Revelation of the heart: redemption or hardening
Transcript(from the video captions)
And as we come to this time of opening uh and seeing what God has for us, let's pray to as we begin. A Malcan, we thank you so much for this time that you've brought us together. We ask you that you would guide us, open our hearts, open our ears so we can hear your word, what you have for us today. [snorts] what you have us to do and how in what ways we want to change and which ways that we would be able to honor and glorify your name more and we pray all of these things in Yeshua Mashia. Amen. Um so you know how all of us are many uh will many times are on our phones and we'll get on uh uh either Facebook or we get on YouTube and we can see some of them shorts or some of these there will be a video that will pop up that's interesting and so I want to start off with like explaining one of these really cool videos that I saw. I didn't even know this. And apparently one can go around anywhere and dig up earth and to actually get clay. Now, yes, I know we live here in North Carolina. There's red clay everywhere, but I'm not talking about that. So, this this one guy went around his house around his area uh and
he had a rather large property. He had, I think, 12 different samples of earth in different areas, including the black, like the really rich soil that you would think is uh in his garden. He picked some from his uh underneath of his grass. And I'm going, there's no there's no clay in that stuff. And some of it he had to go through a lot, more soil than others. But he was able to extract the clay. and and and I mean one spot was more sand, another spot was more a composite of different things that was super dark and heavy. Um so you got some that were coming from streams and just different ways and he would wash it all get rid of all the big stones and he had it to where it was suspended for a while to where he was able to actually collect just the clay. And I was like, "Wow, that's really cool. So, he's going to be able to make all these different colored pots out of all these different things. Um, and he surprised me because he kind of went back and he's like, "No, no, no. Before we actually use this clay, we need to put soil back in, specifically very fine sand, the silica, otherwise
the clay will fall apart and disintegrate, and it will not be able to hold its shape." I was like, "Oh, interesting." So, he put sand into every single batch, an equal amount. Um, and he put it in there and re and he made these 12 pots. Uh, it was a pot, a lid, and a little plate all together. And uh, and all of them were identical. He used a form of from a glass, a mason jar to make sure that they were exactly the same. So there's no differences in any aspect of them other than what is the different type of clay. And so he's like, "Okay, so let's actually test this clay that it's actually valid and workable clay to be used for pottery because not every clay is used for pottery." And I went, "Wait, what?" I thought all clay is clay. You can, you know, just throw it in the fire and out comes and it's a perfectly nice pot or whatever you want to use. And as he put it in the and and he didn't have a kiln, he used actually just a uh outdoor fire like a fire pit with a lots of sticks and uh I think it's what it's called is backwoods kilm. Um but he just piled on a huge amount of brush and burned it and
let it heat up that way. And as it was heating, you could hear this cracking. He goes, "Oh, there goes some of it right there. I can hear it right there from the crack." Uh, and some of it fractured and broken and got broken before even coming out of the fire. Uh, there was most of them survived. I think there was only like one or two one of them I think that cracked that way. Maybe it was two of them. Um, uh, one of them cracked when he was when he right at the very beginning. Another one cracked towards the end. Uh, but I was like, "Okay, cool. There's there all of them like most of them worked." And then he goes, "Well, there's another test that we need to do and we need to see if it they actually can hold water because sometimes the clay is too porous still." And there was another pot that was just too porous and the water would start leaking out. He goes, "And that's bad clay then." And he takes another pot, he puts it in water, and it's and it's porous as well. But this one not just was porous, it started to crumble and fall apart in his hands as he's trying to hold it after it's been kil fired.
And and now, yes, 75% of it was perfectly working order and it was just like the uh regular pots and it was great, but some of it failed. And the fire, the water, they didn't change the structure com uh compared to the other clays. They didn't do anything different. They did the exact same thing. It was the same water, same fire with all the pieces. So, it wasn't that the fire changed the clay. It wasn't that the water changed the clay. Fire and water simply revealed what kind of clay pot and the clay in each pot was of he had. And I was like, "Wow, that's exactly what a para is all about this week." Para boom. the fire and the water revealed. Scriptures often speak about testing through fire or through water. Psalmists in Psalm 66:10 says, "You have tested us, oh God. You have refined us as silver is refined." Testing does not create character. It shows it reveals it. in Parat Boassage from Exodus, Exodus chapter 10, that's exactly what happens. Egypt and Israel, they're in the same land. The whether they're Egyptian or whether you're any of the other nations that was enslaved or free living in Egypt, you experienced
the exact same thing. You went through these first seven plagues essentially the same way. There was no difference. The plagues are the fire. The pressure that all these people were under was the water itself. Yet the outcomes are completely different. Not because God treats them differently. Not because one is holy and the other one's evil, but because their hearts are different. This parha confronts us with the sobering truth. God allows situations in our lives. These situations do not force redemption. They do not force a hardening of our of our hearts, but they have already but they reveal already what is in our hearts, what we've already chosen to do, whether we may necessarily agree with with that choice, but we can what we who we are and what we've chosen to be. It reveals those things so that way we can change on who we are as we continue to progress. Perso does not begin with Egypt being strong. It begins when Egypt's a Freddy collapsed. How many what do we how I'm going to have a little audience participation. What are the plagues so far? Yes, I know we're looking into towards the seder in
a little bit, but this will be a great reminder. It started off with what? >> Nile. >> The Nile. The Nile turned red. And it wasn't just that it turned red, it killed off probably a lot of the animals that lived in and around the Nile pro because probably a very stinky time period. What happened next? >> The frogs. If it wasn't sticky, stinky enough, now it's even stinkier and it's slimy. Then we have >> flies. After the flies, we have the lice, the ticks, the insects that bite. Then we have, >> the boils, the people themselves get hurt. Now we've got breakouts of these diseases. Then we have the cattle. Actually, it's the cattle and then the boils. Uh the cattle first get sick and then the boils transfer over to the people. Then then we have what? The hail. So at this point, and this is the end of last week's parha, the hail destroyed Egypt's flax and barley harvest. Their essential food, their essential crops for food, clothing, and trade. And we see that in Exodus chapter nine. So it everything's decimated. Well, the economy, but not completely. So you have things that you've stored away. You have a number of
different grains that are stored away, whether it be corn or whether it be uh kind of like wheat and other aspects. And also there is a still a harvest to come. So there's still green. You know, the fruit trees are still out there. They can there's the economy is destroyed. We can survive this though. There's a way of life. There's a way of future a little bit. Yes, the livelihoods are gone. Economy is completely shaken up. We've got the late crops remaining. And yes, they're exposed now. And they are fragile. Exodus 32. We read that Exodus 9:32. And this is the beginning of where we see the opening of the para. God warning Pharaoh of the locust unlike uh so uh uh God is not a god of just oh [snorts] there you go and you're going oh wow he warned Pharaoh Pharaoh knew it was coming. Chapter 10 verse 5. They shall cover the surface of the land and eat what remains to you from the hail. Yes, the hail was decimating, but there's still green. The palm trees are still alive. There's still grass in the field. It may be damaged. It may be hurt, but there's still availability for something to happen.
Rashi goes on and Rashi is one of our sages uh of Jew, one of the Jewish sages and wrote a full-on commentary and in that commentary he explains that the locust would consume not only what was growing but even what was stored inside their homes. You know that cupboard that's full of food? It's gone with the locust. It's gone. you. Yes. In Egypt, they didn't have glass at the time. You and they would have open windows areas so you could have a breeze in especially in that summertime period so you could have some air movement and so it would cool down inside. But those were also openings for that locust to enter. And when it says it covered the surface of the land, it was not just outside. Crawling into bed with locust all around you. How wonderful. >> [laughter] >> Uh, Ebenezra, one of the other sages, notes that Egypt's arguultural system could not could no longer recover after this. Shimote Rabba teaches that Egypt was already defeated. It's gone. the empire that it had, the wealth that it had was gone before these final plagues that arrived. These last three plagues there, Egypt is destroyed already. And
yet what remained is not strength of Egypt. The strength is gone. It's pride. It's stubbornness. And we really see that in Pharaoh. He's no longer ruling from a seat of power. He's ruling for the sake of ruling. If there's a revolt, he's got nothing left in his power to stop it. He's clinging to everything for the sake of his pride. How do we know it's pride? We reach the most revealing moment in the parha when Pharaoh's own servants come to him in front of Moses. Moses just told Pharaoh all of these things. And what is do the servant say? How long shall this man be a snare to us? Not to you, Pharaoh, but to us. Let these men go serve the Lord their God. Do you not yet know that Egypt is destroyed, obliterated? This is a turning point. Even his own servants, his adviserss are going to saying, "Dude, just let him go. We we can eat something, maybe rebuild, regrow somehow. And earlier we see time and time again, Pharaoh does listen to his adviserss. Now, even as his nation collapses, it's completely destroyed. He refuses to hear anything. He refuses to see the wisdom. Sophrono, a rabbi of the 16th century,
teaches that Pharaoh's heart had hardened beyond all reason. [snorts] Pride had overtaken any discernment, any ability to make decisions. The in the midash, Shimote Rabbah adds that when leaders refuse counsel, destruction accelerates. One of the clearest signs of a hardened heart is isolation. When we do not want to interact with others, a hardened heart stops listening to anyone that does not agree with their viewpoint. When communication breaks down, when we are not able to hear the other side, when we're not willing to engage the other side, when we are feeling that cor any type of correction is a threat, whether it be truth or falsity, it's an attack on me because I am the only truth. I have that truth. So if if we're unwilling to engage the other side, interact with the other side, our hearts are hardened, our hearts are set, and we're not able to move. That is Pharaoh. He's in the fire, but instead of being refined, he just cracks. He breaks. He fractures and he comes out broken already. At this point, the Torah reveals something deeply important. The more one hardens their heart, the
easier it becomes to do wrong. The more one moves towards redemption, the easier it becomes to do right. And we see this Pharaoh keeps stepping further and further and further away. And when people start seeing and taking steps in the opposite direction towards the truth, it becomes easier even among or amidst the different difficulties that happen. How do we see that? How do we how can we tell this? Well, Israel, did it not have struggles? Did it not get struggles even more? Did the frogs not attack? uh were not they in the homes of the uh of the Jewish people at the time as well? Did they not experience some of those same plagues? Were they not enslaved more? So when Moses came initially, they were given even harder more hardships. They had to find their own straw to make the bricks. And yet amongst all that they are becoming more and more able to hear the voice of Hashem that is speaking to them. Initially they said in last week's para who are you to Moses to speak to us of the God. Who are you and who is this God that you speak of? And yet now we see them actually taking the proper steps.
