Sunday: Go, and Worship the Lord
Daily Lesson for Sunday 3rd of August 2025
On the night of Passover, divine judgment fell on those not covered by the blood (Exodus 12:1-12). No one escaped because of position, education, social status, or gender. Punishment struck all families, from Pharaoh to slaves, and even the firstborn of the animals. The pride of Egypt was in the dust.
Read Exodus 12:31-36. What strange request does Pharaoh make and why, even as he gives permission for them all to leave?
How interesting that Pharaoh, in telling the Hebrews to go and worship, adds this request: “And bless me also.”
And bless me also?
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Why would he, the king of Egypt, a “god” on earth among his people, ask that? It sounds as if he’s finally catching on to the power of the Hebrew God and would like to benefit from it. However, how can God bless him while he is steeped in rebellion, stubbornness, sin, and pride? Sure, he finally gave his consent, but it wasn’t out of submission to the will of Yahweh. It was, instead, out of defeat. He wasn’t repentant—as his later actions will reveal. He simply wanted to stop the devastation that was destroying his kingdom.
Pharaoh was humiliated. And, given the tragic circumstances from the worst plague of all, he gives permission for Israel to leave Egypt. What he refused to grant all previous times, and no matter the suffering his actions brought upon his nation, he now permits.
And the Egyptian people, understandably, are eager for the Hebrews to go, as well. As they said, please leave, or else “we shall all be dead.”
God, meanwhile, made provision so that the Israelites did not leave Egypt empty-handed but with things they would need for what, in the end, would turn out to be a much longer sojourn than anticipated. The Egyptians gave the Jews these precious articles only to hurry the people out of the country, but the items were wages that were long denied the Israelites for centuries of slave labor. Surely for the Egyptians, the price of getting the Hebrews out of their land was cheap enough.
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How often have we “repented” of actions only because of their consequences and not because those acts were themselves wrong? Why is that not true repentance? How can we learn to be sorry for the sins that, in a sense, we “get away with,” at least in the short term? |
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“The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty” (Proverbs 27:12, NIV).
The text above literally means that wise people act early to avoid trouble, while the careless suffer the consequences. Pharaoh was finally overwhelmed by the mighty power of God, and he had to let the Hebrew people go after many terrible consequences. What was the cost of Pharaoh’s refusal to let the Hebrew people go at first? What spiritual lessons can we learn from this tragic episode?
1. Serious economic loss – The plagues devastated the Egyptian economy
2. Environmental disaster - frogs, lice, flies, boils, darkness, etc, brought suffering, health crises.
3. National disaster – Pharaoh and his powerful empire were utterly humiliated by divine judgment.
4. Personal and national grief – The death of every firstborn caused immense pain to all Egyptians.
5. Loss of Military Power – The entire Egyptian army was lost in the Red Sea.
Egypt was left weakened militarily, economically, and morally. Pharaoh was never wise to fight with Yahweh, the mighty God. Sin is very expensive indeed!
What spiritual lessons can we learn from this tragic episode?
1. Pride is evil - “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” - Proverbs 16:18
2. Delayed obedience is disobedience, and it is spiritually dangerous.
3. God is absolutely sovereign, and no power on earth can thwart His plan.
4. Leaders must make their decisions wisely – Leadership has consequences.
5. God is very patient, and this must not be seen as an inability to act decisively.
How often have we “repented” of actions only because of their consequences and not because those acts were themselves wrong? Why is that not true repentance? How can we learn to be sorry for the sins that, in a sense, we “get away with,” at least in the short term?
Rather easy question to answer after studying last weeks lesson. Just look at what Pharaoh did, the opposite of what a true believer does. True repentance comes from God. If you read the quote last week that I provided from the 17th chapter of The Desire of Ages you saw that we are helpless in repenting without the Holy Spirit. Who puts the thoughts in our minds to stay the course? Absolutely the Holy Spirit. Check it out on page 175.4. I really like paragraph 5 also.
