Who Hardened Pharaoh's Heart?

“And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt” (Ex. 7:3).

The interplay between Pharaoh and the LORD during the ramp-up to the Jewish exodus from Egypt reflects the tension between divine sovereignty and human free will.

Critics have suggested that Pharaoh can't be blamed for his actions in the Book of Exodus because God is the One who hardened his heart—and yes, they have Scripture to prove it!

But wait a minute. Is it really that simple?

Here in the Book of Exodus, we have a monumental confrontation between the most powerful man on the planet (the King of Egypt) and Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Pharaoh (who was revered as a deity by his people) was accustomed to getting his way; but alas, his winning streak was about to come to an end.

Pharaoh and the LORD were at odds over the fate of the Hebrew people, who were slaves in Egypt. The LORD wanted them freed; but the Egyptian economy had grown dependent on the massive amount of free labor the slaves provided—so Pharaoh refused to let them go. Three times the Bible says the LORD hardened (or would harden) Pharaoh's heart. Seven times it simply says the king's heart was hard (or was hardened)—without saying why. Three more times it says that Pharaoh hardened his own heart.

One other time it says God would send plagues "to Pharaoh's heart” (9:14), probably to reveal what lurked within the king's innermost being. After all, this is when we reveal what we really are—when we're under fire and the pressure is on.

Three different Hebrew words for hard/harden(ed) are found in this passage:

• Chazaq — Means "to strengthen" or "to make firm." When the psalmist says we should "be of good courage" (Ps. 27:14), the word for "courage" is chazaq. In the Exodus story, the same word refers to Pharaoh (see below). Therefore, a righteous man's heart is courageous for good; but an evil man's heart (like Pharaoh’s) is courageous for evil. It's two contrasting reflections of the same attribute.
• Qashah — Means "to harden" or to make something (or to be) "difficult." The psalmist uses this word when he says we shouldn't "harden" our hearts like Israel did in the wilderness (95:8; see below).
• Kaved — Means “to become heavy” or “burdensome” (related to kavod, the Hebrew word for “glory”). Isaiah used this term when he chastised Israel for being “a people laden (kaved) with iniquity” (1:4). 

Here's a summary of the verses that tell us what was happening to Pharaoh's heart:

1. Ex. 4:21 — God says He will harden Pharaoh's heart — Heb., chazaq
2. Ex. 7:3 — God again says He will harden Pharaoh's heart — qashah
3. Ex. 7:13 — Pharaoh's heart grows hard (source unspecified) — chazaq
4. Ex. 7:14 — Pharaoh's heart is hard (source unspecified) — kaved
5. Ex. 7:22 — Pharaoh's heart grows hard (source unspecified) — chazaq
6. Ex. 7:23 — Pharaoh's heart remains "unmoved" (source unspecified)
7. Ex. 8:15 — Pharaoh hardens his own heart — kaved
8. Ex. 8:19 — Pharaoh's heard grows hard (source unspecified) — chazaq
9. Ex. 8:32 — Pharaoh hardens his own heart again — kaved
10. Ex. 9:7 — Pharaoh's heart becomes hard (source unspecified) — kaved
11. Ex. 9:12 — The LORD hardens Pharaoh's heart — chazaq
12. Ex. 9:14 — God will target Pharaoh's heart with a series of plagues
13. Ex. 9:34 — Pharaoh hardens his own heart yet again — kaved
14. Ex. 9:35 — Pharaoh's heart is hard (source unspecified) — chazaq

The Pharaoh-Yahweh interchange boils down to one simple question: Who's in charge?

Having the benefit of hindsight, we can see that the LORD was in charge—and He ultimately prevailed. However, the Egyptian King's own free will also played a role in the shaping and severity of these events. Choices were placed before him and he had to decide what he would do. Then he did it.

It's interesting that the narrative strikes a balance between the human and divine dynamics. Three times it says the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart. Three other times it says he hardened his own heart (and it uses kaved in each of these instances). The rest of the time, it just says his heart was hard (or hardened).

Nowhere does it say that God forced Pharaoh to do anything. It’s more like the LORD was letting Pharaoh do what he was prone to do anyway—and prompting him at critical points along the way.