It's not a moral idea. It's a spiritual law. Pharaoh's heart did not harden all at once. It hardened step by step. Each refusal made the next refusal easier. Each act of resistance lowered the cost of the next one. What might once might have been troubled his conscience now barely registers it as trouble which is a compilation of Jewish teachings says one sin leads to another and one mitzvah to another mitzvah that's a vote 42 this is not poetry it's spiritual formation Repeated resistance reshapes the heart itself. Pharaoh did not simply choose stubbornness. He became stubborn. Bo teaches that for Pharaoh resistance was no longer a struggle. It was a reflex. Let my people go no. Let me people go no. I've told you so many times. Yes, I know I'm using a funny voice, but it was repetitive. it becomes easier and easier to say. I've told you that I've said this. But the same principle works in the opposite direction. Each step towards obedience reshapes our own hearts. Each act of trust makes the next one more natural. Hardening and redemption are not destinations. They're trajectories. They're vectors.
If we're talking about mathematical terms, the trajectory we choose this vector determines who to become or we become as testing intensifies which is where we see that contrast in the para whilst Pharaoh heart is is trained in the resistance Israel's heart is trained in obedience. When redemption arrives, God does not remove Israel silently. He commands them to act. What are the actions? They were to ask of the gold of their neighbors. They were to take a lamb, a lamb without blemish. They must place the bl the blood on its door on their doorpost. They must eat the meal dressed and ready to leave. If we take a look at it from a in a from the we were there at the time being, how weird, how crazy would we have to be? Yes, we've been praying to be freed, but things keep getting harder. And if we are not taking those steps of obedience, we would feel like we're going to go borrow gold and silver from our neighbors and then get ready to run. Yeah. Uh and then have the police come running after me. Uh or the army. I mean, we'd have to be insane to do something like that. However, this is exactly what Israel is doing.
It's commanded, it's seen the hand of God, and it's not only now seeing it, hearing it, and know believing it, [clears throat] but it's actually taking those same steps. the uh Mik uh Mik Hilda, a set of rabbitical commentaries on the Kalah Midash revealed that Israel obeyed before knowing how everything would unfold. They didn't know what was going to happen. All they knew was this is what God told him to do and that way my son doesn't die. How in the world in an entire nation, every single firstborn that's alive, whether you're an old man or a or newborn, will die overnight like that. Unless I put some blood over my door. Sounds insane. And then I will be running for my life and leaving. Why not just rise up and revolt against this tyrannical government? Especially with so many people dead, we'll be able we'll have the forces to do so. Or you can think of so many other things. But no, God told them what to do and they followed through. Rashi like as I mentioned he's one of our Jewish sages expands this thought by noting that this required public allegiance to God while danger still surrounded
them. They were hated at this point and you publicly it was not on the inside of the door you did it on the outside. Everyone saw who were the Jews. Everyone knew at this point if you try to hide you're not hiding anymore because you've marked yourself. It was the star of David on their and it wasn't told by the to them by the government. They put it on themselves.
