundance of our hearts (Matthew 12:34). So it would stand to reason that we also exhibit in our outward behavior who we are in our hearts. This would be true of pride as well as humility.
Pride and ambition are related. As someone has observed, “Pride and ambition are twin brothers. The word ambition had its origin in Rome, from candidates going about seeking votes. Seeking the honor that comes from men is unholy ambition, and betrays a pride of heart betrays a pride of heart, which is opposed to the Spirit of Jesus Christ. If God be for us we have a majority, and should not canvass for the favor of men”. (James Smith. Handfuls On Purpose. Volume 1. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1970, p. 265). It should be said that the danger of seeking “unholy ambition” we have to remember as it says in Jeremiah 17:9 that the heart is deceitful above all things (NIV).
Like Pharaoh Merneptah, it is possible for a person to be too proud to humble himself or herself before God. All we have to do is remember the story of Lucifer and his fall. At one time, Lucifer was heaven’s number one angel. But, he resisted God when he withheld some the praises that belonged to God. He was trying to become like God. He also got banished from heaven as a result along with all of the angels who followed him. (Isaiah 14:12-17, Revelation 12:8-9, Luke 10:18). There are people who like Lucifer abuse the position and power that God has given them by resisting His will.
THE RESISTANT HEART
Why do people hesitate to humble themselves before God ? It seems that one of the reasons is that people hesitate and resist humbling themselves before God is because people like to be in control. In our human nature, we have a tendency to deny how vulnerable we really are. In our human nature we like to claim that we are in control. I once heard of a study that was done to determine the factor of joy in babies. The results of that study concluded that babies were happiest when they could control and manipulate their environment. It also concluded that their degree of happiness declined along with their inability to control things. (According to a study that was aired on 20/20 with John Stossel as the journalist). When we surrender to God in our vulnerability, we do so because we have come to the conclusion that without God’s help we can do nothing just as Jesus told us in John 15:5.
It would seem, that another reason that people resist or hesitate in humbling themselves before God has to do with procrastination. Who has ever known procrastination to pay off? Was Pharaoh Merneptah procrastinating because he thought he had time to get right with God? Or was he procrastinating because he did not want to admit how much the plagues were proving to be costly? In any case, Pharaoh Merneptah seemed to think that he was the master of his own fate, when the truth was that he was nothing more than the master of his own self-destruction because of his unyielding character flaw.
We know that God was hardening his heart but why? Moses was to find out that the reason behind the hardening. The reason seems to have to strengthen Israel’s faith been twofold. First, it was to educate succeeding generations how the Lord dealt harshly with the Egyptians. Secondly, to bring Israel to faith in the Lord. (Kenneth L. Barker & John R. Kohlenberger III ed. Zondervan NIV Commentary. Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. “Exodus”. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1994, p. 82). If there was a third reason, it would have to be that it seems as though God was trying to break Pharaoh’s stubborn will and foolish pride. Given that third reason was part of God’s plan, we would be safe to conclude that Pharaoh was incorrigible. He was unrelenting and unrepentant even at the warning of another plague.
THE RESTLESS HEART
A restless heart is an anxious heart. It seems that Pharaoh had a restless heart because perhaps he thought that he could win in the end. Perhaps he was thinking that persistence would pay off. Pharaoh has a big problem as well as a big ego. What is that problem? That problem is that he seems to think that he can control and create his own destiny. He seems to be acting as if he is the creator of his own universe. Moses used the words that God had instructed him to speak. Moses used the warnings that God instructed him to give to Pharaoh. Pharaoh was aware of God and yet he still refused to humble himself to God. Consider this anonymous quote: “A man without God is like a ship without a rudder”. (R. Daniel Watkins. An Encyclopedia of Compelling Quotations. [—Mother Teresa, from the documentary film Mother Teresa]. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 2001). Does this quote not describe Pharaoh Merneptah to a “t”?
A restless heart can also be a broken heart. Why did Pharaoh Merneptah have a broken heart in the end? He had a broken heart because of all the Egypt’s first born sons who were lost in the plague he lost his son to the last plague. One of them might have even been his own son, given that he had a son. Someone (Paul Ricoeur) once pointed how Adam and Eve were both victims and perpetrators of their own destruction. The same can be said of Pharaoh Merneptah and Samuel as someone else (Walter Brueggemann) observed. (Leander E. Keck. ed. The New Interpreter’s Bible. Volume I. Walter Brueggemann. “The Book Of Exodus.: Introduction, Commentary, And Reflections”. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1994, p. 765). The same is true of the rich man in the story of Lazarus and the rich man. When we consider the rich man’s end, he was going to continue to live with a restless heart and a broken heart for eternity. The difference between Samuel and Merneptah as they compare with the rich man is that we observe their misery and heartbreak on this side of eternity.
GOD LOOKS AT THE HEART
In looking at Merneptah’s heart, God could see his motivation. His motivation, it seems was that he was not about to let anyone question his authority. That is why God asks him how long he was going to continue to refuse to humble himself before God. As someone (Warren Wiersbe) put it, ”If the sinful human heart doesn’t respond by faith to God’s Word, it cannot be transformed by the grace of God”. (Warren W. Wiersbe. The Wiersbe Bible Commentary:The Complete Old Testament In One Volume. Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2007, p. 160). It is more than apparent that all along God had been working with Merneptah to get him to repent, but he kept refusing. In the end, it cost him, his son when the final of the ten plagues claimed Merneptah’s first born son.
God looks at our hearts and motivation as well. Someone (Alfred Armand Montapert) once said, “Motives are invisible but they are the true test of character”. (Vern McClellan. Wise Words And Quotes. Carol Stream: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. 1998, p. 180). Someone else anonymously said, “When God measures a man, He puts tape around his heart and not his head”. (McClellan, p. 123). What does God say about our hearts and motives?
God looks at the hearts of the unsaved hoping that they will humble themselves before it is too late. Consider this story.
There is the true story about Dr. Maurice Rawlings, who once worked on a patient by the name of Charles McKaine. As the story goes, DR. Rawlings had at one time been the personal physician of General Dwight Eisenhower. He witnessed death every day and did not think much of there being life after death.
One day Dr. Pam Charlesward was doing a ECG test on Charles McKaine. Suddenly, McKaine started to experience heart failure. As his heart stopped, McKaine kept talking. They began CPR while another one of the medical personnel began to prepare an IV. Dr. Rawlings used a heart controller to make Charles McKaine’s heart beat again.
While most patients would complain of the pain, McKaine begged them not to stop working on him. Suddenly Charles yelled “Don’t stop! I’m in hell! I’m in hell! Dr. Rawlings thought that Charles was seeing an illusion. So he asked, “Why don’t you want me to stop?” Charles replied again, “I’m in hell!”
Dr. Rawlings rephrased Charles’ statement, “You mean that you’re afraid to go to hell”.
“No,” said Charles, “ I’m in hell! Please don’t let me go. Please don’t let me go! Don’t you understand? I’m in hell!” Whenever you stop the CPR, I am in hell again!” Until this moment Dr. Rawlings had disregarded the complaints of patients. The look on Charles’ face as he was going through his ordeal changed his opinion.
Dr. Rawlings continued to try to save his life. Suddenly, Charles yelled with a panicked stricken voice, “How can I escape from hell?”
Dr. Rawlings replied, “How about praying to God?”
Charles asked him to pray for him.
Startled, Dr. Rawlings grumbled, “I am not a pastor,” but the sharp looks from the nurses prompted hi to reluctantly come up with a prayer: “Follow after me, Jesus Son of God! Save me from hell. If I live again, I will live for you.”
Charles repeated the prayer and a miracle took place. He became peaceful and soon retuned to a normal state. The next day, when Dr. Rawlings went to Charles’s room, he saw the 48 year old postman reading the Bible.” (Seung Woo Byun. Christians Going To Hell. Lake Murray: Creation House, 2006, pp. 3 -5 quoted and paraphrased).
So what is the relevance of that story? The relevance of the story is that we cannot save ourselves. If we are going to stay in a right relationship with God, then humility is required. Chronicles 7:14 - 15 says, “If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place” (NIV).
In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
