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But "he that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed,
and than without remedy." (Proverbs 29:1)
The same manifestation of God which to the believing is "a savor of life unto life," is
to those whoresist it "a savor of death unto death." As one has written, "the sunlight
shining upon our earthproduces opposite results according to the nature of the soil." In
Scripture language: (Hebrews 6:7,8) "the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh
oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet forthem by whom it is dressed, receiveth
blessing from God: but that which beareth thorns and briars isrejected, and is nigh
unto cursing; whose end is to be burned." Or, as a German writer puts it, "It isthe
curse of sin that it makes the hard heart ever harder against the gracious drawing of
the Divinelove, patience, and long-suffering."
Thus they who harden themselves fall at last under the Divine judgment of hardening,
with all theterrible consequences which it involves.
Hitherto we have only traced this as it appears in the course of Pharaoh's history.
There are,however, deeper bearings of the question, connected with the Divine
dealings, the sovereignty, andthe power of God. For such inquiries this is obviously
not the place. Suffice it to draw some practicallessons. First and foremost, we learn the
insufficiency of even the most astounding miracles tosubdue the rebellious will, to
change the heart, or to subject a man unto God. Our blessed LordHimself has said of a
somewhat analogous case, that men would not believe even though one rosefrom the
dead. (Luke 16:31) And His statement has been only too amply verified in the history
of theworld since His own resurrection. Religion is matter of the heart, and no
intellectual conviction,without the agency Of the Holy Spirit, affects the inmost
springs of our lives. Secondly, a moreterrible exhibition of the daring of human pride,
the confidence of worldly power, and thedeceitfulness of sin than that presented by the
history of this Pharaoh can scarcely be conceived.And yet the lesson seems to have
been overlooked by too many! Not only sacred history butpossibly our own
experience may furnish instances of similar tendencies; and in the depths of his
ownsoul each believer must have felt his danger in this respect, for "the heart is
deceitful above all things,and desperately wicked." Lastly, resistance to God must
assuredly end in fearful judgment. Eachconviction suppressed, each admonition
stifled, each loving offer rejected, tends towards increasingspiritual insensibility, and
that in which it ends. It is wisdom and safety to watch for the blessedinfluences of
God's Spirit, and to throw open our hearts to the sunlight of His grace.
(^)