After the second plague, when “frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt ... Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, ‘Appeal to the Lord to remove the frogs from me and my people. Then I will let the people go and they can sacrifice to the Lord’ ” (Exodus 8:6). He lied.
After the fourth plague, when swarms of insects inundated Egypt, Pharoah promised, “I will let you go and sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness, but don’t go very far. Make an appeal for me” (Exodus 8:28). When Moses prayed for an end to the infestation, “the Lord did as Moses had said: He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, his officials, and his people; not one was left. But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also and did not let the people go” (Exodus 8:31–32). Again, Pharoah lied.
During the seventh plague, while hail was thumping and thrashing the land and its inhabitants, Pharaoh whined, “I have sinned this time ... the Lord is the righteous one, and I and my people are the guilty ones. Make an appeal to the Lord. There has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go; you don’t need to stay any longer” (Exodus 9:27–28). “When Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had ceased, he sinned again and hardened his heart, he and his officials. So Pharaoh’s heart was hard, and he did not let the Israelites go” (Exodus 9:34–35). Once again, Pharoah lied.
Prior to the eighth plague, the outbreak of locusts, Pharoah summoned Moses and said, “ ‘Go, worship the Lord your God ... But exactly who will be going?’ Moses replied, ‘We will go with our young and with our old; we will go with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds because we must hold the Lord’s festival’ ” (Exodus 10:8–9). Pharaoh refused to allow the women and children to accompany the “able-bodied men” (Exodus 10:11). After the locusts had devastated the land, “Pharaoh urgently sent for Moses and Aaron and said, ‘I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. Please forgive my sin once more and make an appeal to the Lord your God, so that he will just take this death away from me’ ” (Exodus 10:16–17). “Then the Lord changed the wind to a strong west wind, and it carried off the locusts and blew them into the Red Sea. Not a single locust was left in all the territory of Egypt. But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the Israelites go” (Exodus 10:19–20). Liar!
During the ninth plague, darkness covered Egypt life a heavy blanket. “Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, ‘Go, worship the Lord. Even your families may go with you; only your flocks and herds must stay behind.’ Moses responded, ‘You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings to prepare for the Lord our God. Even our livestock must go with us; not a hoof will be left behind because we will take some of them to worship the Lord our God. We will not know what we will use to worship the Lord until we get there.’ But the Lordhardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was unwilling to let them go” (Exodus 10:24–28). Pharoah lied.
After the Passover and the death of the first born (Exodus 12-13), Pharoah finally released his prisoners. Never true to his word, Pharaoh changed his mind and pursued Israel with “six hundred of his best chariots... his horsemen, and his army” (Exodus 14:7-9). Liar, liar, pants on fire! Just like the devil himself, if Pharoah’s lips were moving, he was lying!
The evil one seduced Eve into eating the forbidden fruit, “No! You will certainly not die” (Genesis 3:4). His tactics haven’t changed. He still whispers, “if you cheat, you won’t get caught! If you fib, everything will work out! No one will ever know!” “He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).
Jesus is the “truth!” (John 14:6). “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).
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