Like swirling mist, the heavy blackness gripping the palace begins to vaporize and melt into radiance. But even in the filtered light, Pharaoh's face is transformed. His jaw sets. His eyes narrow. A smirk creeps across his lips. Somehow, impossibly, he lies to himself again: I am still in control...

What is wrong with this guy? After all the blood, bugs and blisters he suffers through—powerful proofs that the God of Israel means business!—he still wants to wear his crown that looks like a bowling pin and spit in God's face? Unbelievably, yes.

God explains again and again that Pharaoh refused to free Israel in the Exodus because Pharaoh's heart was hardened (see Exodus 8:15 for example). But what does that mean? A little digging into archaeology reveals a depth to this story we might never have imagined. Better hold on tight—we're going into the tomb!

A heart of stone

The torchlight scatters across the cool corridor walls, illuminating cracked murals of stiff-looking gods and goddesses as we brush past. Ancient Egyptians looked to this ethereal multitude for guidance, rain, health, fertility, light, hope for life after death, you name it. Of course, all these jobs might overwhelm one god, so they conjured up dozens of deities and divided the duties. But when the true God set about rescuing the children of Israel, He would also prove once and for all His supremacy over those so-called gods (Exodus 12:12; 18:10-11).

Pharaoh himself was considered a god in the flesh. In fact, he was called an incarnation of Ra (the sun god) and Osiris (the life-giver), the two most important gods in Egypt! In the last two plagues, however, the God of Israel showed his power over both the sun and life itself (Exodus 10:21-22; 12:29-30). To the Israelites and Egyptians who were watching, there could be no question that Israel's God was the One who was really in control.

But Pharaoh hardened his heart, stubbornly denying his people compassion and refusing to let the children of Israel go. This opened the door for God to show all His wonders (Exodus 11:9).

In the tomb, our steps echo hollowly against the limestone as we approach the heart of the chamber. Before us, the sarcophagus rises out of the gloom like some sort of alien futon. It's plastered all over with scenes from the Book of the Dead, but one in particular catches our eyes. The heart of the deceased sits in a jar on one pan of a giant scale, balancing against the feather of truth on the other. Below, an absurd-looking creature crouches, ready to gobble up the heart should it dip within reach.

Egyptians believed that after death, the deceased had to enter the hall of judgment and reply to a long list of charges: "I have not spoken lies. I have not uttered evil words. I have not caused pain..." If he said he was innocent of all these sins, he would live forever.

The catch was that his heart would be taken out and placed on the scale to serve as a lie detector! The human heart, the Egyptians reasoned, would always reveal the truth, weighing down the scale if the dead person was really guilty—and deservedly placing it in range to be the wacky creature's mid-morning snack.

As this was a rather dismal state of affairs, the ingenious Egyptians cooked up a plot to make it so the heart would not "tell on" the dead person. They carved a charm shaped like a heart as well as a scarab (the fancy name for their sacred dung beetle) out of solid rock. They then tied this heart of stone close over the mummy's heart or put it in his chest cavity. Incantations supposedly made the heart take on the qualities of the heart scarab, hardening it so that it could be dishonest and not weigh down the scale (Randall Price, The Stones Cry Out, 1997, pp. 127-128).

The Bible describes God as the One who judges us. People find a way to justify everything they do, "but the Lord weighs the hearts" (Proverbs 21:2). In sharp contrast to Egyptian beliefs, when we come before the true God, we cannot hide what we've done. We must admit our mistakes and repent of our sins, for though we may lie even to ourselves, God knows the truth: "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins" (1 John 1:8-9). Pharaoh actually confessed to sin twice (Exodus 9:27; 10:16); but he immediately reverted to his obstinacy both times, remaining deceived about himself and the reality he was facing.

Sadly, the children of Israel also hardened their hearts during their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, even after all the miracles God had performed for them (Hebrews 3:8). They allowed themselves to be deceived into believing that God would not protect them, so they refused to obey Him.

A new heart

On the other hand, we have the example of David, the one God called "a man after My own heart" (Acts 13:22). In the darkest chapter of his life, David had sex with another man's wife. Things got worse when he tried to cover it up by having the man killed in battle. However, when God confronted him about the sin, David was horrified by his actions and confessed unreservedly and without retraction, "I have sinned against the Lord" (2 Samuel 12:13). Admitting the truth, He responded to God's correction and turned his life around 180 degrees.

This was in contrast to human nature. The natural human heart, we must understand, is not as inclined to reveal the truth as the Egyptians believed. God declares that the "heart is deceitful above all things" (Jeremiah 17:9). The hardened heart is tricky! It makes us believe we are right, no matter what we do. Thankfully, God can enable us to see the truth and change. But that sometimes requires discipline to help us (Hebrews 12:5-11; Revelation 3:19).

How do we respond to God? Are we like Pharaoh? Do we confess sin only when we are being punished and soon harden our hearts again to disobey Him?

God talks about a time in the future when His people will have a different attitude—they will want to obey Him from the heart! God promises, "I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people" (Jeremiah 31:33). No longer will we have hearts of stone, because God says, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh" (Ezekiel 36:26).

Do we see ourselves as we really are? Do we respond as we should to God's gentle correction? If we choose a stubborn, self-deceiving hardened heart like Pharaoh, God will have to use stronger discipline to get our attention!

A major lesson of the Exodus is that God is always in control. Next time you see a heart scarab or Pharaoh's goofy crown, remember that God will save us out of "Egypt"—enslavement to the sinful ways of this world—as long as we don't harden our hearts against Him. VT

God's showdown with Egypt's fraudulent gods

On a mission to free the Egyptians from their misplaced faith, God was determined to prove His ultimate power over their false gods. Each of the 10 plagues was a challenge directed at specific Egyptian deities, aimed to completely destroy their reputation (Exodus 12:12; 18:10-11).

Take that, Khnum! Your precious Nile River is full of blood!

Heqet, you have a frog's head! Why don't you just tell your millions of relatives that overstayed their welcome here to hop on home?

What marvelous control you have over your insects, Khepri! The lice and flies sure seem to be obeying you!

All the livestock is dying, Apis! As the bull god, how does that make you feel?

Come on, Sekhmet! All the Egyptians are praying to you to heal their boils! What seems to be the problem?

All hail Nut and Hathor goddesses of heaven—except they can't stop hailing on you!

Shu, as the god of the air, how could you just allow all these locusts to come to Egypt and tear the place apart?

Why is it so dark? Ra? Atum? Can you shed some light on the situation?

Osiris—they say you are the giver of life. Where were you last night when all the firstborn of Egypt died?

(compare with Exodus 7:14-11:9).