The Hard Heart and the High Hand
Introduction: The Anatomy of Tyranny
We live in a time of political and spiritual confusion, where men in power believe themselves to be the ultimate arbiters of reality. They think that by passing laws, controlling the media, and marshaling their resources, they can defy the living God. They see the church, when it is faithful, as a threat to their totalizing ambitions. And so, they seek to control, to regulate, and ultimately to crush it. This is not a new story. It is as old as Egypt.
The story of Pharaoh is the story of every petty tyrant who has ever set his face against the Lord and His anointed. It is the story of secularism's high priests, who believe that man is the measure of all things. They see the departure of God's people from their service, from their tax base, from their control, as an intolerable economic and political loss. They cannot imagine a world where they are not in charge. And so, when God's people begin to walk out in freedom, the tyrant's first instinct is regret, not repentance, and his second is rage.
What we see in this passage is the anatomy of a hardened heart. It is a lesson in divine sovereignty and human responsibility. Pharaoh's regret is not godly sorrow; it is the worldly sorrow of a man who has lost a valuable asset. His resolve is not righteous determination; it is the suicidal pride of a man who thinks he can fight God and win. And God, in His perfect wisdom, uses this very pride, this very rebellion, to set the stage for a final, glorious demonstration of His power. He is not just saving Israel; He is making a point. He is showing all the world, for all time, that He is the Lord, and that the rebellion of man serves only to magnify the wisdom and power of God.
This is a truth our generation desperately needs to learn. We are tempted to fear the chariots of the modern state, the decrees of our secular Pharaohs. But we must remember that God is sovereign over the hardened heart. He is sovereign over the rage of tyrants. He is setting a trap, not for His people, but for His enemies. And He is doing it so that His name might be glorified, and His people might be saved.
The Text
Then the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, and the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, "What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?" So he made his chariot ready and took his people with him; and he took six hundred choice chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. And Yahweh hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, with strength, and he pursued the sons of Israel as the sons of Israel were going out with an exalted hand. Then the Egyptians pursued them with all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and they overtook them camping by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.
(Exodus 14:5-9 LSB)
Worldly Sorrow (v. 5)
We begin with the sour regret of a tyrant:
"Then the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, and the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, 'What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?'" (Exodus 14:5)
Notice the nature of this change of heart. It is not repentance. Repentance is a godly sorrow over sin, a turning away from evil because it is an offense to God. Pharaoh's sorrow is entirely worldly. He is not grieved that he has defied Yahweh. He is not mourning his own pride or the death of his firstborn. He is mourning the loss of his slave labor force. His question, "What is this we have done?" is not a moral question but an economic one. It is the cry of a CEO who just lost his most profitable division, not the cry of a sinner seeking mercy.
This is the difference between Judas and Peter. Both betrayed the Lord. Both were filled with sorrow. But Judas's sorrow was worldly; it was remorse over the consequences, and it drove him to despair and suicide. Peter's sorrow was godly; it was grief over his sin against the one he loved, and it drove him to repentance and restoration. Pharaoh and his servants are of the party of Judas. Their hearts are changed, not toward God, but "toward the people." They see the Israelites not as fellow image-bearers but as escaped property. Their concern is for their own comfort, their own economy, their own power. This is the heart of all tyranny. It sees people as tools to be used, not as souls to be valued.
And notice that it is not just Pharaoh, but also "his servants." The corruption of a leader inevitably infects his entire administration. They had all witnessed the power of God. They had all seen the plagues. They had all begged Israel to leave. But now that the immediate pressure is off, the memory fades, and the old greed returns. This is the folly of the unregenerate heart. It can be terrified into a temporary submission, but it cannot be argued into a lasting repentance.
The Muster of Folly (v. 6-7)
Pharaoh's worldly sorrow quickly curdles into a proud and foolish resolve.
"So he made his chariot ready and took his people with him; and he took six hundred choice chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them." (Exodus 14:6-7 LSB)
Here is the machinery of rebellion. Pharaoh musters the very best of his military might. Six hundred "choice" chariots represent the elite striking force of the most powerful army on earth at the time. This was the ancient equivalent of an armored division. He adds to this "all the other chariots of Egypt." This is total mobilization. He is not holding anything back. He is throwing the entire weight of his kingdom against the God who had just systematically dismantled that kingdom with frogs, lice, and darkness.
This is the definition of insanity. It is the gambler who, having lost everything, bets his own life on one last hand against a man who cannot lose. What is he thinking? He is thinking what all rebels think: "This time will be different. This time I will win." He has forgotten the power that turned the Nile to blood. He has forgotten the sky that rained fire. He has forgotten the death angel that passed over his own house. Pride has an astonishingly short memory for inconvenient facts.
