How's your heart, courage and faith?

Pharaoh's Hardness of Heart

During the plague cycles there are 3 different ways Pharaoh's hardness of heart is expressed:

1. Pharaoh hardened his own heart (Exo 8:15,32; 9:34).
• "But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said" (Exo 8:15).
  
• "But this time also Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let the people go" (Exo 8:32).
• "When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder had stopped, he sinned again: He and his officials hardened their hearts" (Exo 9:34).
  
2. Pharaoh's heart was hardened or became hard (Exo 7:13-14,22-23; 8:19; 9:7,35).
• "Yet Pharaoh's heart became hard and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said. Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Pharaoh's heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go'" (Exo 7:13-14).
• "But the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts, and Pharaoh's heart became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said. Instead, he turned and went into his palace, and did not take even this to heart" (Exo 7:22-23).
• "...the magicians said to Pharaoh, 'This is the finger of God.' But Pharaoh's heart was hard and he would not listen, just as the Lord had said" (Exo 8:19).
• "Pharaoh investigated and found that not even one of the animals of the Israelites had died. Yet his heart was unyielding and he would not let the people go" (Exo 9:7).
• "So Pharaoh's heart was hard and he would not let the Israelites go, just as the Lord had said through Moses" (Exo 9:35).
3. God hardened his heart (Exo 9:12; 11:10; 14:8).
• "But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said to Moses" (Exo 9:12).
  
• "Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let the Israelites go out of his country" (Exo 11:10).
  
• "The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly" (Exo 14:8).

A Heart that Never Hardens

"Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts." Charles Dickens. 

Happiness (Psalm 1)

Psalm 1:1-6; 2

"Instead, his delight is in the Lord's instruction, and he meditates on it day and night" (Ps 1:2, HCSB). " But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night" (Ps 1:2, NLT).

(Alternate titles: True Happiness. True Blessedness. A Truly Happy Person. A Truly Happy Man.)

Ps 1:1-6, the introduction to the book of Psalms, teaches us the way of blessedness, or true happiness. Our happiness is always related to our life--how we live (Ps 1:1) and what we desire and think about (Ps 1:2) [what's in our hearts], and the rest will fall in place and take care of itself (Ps 1:3). It is also prudent to regard the consequences of an unfulfilling and unhappy life (Ps 1:4-6). Thus, the happy and blessed person carefully watches and considers:

1. Their life (Ps 1:1), their walk: how they live and who they hang out with.
   
2. Their heart (Ps 1:2), their delight and meditation: what they desire and think about.
   
3. Their foundation (Ps 1:3): what they are grounded, rooted and planted upon.
4. Unhappy people (Ps 1:4-6), their lives and the consequences of their life:
1. No permanence: They lack a solid foundation (Ps 1:4).
2. No righteousness: They lack righteousness (Ps 1:5).
3. No life: Their lives dwindle and perish (Ps 1:6).

To be happy, seriously, reflectively, meditatively and contemplatively consider how you are living and what's in your heart.

Personal Application:

1. Love those who are unhappy. Do not judge, criticize or condemn them for their wickedness.
2. Repent of self-righteousness and condescension toward others, just because you think God has truly blessed you, your family and your church. Ultimately, it's not because of you.
   
3. Know the wickedness within ourselves when we:
• blame God and especially others.
  
• worry and are anxious about your future rather than simply trusting God.
• are jealous and envious of others, especially those who have what you want.
• gossip and slander others behind their back.
• are hypocrits by speaking, acting and behaving in a holy Christian way while our hearts are somewhere else.
• lie, are dishonest and not tell the truth.
• do not love others the way God has loved us.
• are ruled by our ego that seeks value, validation and vindication from people rather than from God.
  
4. Know that if you are blessed, it is entirely only because of the grace of God, and not because of any righteousness of your own.
5. Jesus is the only truly blessed and righteous person who ever lived out Psalm 1, not you!

References:

1. Motyer, J Alec. The Psalms. New Bible Commentary. Downers Grove, Illinois: Intervarsity Press, 1994.
   
2. Kidner, Derek. Psalms 1 - 72: An Introduction and Commentary. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries. Downers Grove, Illinois: Intervarsity Press, 1973.