Even Pharaoh

"Now forgive my sin once more and pray to the LORD your God to take this deadly plague away from me." Exodus 10:17 (NIV)

If you read my blog, you know I've been reading through Exodus. You probably have also picked up on the fact that I'm moving through it at a glacial pace. What's great is that God still works, despite my laziness and the fact that I continually put things above him. 

And that's exactly the point. In Exodus 10:17, Pharaoh asks for forgiveness for his sin once more. Like, he's done the same sin over and over and needs to be forgiven again. 

I had to read the verse a few times. First of all, I couldn't believe that Pharaoh was asking for forgiveness. He could've just let the Israelites go! He could've just set them free and saved himself (and his country) so much hurt and destruction. But he doesn't. (because God hardened his heart and had other plans.)

That being said, we are Pharaoh. We constantly do things to sin against God. It's in our nature. And we continue to go back asking for forgiveness. Yet every time we are granted forgiveness, we end up right back where we were. In sin. 

And the amazing part is that each time we ask, we are forgiven. Every single time. Our sin boils down to the same sin as Pharaoh: we worship other gods (school, exercising, appearance, etc.), and we harden our hearts to Him. We refuse to believe the truths about who God is and what He is capable of. 

He forgives us, even when we can't accept it. Even when we think we don't deserve it. Even when we are asking forgiveness for the same sins over and over again. This is not to say we do whatever we want, knowing that forgiveness will be there waiting. It does mean that when we mess up, which we will inevitably do, we have the promise of forgiveness waiting for us.