That same night when the nights those same nights fell on both people, the same exact plagues passed through Egypt. Even if they didn't affect the land of Gan where Israel lived, as not all plagues did, but they still had an effect on the land of Gan. They still had an effect on the people in uh uh both Jewish and the Egyptian and any other Gentiles that were there. The and therefore the difference was not geography, it was obedience. Redemption was offered, but it had to be received and acted upon. And we see that it wasn't just Israel that acted upon it. As there were many other nations that went out of Egypt with Israel. They were sojourers. They were they were Gentiles that followed the God of Israel, believed in the God of Israel enough to where they without converting, without becoming Jews, they followed the God of Israel. God also knows that even redeemed people can harden again. We can harden our hearts. Yes, great things happen, but we can close our hearts again. And that's why this para is filled with commands to remember. You shall tell your son when your child asks why do we do this? As we come as we'll
be coming to the pesak seder in a while, we'll have got plenty of those questions. and remember this day all through Exodus 13. The Mishna uh in uh Pesahim 116A expands this idea that it that we are to teach this to every generation by saying we're not just to teach them but each and every single person every single year needs to see themselves as having personally left Egypt. Not, oh, we did it once. Oh, a long time ago. No, no, no. I left Egypt this year. We're to envision it. Embody it. Why? To remember. To remember. Pharaoh forgets what is happening. every single time. As soon as relief comes, Exodus chapter 9:34 is a great example. Relief came uh never mind, never mind. You guys need to stay here. The locust and uh as um if you haven't read the passage, I highly recommend you again as soon when the locust arrived, he goes, "I have sinned against God." So, is he really asking for forgiveness? No. And how do we tell? Because as soon as that locust leaves, he tells Moses, he uh restricts their movement and says, "No, you no one is allowed to leave." For when we do forget, we can return to
those exact situations. We can be that Pharaoh. We will return back to that same bad habit, to those same exact sins. Memory. And it's not just me memory, but actions of those things. The actions to prevent those things are the things that keep our hearts soft. They guard us from repeating. Forgetting will lead us back to bondage. Let's hear that one more time. Forgetting will lead us into bondage. And we might say, "Oh, you know, that's that we but we don't live in the time of, you know, the pharaohs." And it it was only during that time that we see this harshness. No, we see this throughout all the different passages, whether it be the kaftar portion, how Israel is going to be redeemed once again, how it will be lost and it will be redeemed. Or even in Yeshua's warnings him itself, he echoes the exact same truth at the end of his sermon on the mount. Not everyone who says to me,"Lord, Lord," will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does will uh who does the will of my father. Matthew chapter 7:21. Many times we've heard the parable of the two homes, the two houses, the two
builders. It's the same exact storm. One is on the sand, one is on the rock. One collapses, the other one stands. And many times we say, "Oh, we need a firm foundation to stand on." And it shows that, you know, we're got good faith. But is it not showing our character much more? Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them is like the foolish man who built his house on the sand. Matthew 7:24 24-27. We are to hear to remember and to act upon those things. If there's no action, we'll forget. When we forget, we will be lost. We will be destroyed. We will collapse. Both hear, both build, both face the same storm. The storm does not create the foundation. It does not create the character. It only reveals it. This is the part of Shabbo. Pharaoh hears God's words but does not do them. Israel hears and does and acts upon them. It puts things to remember those actions. Fire and water do not change the heart. They reveal whether it's rooted in obedience or resistance. So what about us?
Well, let's take a moment to consider these questions. When the fire and water come into our life, times when your belief, your understanding, convictions are challenged, how do we respond? Whether it be someone out on the street, whether it be in the park or whether, you know, in the in uh uh any any place in a store uh other public place or even inside here when our own beliefs, our own faith gets challenged, our convictions of here's how I'm supposed to act gets challenged within even our safe space. What is our reaction? Do we trust God's authority direction, the authority that he's placed above us, or do we resist, assert our own understanding, letting pride harden our hearts? How are we cultivating a heart shaped by God's ways? What are the steps we're taking to not forget these lessons? Whether as part of the covenant people or whether we're grafted in through faith, when the challenges come, your response reflects trust and obedience, or does it reflect resistance and pride? Take a moment to honestly reflect on where God might be testing your heart. How is he testing your heart?
Write down or think of at least one step you can take this week to respond with trust and obedience. Let this help you build a resilient heart that is soft to God's word. The ultimate question when fire and water come what kind of clay will you will be revealed in you let's pray of Malcana we thank you so much for today's day we ask you that you would guide us show us how we can exemplify you in every aspect of our lives how we can show the people around you who you are whether we are Jew or whether we are Gentile that you are the God of Israel that you are what the God that has revealed himself and as the says that you and that we can proclaim it together that you God are alone that you are the uh the God the creator and you will fulfill your promise promises. One that contains and guides and one that is a personal God. One that is a heavenly father and yet king. We ask you that you would guide us, direct us, keep everyone safe, those that are traveling and those that are here throughout the storm that's coming to us. And whether it be a physical storm or whether it be a spiritual storm, one
that is testing us, we pray that you would guide us and direct us and show us how we can exemplify and how we can be res resilient and be standing strong for you. We pray all these things in Yeshua Mashiach. Amen.