The world always trusts in its chariots. It trusts in its technology, its wealth, its military, its political power. Psalm 20 tells us, "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God." Pharaoh is the poster child for trusting in chariots. He believes that human power, organized and applied with sufficient force, can overcome the will of God. This is the foundational lie of every godless state, from ancient Egypt to the modern secular West.
The Divine Hardening and the Exalted Hand (v. 8)
Now we come to the heart of the matter, where divine sovereignty and human action intersect perfectly.
"And Yahweh hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, with strength, and he pursued the sons of Israel as the sons of Israel were going out with an exalted hand." (Exodus 14:8 LSB)
Here the Bible states it plainly: "Yahweh hardened the heart of Pharaoh." This is a stumbling block for many, but it is a cornerstone of a robust doctrine of God's sovereignty. Does this mean God forced a righteous man to be wicked? Not at all. The Bible has already shown us that Pharaoh hardened his own heart multiple times. God's hardening is not the infusion of evil into a pure heart. Rather, it is the divine confirmation of a man in his own chosen rebellion. It is God giving Pharaoh over to the pride that was already there. He strengthens Pharaoh's resolve, removing any lingering fear or hesitation, so that Pharaoh might become the perfect instrument of his own destruction and God's glory.
God is the master chess player. He does not merely react to Pharaoh's moves. He is moving Pharaoh. As the Apostle Paul argues in Romans 9, God raises up a man like Pharaoh for this very purpose: "that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." God is not the author of Pharaoh's sin, but He is the author of the plan in which Pharaoh's sin plays a crucial, albeit wicked, part. Pharaoh is fully responsible for his choices, and God is fully sovereign over those choices. If you cannot hold those two truths together, your god is too small.
And while Pharaoh is being hardened for judgment, Israel is walking in liberty. They are going out "with an exalted hand." This phrase means they are leaving boldly, openly, triumphantly, not slinking away like thieves in the night. They are marching out under the banner of their victorious God. This is a picture of the Christian life. We are not to be timid or ashamed. We have been delivered from the kingdom of darkness "with an exalted hand," by the power of the resurrection. We should live, walk, and speak with the confidence of a people whose God has already defeated the enemy.
The Trap is Set (v. 9)
The final verse of our text shows the apparent success of Pharaoh's pursuit.
"Then the Egyptians pursued them with all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and they overtook them camping by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon." (Exodus 14:9 LSB)
From a purely human perspective, the situation looks dire for Israel. They are pinned down. They have an uncrossable sea before them and the world's most powerful army bearing down on them from behind. They are trapped. This is exactly where God wants them. And it is exactly where God wants Pharaoh.
God has led Israel to this specific location. He has led them into a cul-de-sac. Why? To test their faith, certainly. But more than that, He is setting a trap for Pharaoh. He is creating a situation so impossible that when He acts, no one will be able to doubt that it was His hand alone that brought the victory. He is removing all possibility of human boasting. Israel cannot save themselves. Pharaoh believes he has them cornered. The stage is perfectly set for the final act.
The names of the locations are likely significant. Baal-zephon means "lord of the north," and was likely a shrine to a pagan deity. God is about to show this Baal, and all of Egypt, who the true Lord of the north, south, east, and west really is. He is bringing His enemies to the very doorstep of their own false god to demonstrate its impotence and His own supreme power.
Conclusion: Our Red Sea Moments
This is more than just a historical account. It is a paradigm for God's dealings with His people throughout all of history. We all have our Red Sea moments. We all face situations where we are trapped, with the sea before us and Pharaoh's chariots thundering behind us. It may be a financial crisis, a health crisis, a cultural collapse, or a spiritual attack. From our vantage point, the situation looks hopeless.
In those moments, we are tempted to fear. We are tempted to look at the size of the enemy's army and forget the size of our God. But this story teaches us to see things from God's perspective. What looks like a trap for us is actually a trap for our enemies. God has led us to this place, not to destroy us, but to destroy those who pursue us.
The hardening of Pharaoh's heart is a terrible judgment, but it is also a strange mercy for God's people. God uses the very intransigence of His enemies to work a greater salvation for us. The rage of the world against the church, the foolish pride of our secular leaders, is all being woven into God's sovereign plan. He is hardening their hearts so that He might get the greater glory when He throws their chariots into the sea.
Therefore, do not fear when the world rages. Do not despair when you feel trapped. Stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord. The same God who hardened Pharaoh's heart for destruction is the one who sent His Son to a cross. The enemies of God thought they had Him trapped, cornered, and defeated. But God used their wicked hands to accomplish our redemption. He used their hardness of heart to open the way of salvation for all who believe. Our God is sovereign over the hard heart and the high hand, and He will not fail to bring His people home.