Nonetheless, let’s not be too hard on Pharaoh. God’s warning against stubborn, self-willed hard-heartedness wasn't just for him—it's for all of us:

6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.
7 For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture,
And the sheep of His hand.
Today, if you will hear His voice:
8 "Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion,
As in the day of trial in the wilderness,
9 When your fathers tested Me (Psalm 95).

Will Israel Strike Iran? Update:

The New York Times recently published a front page story regarding the cyber-attack. You can read the full article here: Israeli Test on Worm Called Crucial in Iran Nuclear Delay. Read our original post here: Will Israel Strike Iran? Now We Know the Answer.

"Christian Muslim"—An Oxymoron?

As I've mentioned before, one of the frustrating things about having a ministry that's active in Israel is that there's a lot about it that we can't talk about.

The reason we can't talk about some aspects of our work in Israel is that publicity can sometimes be counterproductive.

At times, in fact, publicity can be downright dangerous. For instance, when Muslim or Druze people become believers in Jesus, their very lives are sometimes at risk. There are people in both of these communities who wouldn't hesitate to kill a family member who professed faith in the Jewish Messiah (or otherwise disgraced the clan)—and they would do it without batting an eye.

These executions are not uncommon in the Islamic world. They are called "honor killings." They happen even here in the US.

This is why we have to be judicious in our publications and on our website about what we reveal about our ministry in the Middle East.

Let me see if I can give you an example without treading on any dangerous ground. One of our workers in Israel has developed a ministry among the Palestinians. He/she travels to the West Bank from time to time and attends prayer meetings and Bible studies among Palestinian believers there. This worker sends us reports that include incredible photos of him/her with groups of Palestinian believers. They obviously have the greatest affection for him/her—and the feeling is mutual.

I look at these photos and I think, "Wow, this is the solution to the whole Middle East problem!" The Lord Yeshua the Messiah has been able to accomplish what governments and administrations have failed at so miserably for all these years! He has brought true shalom between Israelis and Palestinians.

It's hard to believe, I know; but in these photos it's right there in living color—a Jewish Israeli man/woman surrounded by a sea of friendly faces—Palestinian believers. These people love each other. They worship together. They pray together. They are brothers and sisters bound together by their mutual faith in Yeshua the Messiah.

We would love to print some of these reports and photos in our publications. But we can't because these precious Palestinian brothers and sisters would be seen as "collaborators" and traitors by the Palestinian Authority if the photos fell into the wrong hands. The penalty for treason in the Palestinian culture is death. Arafat used to cut the throats of suspected "collaborators" (with no trial or due process of law) and hang their bodies upside down in the Ramallah town square. This is serious business, folks.

So we keep it low-key on this end—and just pray that God will keep on doing what He's doing among the suffering Palestinian people. 

As an aside, we just heard about a Palestinian believer who was critically wounded when he was caught in cross-fire during a military campaign several years ago. His leg was amputated and later he developed kidney failure—so he couldn't work to support his family even if work was available. His small family lives in a shack in a West Bank slum with no running water. They barely have enough to eat. Yet even in the midst of these miserable conditions, this man loves the Lord. Some Jewish believers in Israel send him money when they are able so he can buy groceries and clothes for his children. His wife does her best to keep a clean house—as much as that's possible when you're sweeping a dirt floor. It's an amazing story (and there's a lot more that I can't tell you in this post).

Maybe this sounds strange to some of our readers. Is it possible to be pro-Israel to the core—and yet still have love and compassion for the Palestinian people, especially the believers among them? Yes, I promise you—it is possible.

Our sources tell us that the Gospel is making serious inroads into the Muslim community in the West Bank and Gaza. This growing phenomenon has given rise to an interesting theological question: Is the term "Christian Muslim" an oxymoron?

If you define the term "Muslim" as referring to someone who worships Allah and believes Jesus of Nazareth was a prophet but not the only begotten Son of God, then the answer is yes—it's an oxymoron, an inherent contradiction in terms.

On the other hand, if the term "Muslim" refers more broadly to a culture (rather than to someone who adheres to specific religious beliefs), then the answer is no, it's not a fundamental contradiction.

Here's one of several studies on this topic available on the Internet: click here.

One thing we know for sure: The war between good and evil is heating up and God has His people stationed everywhere—even behind enemy lines.

Let's pray for these courageous Palestinian believers in Gaza and the West Bank—and for the good-hearted people on our staff in Israel who have been moved by their plight and are trying to help them.

