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God’s Hand and the Pharaoh’s Heart

Exodus 16

November 10, 2019 • Joe Rigney

This sermon is more of a theological summary message. A key theme in the Exodus is God’s relationship to Pharaoh’s heart. And this raises questions for us about God’s sovereignty and human responsibility.

The good news from Exodus is that God rules and reigns over and in this hardening. He is sovereign over our hearts. Our hearts are streams of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns them wherever he will. He can break into our efforts to strengthen our resistance and deaden our hearts. He can humble us and turn us around, not against our will, but by transforming our hearts so we have a new will. And then, he can strengthen our hearts for faith and obedience.

More from Exodus

The Story of Exodus

December 22, 2019 • Joe Rigney

"Yahweh is the Author. He is the Creator. He is the author of the story, and we are his characters. He is everywhere and everywhen. He hears and knows everything. He sees, he hears, he remembers his covenant, and he acts in faithfulness."

The God Who Will Have A People

December 15, 2019 • Jonathan Parnell

What God intended first for a person (Adam), and then a people (Israel), has now been realized in a Person (Jesus) and a people (the church). The church is the people of Jesus. We are men and women brought into fellowship with God by God through faith. We are created new in Jesus. We are forgiven by the cross of Jesus and filled with the Spirit of Jesus, to walk in the way of Jesus.

Jethro's Surprising Visit

December 8, 2019 • Kevin Kleiman

The story of the Exodus is a paradigm by which Christians can understand our own salvation. Through the first seventeen chapters of Exodus, Yahweh consistently and convincingly delivers his people with miraculous, supernatural power. But as we come to Exodus 18, we something much more ordinary. In chapter 18, we see how normal, everyday relationships are transformed by the good news of what God has done. As we review Exodus 18, we see Moses and Jethro’s interactions, and we learn from two very different people, and we see practically, how our lives should look differently after experiencing the saving grace of God. We are reminded to tell the whole story of God’s rescue, take a risk and offer good advice, and to happily receive feedback in humility.