Scripture: Exodus 14:17 – “Then I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them, and so I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots, and his chariot drivers.” (NRSVue)
There are many people that drive me to anger, most of them people that I will never interact with directly. But no matter how wrong-headed or ludicrous their arguments or behavior are, I cannot help but feel some sympathy for them. I find this to be the case when I read the story of the Egyptians from the Book of Exodus.
First off, the Egyptians are bad guys. Very bad guys. They run the world’s greatest empire on the backs of Israelite slaves. They not only enslave the Israelites and make their lives miserable but try to commit genocide against them by both murder and breeding and warp the minds of their slaves so thoroughly that cannot appreciate freedom when they get it. There is no end to their cruelty and evil.
But on some level, their ultimate defeat is not because of their own pride and wickedness. Rather, God engineers their destruction by “hardening their hearts.” When Moses asks the Pharaoh to let his people go, he refuses only because God has hardened his heart. Likewise, after all the miracles and plagues, Pharaoh seems prevented by God from relenting. When Pharaoh finally does let the people go, his heart is hardened again, and he sends his army after them. And thus with stony hearts, the army is drowned when the Red Sea crashes down upon them.
Time after time, God engineers the Egyptians’ destruction. Part of this is so they cannot escape the consequences of their actions. But it also seems to prevent any kind of repentance. According to what is said, God does not do this out of a sense of justice, but to show the divine glory and power. It is to make the people believe in God and to make convenient with the divine for all that was done for them.
Maybe God is playing the long game here, but there are innocent lives lost along with the guilty. It poisons the triumph of crossing the Red Sea and turns thanksgiving into schadenfreude. This is the kind of God that people reject when they read the Old Testament, a God of arbitrary wrath.
So, despite their evil, I feel bad for the Egyptians. Maybe I just want to see reconciliation in the world. In our division, the only endgame seems to be the destruction of our enemies. However realistically, we are going to have to live with them, and resentment at defeat only perpetuates the cycles of violence and revenge.
Ask yourself, where is the glory of God greater in your life? Is it when you gain victory over your enemies or when they become your friends? I know how I feel, but you may feel differently. So, before you send out that angry Tweet, post, or message, think about whether you are glorifying God. Maintain your focus on justice, but do not let your zeal pull you away from the love that I believe is our truest experience of God.
Prayer: God, soften my heart to forgive my enemies and seek to reach out in empathy and kindness. Amen.
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