Although our emphasis continues to be Jewish evangelism, if you sent a check and marked it "Palestinian outreach," I'm sure we could put it to good use.

Verse for today: "The LORD executes righteousness And justice for all who are oppressed" (Psalm 103:6).

2010 Blog Wrap-Up

The end of 2010! Who thought it would go by so fast? In case you missed them, here are some of the Headline blog posts from 2010.

• Hard to believe it was only six months ago that the international community was criticizing Israel’s blockade of Gaza. “If Israel Is Not Evil, the World Is in Big Trouble.”
  
• And of course, Middle East Peace Talks … Again. With a stern reply by Abbas.
  
• The American political scene took off with Glenn Beck … All the Rage!
  
• And we took a time to look at Speaking in Tongues and what it means for believers today. (Click for Part 1 of 5 and follow through the series with the links at the bottom of each post.)
  
• The Vatican, in a not entirely surprising announcement, declared that Israel Isn’t the Promised Land After All 
  
• And the world asked the question: Does the Ayatollah Have a Sense of Humor?
  
• Finally, we wrapped up the year by answering the long-anticipated question: Will Israel Strike Iran?

As we look toward 2011, we’re excited about our upcoming God, Israel and You conference in Branson Missouri. We hope you’ll click the link above and head over to our site to register. We’d love to see you there!

Will Israel Strike Iran? Now We Know the Answer

For several years now, the world has been waiting with bated breath for the answer to this question: Will the Israelis strike Iran to dismantle (or at least decelerate) her nuclear weapons program?

Now we know the answer—and it's yes.

In fact, the strike has already occurred. Most people don't know about it because it was carried out stealthily and clandestinely. Unbelievably, not a single shot was fired and the Israeli F-16s never left their own airspace.

You see, they did it with a computer virus. It's well known that Iranian computer technology is five years or more behind the West (largely due to the technology embargo), so it seemed like the logical weakness to exploit. 

And exploit it they did (see the Jerusalem Post article below).

Of course, neither party is fessing up to it. The Israelis aren't admitting that they created the virus and the mullahs aren't about to acknowledge that the sinister Zionists caught them with their pants down.

But when you try to clean this particular brand of malware from a computer, it mockingly plays HaTikvah, the Israeli national anthem, while it continues to spread and infect critical systems.

I'd say that's a pretty good clue as to its origin.

So far, Tehran is playing it off and trying to make it appear as though it's business as usual with its nuclear program.

But it's not. Behind the scenes, the nerdy guys in the white lab coats are running around in circles like chickens with their heads cut off. By virtually all accounts, the attack has set Iran's nuclear program back by at least two years.

Which means that two years or so from now, we'll be right back where we started. So a disaster hasn't been averted; it's only been postponed.

Here's the article from the Jerusalem Post:

Stuxnet virus set back Iran’s nuclear program by 2 years

December 15, 2010

By YAAKOV KATZ, JPOST

Top German computer consultant tells ‘Post’ virus was as effective as military strike, a huge success; expert speculates IDF creator of virus.

The Stuxnet virus, which has attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities and which Israel is suspected of creating, has set back the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program by two years, a top German computer consultant who was one of the first experts to analyze the program’s code told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday.

“It will take two years for Iran to get back on track,” Langer said in a telephone interview from his office in Hamburg, Germany. “This was nearly as effective as a military strike, but even better since there are no fatalities and no full-blown war. From a military perspective, this was a huge success.”

Langer spoke to the Post amid news reports that the virus was still infecting Iran’s computer systems at its main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz and its reactor at Bushehr.

Last month, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nation’s nuclear watchdog, said that Iran had suspended work at its nuclear-field production facilities, likely a result of the Stuxnet virus.

According to Langer, Iran’s best move would be to throw out all of the computers that have been infected by the worm, which he said was the most “advanced and aggressive malware in history.” But, he said, even once all of the computers were thrown out, Iran would have to ensure that computers used by outside contractors were also clean of Stuxnet.

“It is extremely difficult to clean up installations from Stuxnet, and we know that Iran is no good in IT [information technology] security, and they are just beginning to learn what this all means,” he said. “Just to get their systems running again they have to get rid of the virus, and this will take time, and then they need to replace the equipment, and they have to rebuild the centrifuges at Natanz and possibly buy a new turbine for Bushehr.”

