At Mercy Hill Church, we’ve been journeying through the book of Exodus in our Let My People Go series, seeing how God moves in power to deliver His people. Each week, we’ve uncovered deeper truths about who He is and how He works in our lives:
- God saves people through His Savior for His glory.
- In His kindness, God invites us to know Him.
- God’s presence helps us push through fear and excuses.
- He is our mighty Deliverer, leading us from slavery to freedom.
But what happens when we resist Him? This week, we studied Exodus 8:1-15, and the big idea is simple yet convicting: God uses painful circumstances to wake us up to His purposes.
In Exodus 8, God’s plan for His people was clear: freedom. But Pharaoh’s response was just as clear: resistance. He refused to acknowledge God’s authority, even as the plagues unfolded before him. His story serves as a warning to us all—when we resist God’s will, we harden our hearts, and the consequences are costly. Let’s dive into this passage and examine what Pharaoh’s hardened heart can teach us.
Pharaoh Thought He Owned God’s People
The story of the plagues begins with a simple but profound truth: Pharaoh thought he owned the Israelites. He treated them as his possession, refusing to acknowledge that they belonged to God. But God sent Moses with a clear message: “Let my people go, that they may serve me” (Exodus 8:1).
Pharaoh had power, wealth, and authority, but he made the critical mistake of thinking he had control over what belonged to God. There’s a lesson for us in this story: we are stewards, not owners.
Before we shake our heads at Pharaoh, let’s turn the mirror on ourselves. How often do we act like owners instead of stewards?
- We cling tightly to our resources, forgetting they belong to God.
- We treat our time as our own, rather than something entrusted to us for His kingdom.
- We build our own little kingdoms, assuming we have control.
It’s worth a brief appraisal of our own lives, an assessment of the posture of our hearts. May we remember the truth today that everything we have belongs to God.
The Plagues Are Both a Consequence and a Wake-Up Call
God sends plagues upon Egypt not only as judgment but as an alarm—an opportunity for Pharaoh to repent. Painful circumstances often serve as both consequence and wake-up call.
Pharaoh experiences the first plague of frogs, and suddenly he’s overwhelmed. He knows God’s power and asks for relief, but instead of truly repenting, he just wants the problem to go away.
When we come across “frogs” in our lives, do we want redemption or relief? Do we want to align ourselves with God’s will, or are our actions simply about avoiding pain? Storms in life are inevitably going to come. In them, we can fight to merely claw our way out, or we can cling to the Lord and allow the circumstances to push us to a deeper relationship with God. If you’re facing a storm today, which outcome do you desire? Is God using circumstances in your life to wake you up now?
Pharaoh Knows the Will of God; He Just Doesn’t Want It
Pharoah’s issue in Exodus 8 isn’t ignorance. Pharaoh isn’t confused about what God wants. He knows the will of God; he just doesn’t want it.
How often do we do the same thing? We know God is calling us to obedience, but we fight against Him, hoping for another way. Pharaoh bargains, delays, and makes empty promises—but his heart remains hard.
Catfish Noodling and Delayed Obedience
For years, I had wanted to go catfish noodling—one of the craziest, most ridiculous things you can do in a river. If you don’t know what noodling is, let me break it down: you get into the water, shove your bare hand inside a dark hole under the bank, and wait for a giant catfish to clamp down on your arm. Then, instead of yanking back like a normal person, you grab the fish by the mouth and wrestle it to the surface.
Well, I finally got my chance to do it. And I’ll tell you right now—I wasn’t about to show up unprepared. I took exactly two things with me: jean shorts and Jesus. That’s it.
Now, here’s where it gets good. My friends who had done this before kept warning me, “Man, you need to wear gloves.” But I thought, Nah, I’ll be fine.
So, I went in barehanded, found a hole, reached in, and BAM—a massive catfish latched onto my arm. This beast was big man, and let me tell you, that catfish shredded my hand like a cheese grater. I came right up to the surface, and said, “Guys, I think I need a pair of gloves!” Ha!
Pharaoh was doing the same thing. God gave him every warning, every opportunity to obey, and he ignored them. He thought he knew better. And just like I ignored my friends about the gloves, Pharaoh ignored God and suffered the consequences.
Think about your life for a moment. Do we trust God’s plan over our desires? Are we fully obeying, or just bargaining with Him?
Application: Allow Painful Seasons to Soften Your Heart Toward God.
As we learned last week, God is our deliverer, and He can use painful seasons to bring people back to Him. The key to responding rightly to pain is trusting that God is using it for our good. Pharaoh could have surrendered early, but his pride kept him from obedience. We don’t have to make the same mistake.
Pharaoh pleaded for relief from the plagues, but his heart never truly changed. Jesus, however, didn’t just pray for the plagues to stop—He took the plague of sin and death upon Himself.
On the cross, Jesus bore the punishment we deserved. The wrath that should have fallen on us fell on Him. Why? Because God wasn’t just interested in removing temporary suffering—He wanted to deliver us eternally. This is the good news: while Pharaoh rejected God’s will, Jesus fully surrendered to it. And because of that, we can experience true freedom.
Pharaoh teaches us a sobering lesson: Knowing what God wants is not the same as surrendering to Him.
- Are you resisting something God is calling you to do?
- Are you ignoring His voice in an area of your life?
- Is your heart soft toward His purpose, or is it hardening like Pharaoh’s?
If you’ve never surrendered your life to Jesus, today is the day. Don’t wait until painful circumstances force you to acknowledge Him. Choose to trust Him as your Deliverer now.
-Andrew Hopper, Lead Pastor
Watch the full sermon from week four of the “Let My People Go” series below:
