In the very beginning of the story, G-d foretells that G-d will harden Pharaoh's heart, revealing that only a “greater might” will free the Israelites from bondage. But if G-d is an all powerful G-d, wouldn’t it have been easier to actually soften Pharaoh’s heart, inclining him to let the Israelites go? G-d chooses not to do this, in order to teach an important lesson. G-d mentions briefly why G-d chose to stiffen Pharaoh’s heart: to demonstrate power, humble the people of Egypt, induce a fear G-d, and create a story to be remembered. The plagues become progressively worse, yet G-d continues to encourage Pharaoh's stubbornness. Pharaoh's response to each of the plagues reveal much about human nature. It is notable that Pharaoh only pleads with Moses for G-d to remove the plagues when the plague directly affects himself. …show more content…
Pharaoh also expresses more and more guilt as the plagues intensify but the instant there is a reprieve in the suffering the king reverts back to his old ways. This could be teaching us how only pressing needs create enough discomfort to grab our attention and make us want to change. Another way of viewing G-d’s actions is seeing them as a method of serving justice. Pharaoh, as well as the Egyptians, had 430 years to change the Israelites position in their society. Plaguing the land compensated for the mistreatment of the Israelites by inflicting suffering upon the Egyptians while favoring the Israelites. This partiality also builds faith between the Israelites and G-d, sending the broader message that G-d is watching over them. Moses patiently obeys G-d and ultimately his trust is rewarded. It is hard to tell if Pharaoh would have given in sooner without the stiffening of his heart by G-d. However, by enhancing Pharaoh’s stubbornness, G-d made possible a true punishment for the Egyptians and created a story that clearly has endured the test of
Respecting the gods was one of the most important, and there was retribution for those who didn’t. After killing the Bull of Heaven, the gods punish Gilgamesh and his friend, Enkidu, by sentencing Enkidu to a slow, painful death by disease. Merikare writes that a Pharaoh must, “make ample the daily offerings, it profits him who does it.” In both instances, the gods are where the kings derive their claim to the throne. Respecting them is of utmost importance because they believed that punishment could come if one did not obey. In addition, both kings needed to conquer or secure trade routes to gain access to valuable luxury resources. Both require Cedar, as evidenced when Merikare writes, “I pacified the West…it gives cedar wood,” and when Gilgamesh kills Humbaba so he can build a great Cedar gate at the entrance of Uruk. Both cultures recognized the best way to have constant access to an important commodity was to control the supply and the roads. These works both exemplify this, as both used military force to secure Cedar, which both needed for their monumental architecture. Kings also needed to be accountable to the people. In the beginning of the epic, Gilgamesh is a cruel ruler, and the people hate him. The gods decide, therefore, to give him a rival who can dethrone him. The Pharaoh also writes to his son, “Don 't be evil, kindness is good, Make your memorial last
From this portion of scripture, we can see that God will not force His sovereign will on one who is determined to have a hardened heart and refuses to accept His mercy. This is also evident in the case with Pharaoh whereby God forced Pharaoh to do what was already in his heart, therefore, forfeiting his opportunity to be redeemed.
God has another moment of mass creation during Exodus. He creates ten plagues, one after the other. The first was blood, then God sends different animals and plagues to destroy the Egyptian society. It should be noted that God doesn’t control the plagues, in the sense that he hypnotizes and forces people or animals to act according to his will...
The two children are affected by the environment in completely different ways. Pharaoh, the youngest, takes his surroundings very seriously. Any time that Pharaoh can get a chance, he goes to secret places in order to be alone with his thoughts. The more violence, death, and hardship that Pharaoh is forced to witness, the more deeply he is affected.
As king, the pharaoh had many duties that were civic and religious. The people saw him as the living Horus and the son of Ra. They believed only pharaoh could sacrifice to the gods and only the pharaoh could appoint the priests to serve the gods in his place. The people believed that he became Osiris after death and would continue to help his people in the afterlife. Pharaoh was the commander-in-chief of the army and the highest judge in the land. The people saw the pharaoh as essential for keeping their lives in balance and keeping harmony in Egypt. His rule was absolute.
Miracles are fore-facts of the future done on a small scale. There had been no appearance of God to anyone for more than four hundred years, so people probably thought the age of miracles was long gone. The people would not have accepted Moses as God’s spokesperson without some kind of proof. The miracle-plagues were just that. They are significant because of the number of them that were brought forth. There were ten. The number ten is significant to completeness. God said that he would execute judgment against all of the false gods of Egypt, and each plague was said to be directed toward a particular heavenly deity. So the ten plagues reveal the full wrath of God’s judgment on Egypt. The first nine Plagues were just God proving that he was more powerful than the Egyptian gods. They were simply tricks in comparison to the final one. The tenth plague, the death of the firstborn, was the most powerful of all. This final plague brought death to all Egyptian homes, even the home of the beloved pharaoh, and ensured Israel’s release from slavery. After this calamity, pharaoh had no choice but grant Israel their demands and he even pleaded for blessings from them. This plague destroyed idolatry and showed that life and death are in the hands of God.
