Exo 4:22-23 | KingComments | STEP | Although Moses is called by God, he tells Jethro of this call to return to Egypt. He asks his father-in-law for permission to leave and this is granted. With Jacob we have seen a different behavior ( ). Moses receives extra encouragement from the LORD ( ; ). Then he leaves with his wife and children and with “the staff of God in his hand”. It is no longer the staff of Moses, but the staff that God will use. Once again the LORD reminds Moses of what he must do and say. Moses must introduce his words with “thus says the LORD”. This expression, which will be repeated so often by the prophets later on, will sound for the first time from the mouth of Moses. The names God gives his people here are beautiful: “My son, My firstborn” (cf. ). This applies above all to the Lord Jesus ( ). God wants His son to serve Him ( ) and that’s why Pharaoh has to let them go. The LORD tells Moses that Pharaoh will not listen because He will harden the heart of Pharaoh. That does not mean that Pharaoh has no other choice. The LORD is not dealing unrighteous, and Pharaoh is fully responsible for his conduct and actions. The same sun that melts the wax hardens the clay. It depends on the kind of material. God hardens a heart only after the person himself has hardened his heart. That is what the history of Pharaoh teaches us. First Pharaoh himself hardens his heart ( ). As a result of this the LORD hardens the heart of Pharaoh ( ). He thus confirms Pharaoh’s stubborn and self-willed attitude in his refusal to comply with His command to let His people go. Therefore, at the end of , the LORD already points out the final judgment of the last plague.

‏ Exodus 4:22-23

Back to Egypt

Although Moses is called by God, he tells Jethro of this call to return to Egypt. He asks his father-in-law for permission to leave and this is granted. With Jacob we have seen a different behavior (Gen 31:20). Moses receives extra encouragement from the LORD (Exo 4:19; Mt 2:19-20). Then he leaves with his wife and children and with “the staff of God in his hand”. It is no longer the staff of Moses, but the staff that God will use.

Once again the LORD reminds Moses of what he must do and say. Moses must introduce his words with “thus says the LORD”. This expression, which will be repeated so often by the prophets later on, will sound for the first time from the mouth of Moses. The names God gives his people here are beautiful: “My son, My firstborn” (cf. Hos 11:1). This applies above all to the Lord Jesus (Mt 2:15). God wants His son to serve Him (Mal 3:17) and that’s why Pharaoh has to let them go.

The LORD tells Moses that Pharaoh will not listen because He will harden the heart of Pharaoh. That does not mean that Pharaoh has no other choice. The LORD is not dealing unrighteous, and Pharaoh is fully responsible for his conduct and actions. The same sun that melts the wax hardens the clay. It depends on the kind of material.

God hardens a heart only after the person himself has hardened his heart. That is what the history of Pharaoh teaches us. First Pharaoh himself hardens his heart (Exo 7:13 ; 14 ; 22 ; Exo 8:15 ; 19 ; 32 ; Exo 9:7 ; 34 ; Exo 13:15). As a result of this the LORD hardens the heart of Pharaoh (Exo 9:12 ; Exo 10:1 ; 20 ; 27 ; Exo 11:10 ; Exo 14:4 ; 8 ; 17). He thus confirms Pharaoh’s stubborn and self-willed attitude in his refusal to comply with His command to let His people go. Therefore, at the end of Exo 4:23, the LORD already points out the final judgment of the last plague.