The softening and hardening of hearts

Uni-verse 296/10,000 For better through verse Romans 9 v 17
The softening and hardening of human hearts are by the will and choice of God
Rom 9:17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.

God broke into Moses’s life and softened his heart towards Him that He might show His compassion and grace to Moses and the Israelites. God allowed Pharaoh’s heart to be hardened that He might show His power against him and the Egyptians. Today, Pharaoh is a phantom of the pyramids, lost in history on the sanddunes of the desert but Moses continues to inspire and teach all mankind through the Ten Commandments, the core of all laws of all nations. Thereby, God’s name is glorified and proclaimed through all the earth and through all history.

God has compassion on whom He chooses to have compassion. He shows mercy to whom He chooses to show mercy. But, is there a common factor that draws the attention of God to have mercy on some and to harden the others? Moses, it is testified by God Himself in the Bible, was the humblest of men. He did not think he had a special right or qualification to lead the Israelites. He was broken-hearted after all that had happened in his life. Pharaoh on the contrary exalted himself as a god among men. Naturally, God hardened his heart further and gave him a hard time. Moses found favour with God. When we soften our hearts toward God, He augments it. When we harden our hearts towards Him, then too He further augments it.
Our attitudes are the aroma of Christ. If there be in our ‘heartitude’ a trace of spiritual pride or intellectual arrogance or social conceit, it will be a stench in the nostrils of God. We need to daily come before God like Moses did- with a heart of contrition and reverence. Only in this condition is our heart a ready and prepared soil to receive the seed of the Word and the favour of God. His name and His testimony will be declared through all the earth for His praise and glory.

Prateep V Philip

Our hearths and hearts -His Tabernacle

Heb 9:4 Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;

Our hearths or homes are the Lord’s Tabernacle under the new covenant. To go one level deeper, our hearts are the tabernacle of God for He dwells in us by our faith and His Word. Our faith is an act of our freedom of belief and God’s Word embodies the choice that the Lord makes of us.

Virtually, everything physical in the Old Testament prefigures or symbolizes something in the New. The holy articles of the Mosaic Tabernacle point to the articles of faith and the new life under the new covenant. Two days ago in a time of prayer, the Lord revealed that we must reflect the same sense of reverence towards these that inspired our Jewish forebears. As the saying goes, “holy things for holy people.” He pointed out that we must cut out needless arguments and petty conflicts in our homes and in our midst that violate the sanctity of the Tabernacle.

The multi-pronged golden censer symbolizes our multi-pronged and multi-dimensional life today in which faith and purity should stand out in each aspect as the pure gold of the censer. Every thing we do must be an act of worship, a sweet smelling sacrifice in the eyes of the Lord. The ark of the covenant overlaid with gold that contained the tablets on which the Ten Commandments given to Moses. It symbolizes the reverence for the Word of God. The golden urn that contained the manna symbolizes the promises of God that meets our daily physical, intellectual, emotional, spiritual and relational needs. Aaron’s staff that budded stands for the miraculous power and grace of God that will vindicate our stand in life. “Buds and blossoms and almonds” or fruits will follow in our lives. The tables of covenant stand for the elements of the Holy communion, the bread and wine that we partake off in remembrance of Christ who made all these things possible and who makes all things possible. When all these articles of faith are in place in our lives, our homes and our churches, then there will be visitations of angels- the cherubim that surround the mercy seat of God on High. Angels form the protective rings around God’s servants on earth just as several rings of police personnel surround heads of state and government. The mercy seat is a reminder that we have all these privileges in Christ Jesus not as a matter of right or on account of anything we have done for God but on account of His mercy and grace.


Prateep V Philip