The Divine Command Theory is an ethical theory that basically proposes that God is the sole distinguisher between what is right and what is wrong. The textbook describes that under this theory, God commands what is moral and forbids what is immoral. Critics of this theory state that if God is the sole decision maker of morality, immoral actions could be acceptable if He willed it, and thus, God’s authority would be subjective and arbitrary. However, proponents contend that God would not allow immoral actions because he is omnipotent and all good. To follow the Divine Command Theory, one must believe and trust that it is in God’s nature to do good, and He will not act against his nature. By believing in this, one would dispute the critics’ argument by proving that God his not making
Ancient Egypt was a single tightly organized state for much of its history (Centanni, n.d.). In all its phases, the Egyptian government was led by the pharaoh. The pharaoh was held to be descended from gods, with the power to assure success and control the rituals that assured the flow of the Nile and the fertility derived from irrigation. Wanting gods to favor Egypt, the entire population of people did not hesitate to carry out laws that the pharaoh placed upon them. Egypt’s pharaohs claimed additional power and authority as actual incarnations of the gods
The story of Moses in the Bible and the story of Moses in The Prince of Egypt both show how Moses freed the Israelites from slavery, and led the Israelites through the Israelites' struggles and hardships. Moses guided the Israelites for forty years in the desert to the Promised Land, and listened to the Israelites' complaints. Moses would then pray to God, and God provide for the Israelites through Moses. Also, to show that Moses was such a great leader, Moses led the Israelites through a very dangerous journey. The people living in Egypt's lives back then were much harder than our lives today, but there are enough differences and similarities between the two separate stories to reflect upon.
After each of these interventions, however, He ironically “hardened the Pharaoh’s heart… [so] he would not let the Israelites go” (9:35). To the most simplicity, God repeatedly dissuades the Pharaoh from listening to Moses and considering freeing the Israelites slaves. This demonstrates the idea that God intentionally wants to continue implementing evil deeds on the Pharaoh and his Egyptians. This is primarily because He want to let them live “to show [his] power, and to make [his] name resound through all the earth” so he “can gain glory for “himself” (9:16) (14:17). God have greatly “benefitted” the Israelites by harming the Egyptians; yet in the final analysis, he only intervened and used the mortal
The use of Mosheh was perfectly orchestrated based on the previous behavior of Mosheh fighting against injustice. Throughout the plagues Egyptians did turn there beliefs away from there traditional beliefs to worship Yahweh along with the Hebrews. Which proves first reason for the final plague was that the Egyptians may know that Yahweh is the supreme God. To set a reminder to Hebrews who have my converted to Egyptian beliefs. So we ask ourselves why wouldn't Pharaoh believe in Yahweh? Let us remember in Mitsrayim, Pharaoh was worshipped as a god. If he would have believed Yahweh was greater, he would lose his "divinity." Why did Yahweh hardened his heart continuously. Had Yahweh allowed Pharaoh to let the Hebrews go after the first plague, the Egyptians and their gods were have felt a some of superiority to Yahweh and missed out on the purpose to exult Yahweh as the most high
In Judaism, God is seen as having a contractual relationship with the Jewish people where they must obey his holy laws in return for their status of the chosen people. God rewards or punishes Jewish people based on whether they obey or disobey his will. In parts of the Old Testament, however, God does show mercy or forgiveness, and in later interpretations God’s laws such as the Ten Commandments are followed not only out of loyalty to God but also because of their high moral character.
Emerson described divine discontent in his essay, Thoughts on Modern Literature: “Man is not so far lost but that he suffers ever the great Discontent which is the elegy of his loss and the prediction of his recovery.” Everyone experiences loss in life, and it is fitting that we lament our losses. Nevertheless, it is also beneficial to be open, receptive and perceptive, with regard to opportunities for comfort and consolation; for there is no comfort or consolation in the loss, nor can we be content to suffer losses, knowing that there is more to us, more for us, and more that we can do. The enlightened know that we cannot be content with survival, and that we will strive, but only in order to thrive. And so we find, in Emerson’s insights
Back ground of the book: Revelation “Revelation” is from the Greek word apokalupsis which means, “A disclosure, an unveiling.” The book of Revelation is an unveiling of the Character and program of God. Author Four times the author identifies himself as John (1:1, 4, 9; 22:8) Date and origin The traditional view for the date of revelation is during the reign of Emperor Domitian (A.D. 81-90).
...n 1163 B.C., Egypt entered a period of slow decline (Scarre 1997:116). Pharaohs became less powerful, and their prestige dwindled. Hungry soldiers were terrorizing the community, while tomb robbers were raiding the pyramids for resources that were very much needed. They had buried their pharaohs with food, goods and jewelry, all of which were needed to keep the civilization in tact. They had built too many pyramids, and there were setbacks in Asia which corrupted trade. People did not understand why the pharaohs could not fix the problems that were going on. They viewed them as gods and lost trust and faith. Egypt fell apart as these things culminated with loss of belief in the pharaohs.