Pharaoh’s heart was already hardened—Exodus 7 simply reveals it. When the light of God confronts human pride, the heart either softens in humility or hardens in resistance.

In Exodus 7, the confrontation between the Lord and Pharaoh begins in earnest. Moses and Aaron deliver a clear command from God: “Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness.” Yet Pharaoh refuses to listen. The text tells us plainly that his heart is hardened and that he will not let the people go.

But the story shows something deeper than simple defiance. Pharaoh’s hardened heart is not the result of God forcing stubbornness into him. Instead, it is the natural response of a proud ruler rejecting the authority of the living God.

Pharaoh had already revealed his posture when he asked, “Who is the L ...