Pharoah begins by saying, "Who is the LORD (Yahweh, the personal name of God), that I should obey Him? Isn't this the 1st question of every human being? Who is this particular God of the Bible that you want me to receive as my Savior? We need to be committed to help people answer this question. How many of us really are? Does the way we spend our time or the people we interact with or how we interact with outsiders show how committed or uncommitted we are to our mission?
Each of the plagues were actually against the false gods of the Egyptians (and probably the Israelites). God had to show all that He was over all the so-called gods that people worship. God still does this today about all of the idols in our lives. He will do this to outsider, also, to show them that their hope and "worship" is misplaced.
The "finger of God" is quoted by Jesus in Luke 11:20. Read that passage and see the parallels between Pharoah/his religious leaders and the unbelieving religious leaders of Jesus' time.
Notice that God does make a distinction in the plagues between the Israelites and the Egyptians, making these occurrences miracles rather than natural occurrences.
Also, when God hardens Pharoah's heart, is it a judgement on him for his previous sins. God does still harden hearts. Sometimes when we harden our hearts, God MIGHT say ok, you are going to reap what you have been sowing. Repentance is always God's objective - I think. I wonder if a person's opposition to God ever gets to be so thorough that they get to a place of no return.
Is there any indication that it is satan, or satan's power that the Egyptian magicians are using to perform some of their tricks? Is this an early account of witchcraft of some sort?
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