Widespread speculation has named Israel’s Military Intelligence Unit 8200, known for its advanced Signal Intelligence (SIGINT) capabilities, as the possible creator of the software, as well as the United States.

Langer said that in his opinion at least two countries – possibly Israel and the United States – were behind Stuxnet.

Israel has traditionally declined comment on its suspected involvement in the Stuxnet virus, but senior IDF officers recently confirmed that Iran had encountered significant technological difficulties with its centrifuges at the Natanz enrichment facility.

“We can say that it must have taken several years to develop, and we arrived at this conclusion through code analysis, since the code on the control systems is 15,000 lines of code, and this is a huge amount,” Langer said.

“This piece of evidence led us to conclude that this is not by a hacker,” he continued. “It had to be a country, and we can also conclude that even one nation-state would not have been able to do this on its own.”

Eric Byres, a computer security expert who runs a website called Tofino Security, which provides solutions for industrial companies with Stuxnet-related problems, told the Post on Tuesday that the number of Iranians visiting his site had jumped tremendously in recent weeks – a likely indication that the virus is still causing great disarray at Iranian nuclear facilities.

“What caught our attention was that last year we maybe had one or two people from Iran trying to access the secure areas on our site,” Byres said. “Iran was never on the map for us, and all of a sudden we are now getting massive numbers of people going to our website, and people who we can identify as being from Iran.”

Byres said that some people openly identified themselves as Iranian when asking for permission to log onto his website, while others were impersonating employees of industries with which he frequently works.

“There are a large number of people trying to access the secure areas directly from Iran and other people who are putting together fake identities,” he said. “We are talking about hundreds. It could be people who are curious about what is going on, but we are such a specialized site that it would only make sense that these are people who are involved in control systems.”

Gifts from Israel

If you're looking for gifts, music, or art from the Land of Israel, you should check out www.israelunique.com.

Israel Unique is owned and operated by Michael Nissim, a messianic believer and a good friend of ours. Michael and his family recently moved from Haifa to Nahariya and have been helping with our congregation there.

Not long ago, I purchased a couple of his messianic music CDs. They're excellent—I listen to them all the time.

Doing business with companies in Israel that are owned by believers is a good way to support the messianic movement. They appreciate it and I can assure you that their customer service is unsurpassed.

When you're online, why not also visit www.messianicspecialties.com? There's some neat stuff there, too.

We don't see ourselves as competitors. It's more like we're mutual encouragers, helping each other out.

Thanks and God bless.

Does the Ayatollah Have a Sense of Humor?

To the mullahs in Iran: Come on, guys, even you have got to admit that this is pretty funny!

To everyone else: You've probably already seen this photo (unless you've been hiding under a rock for the past 48 hours or so):

In this satellite photo from Google Earth, notice the Star of David prominently displayed on the hub of this complex of buildings. The Star of David (Magen David in Hebrew) is one of the national symbols of the modern State of Israel. You might wonder why this particular Star of David is getting so much attention during this Hanukkah season.

The reason is that it lovingly adorns the rooftop of—get this—the headquarters of the official Airline of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Tehran International Airport in Tehran, Iran. We're talking Jihad Airways here, folks.

For those of you who are thinking this is just too funny to be true (and frankly, under normal circumstances, I would agree with you), here's a link to the Fox News story.

My prediction is that this Iranian Star of David will be gone (or covered up) in a matter of days—or heads will roll (literally). In the meantime, the always-creative ministry of propaganda in Tehran may insist that the satellite photo was Photoshopped. 

How else can they explain how it escaped everyone's notice for over 30 years, especially in an airport with overhead traffic constantly coming and going?

According to news reports, this airport complex was built in the 1970s by Israeli engineers hired by the Shah of Iran. The Star of David was their "signature," of sorts, like Picasso or Rembrandt signing one of their famous works. The Shah was deposed in January of 1979 when Islamic militants seized control of the government. He fled into exile.

But the Star of David stayed—and it's been there for all this time.

Which goes to show that even if the mullahs don't have a sense of humor, God does.

"But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty" (1 Cor. 1:27).

Thanks to David Jacobs, our Israeli tour guide, for giving us a heads up on this intriguing story.