In the statement "Go and worship your God " we confront the tension between God’s sovereign will and human responsibility. In Romans 9:17–18, there is a parallel from the Exodus narrative that shows God’s absolute authority over human hearts. God tells Pharaoh through Moses, “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” Paul then makes the bold, uncompromising statement: “Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.” The hardening is not just passive Since God declared that He would harden Pharaoh’s heart. Thus the resistance was no surprise; it was part of God’s eternal purpose to accomplish His redemptive plan.
The staggering mystery is that God commands Pharaoh to let His people go, hardens Pharaoh’s heart so he will not obey, and then judges him for that disobedience calling it sin. This interplay between divine sovereignty and human guilt is quite humbling. The main point is not to accuse God of injustice, but to marvel at His wisdom, justice, and power. Pharaoh, a man raised up by God for this purpose, becomes an instrument to reveal God’s glory. Eventually, broken and defeated by the relentless weight of God's judgment, Pharaoh utters the long-delayed words: “Go, worship the Lord as you have requested” (Exodus 12:31) as submission to God's judgement and not necessary surrender since pharaoh later follows the Israelites and he is ultimately destroyed!
Knowing how modern secularly-minded people react to me when Christian faith comes into the discussion, I would not be surprised if there was a touch of cynicism in Pharaoh's comments. We read the plagues as a show of supernatural events, but as most of us know, the supernatural is often explained away. (Remember how long it took the Hebrews to forget the supernatural event of the giving of the Ten Commandments, and revert to calf worship!)
So, I would not be surprised if Pharaoh's "and bless me also" was not an admission of God's supremacy, but a cynical remark of frustration.
... and that raises the issue about our desire for God to demonstrate his power today. Demonstrations of power don't necessarily convince the ungodly. Demonstrating the love of God towards one another and to those who cynically discredit or ignore our faith is probably the most effective demonstration of supernatural power that we encounter.
As a sinner, I can pretend or blame others for my weaknesses. I can even interpret God’s Law to my advantage. But sooner or later, I’ll have to face my Creator independently and responsibly answer for my choices.
In regards to the final question - we don't learn to be sorry. You don't will your feelings or they aren't real. What we need to have true repentance is conviction and this comes from the Holy Spirit (see John 16:8). It's by drawing close to God that the Holy Spirit can work in us and as we see what Jesus is like, we want to be like Him and we want to get away from what's not like Him.
Regarding who hardened Pharaohs heart. If you do something that irritates me, and I choose to become mad about it. You didn't actually make me mad, by my own choice I opted to not take the higher road, and reacted in anger to your action.
Pharaoh repeatedly hardened his heart despite God's warnings and signs. When Pharaoh asked Moses to bless him after the death of his first born, it was not genuine or true repentance. True repentance involves a change of heart only God knows about. It also involves turning away from your wrong actions. Pharaoh's action did not reflect true repentance but a visceral reaction. In fact Pharaoh asked the question "Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us? Exodus 14:5 and then he and his army pursued the Hebrews in rage. Pharaoh regretted his decision to let the Hebrews go. This has a warning for us. God knows the thoughts, intentions and motivations of man beyond what humans see. In other words, God knows the heart.
Hello all, am new here, am enjoying reading your comments, they are so uplifting. Am a bit confused with romans 9v17-18. Does it mean that God created Pharaoh on purpose to harden his heart for his glory?. Is it fair to call him a sinner whilst it was God who caused him to be like that. Does it mean that there might be other people born with hardened hearts and will never repent like Pharaoh.
We have learned in past Sabbath School lessons that God has given each and everyone free will to decide. So you choose either good or bad for yourself. It’s like the Holy Spirit keeps on reminding us of our sins, and when we decide not to listen to him, He later leaves us to our sins. When you’re standing besides me and we’re having conversations and you keep on walking you will reach a point where you’ll not be able to hear me.