| Summary: | From introduction:
The Mighty Acts narrative in Exodus presents the reader with a difficult question: why is it that God commands Pharaoh to let his people go and yet hardens his heart in order to prevent Pharaoh doing so? Coover-Cox asks, “when the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart and used force against him, was the Lord both unjust and inept?” If the Lord wields control over the human “control centre” in the Exodus narrative then Pharaoh is, as Davies colourfully describes, a “theological ninepin” set up only to be knocked down again. This raises unsettling questions of the Lord’s justness in his restrictive, even despotic, hold over Pharaoh’s decisions – decisions which bring Pharaoh into opposition with the Lord. Especially of concern are the Mighty Acts which appear to act as punishments laid upon Pharaoh for actions over which he had no control ...
|
|---|