The Bible and/versus Modern Archaeology

Well, we were just talking about the fact that the Bible proves or disproves modern science—and not vice versa (see "Noah's Ark: Finally Found?").

Now it just so happens that we have a followup report (not on the search for Noah's Ark, but on something else) that illustrates my point perfectly.

We reported some time ago on the controversial work of Israeli archaeologist Eilat Mazar in Jerusalem. 

For decades, there's been an insurmountable divide in the academic world between skeptical scholars who are largely motivated by a radical anti-Bible agenda and other scholar-scientists who are simply interested in doing their work and going wherever the evidence leads. Many skeptics, for instance, say that the biblical narrative about Kings David and Solomon—and the expansive kingdom over which this father and son reigned—is greatly exaggerated. Some of the more radical skeptics, in fact, say it's all fantasy—David and Solomon never existed, there was no kingdom, and the Temple never stood on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem. According to them, the Bible is no more credible in its recounting of history than, say, Aesop's fables or an ancient version of Looney Tunes.

Not surprisingly, the Palestinian Authority has gleefully picked up on the work of the radicals. And no wonder! The notion that the ancient Temple is a figment of the collective Jewish imagination plays nicely into their anti-Israel agenda: click here

Dr. Mazar is a prominent Israeli archaeologist with a Ph.D. from Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Her father was also an archaeologist—and his father before him. She shook up the archaeological world in 2005 when she announced that she may have discovered the remains of King David's palace in Jerusalem's Old City.

How did she find it? Taking her cues from Bible passages about David, Dr. Mazar decided to start digging in what was believed to be the oldest part of the Old City. Since the Bible says King David conquered the original site of the Jebusite settlement there (which later became Jerusalem; Joshua 15:8), it made sense.

We say "may have discovered" because there's a degree of subjectivity in findings like this. Since no one seriously expects to find a Hebrew inscription saying "King David slept here" (David ha-melech yashan po), the evidence is largely circumstantial. But if the structure is situated where the Bible says it should be, it consists of the right materials, it's from the right time period, and it fits the other biblical criteria, then it could very well be what we think it is.

Like they say, "If it waddles like a duck, has feathers and a bill like a duck, and makes an irritating quacking sound—then you've probably got yourself a duck."

The liberal wing of the academic world was predictably indignant at Dr. Mazar's announcement. How dare she be so arrogant as to assume that she may have found proof that their anti-Davidic Dynasty theories were the real Looney Tunes—rather than the Bible?

In 1995, I made a note on my calendar to follow up in five years to see if there was any sort of consensus after her discovery had been subjected to peer review over a period of several years. That's why you're reading this now.

Not surprisingly, there is still no consensus. The anti-Bible radicals still don't like her work. Others, who are either pro-Bible or simply ambivalent, do. What's important, though, is that after five years of peer review, no one has been able to point out any demonstrable flaws or inconsistencies in her work. What they don't like are her conclusions.

You see, Dr. Mazar, unlike many of her academic peers, isn't afraid to march to a different drummer. She doesn't use archaeology to prove the Bible; on the contrary, she uses the Bible as a guide to archaeology. When she wondered where she might find evidence of David's palace, she went to the Bible for direction. She sifted through the books of Samuel and Kings, carefully analyzing the data. Then she started digging—and lo and behold, with the Bible as her guide, she uncovered a massive, sprawling stone structure unlike anything ever before discovered in Jerusalem from that period (c. 1000 BC). It argues persuasively for the existence of a strong, centralized Jerusalem-based government during that period—precisely as the Bible describes (radical theories to the contrary notwithstanding).

As far as I know, Dr. Mazar is not a believer in Yeshua.

But she believes the OT Scriptures—and I'd say that's a good start.

We wish this remarkable woman well in her endeavors.

Like I blogged last week in the "Noah's Ark" entry, we don't use archaeology (or any other field of academia) to prove the Bible. Rather, we use the Bible to prove archaeology, philosophy, history, and ... well, you get the idea.

NOTE: PBS, as part of its Nova series on "The Bible's Buried Secrets," interviewed Dr. Mazar in 2008: click here for a peek.

Noah's Ark: Finally Found?

NOTE: We just received word from Dr. Price that his 700 Club interview about the Noah's Ark "discovery" is now viewable online at: