Jumpstarter 9 of 10

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Question 9

Origen’s second illustration says the same heat softens wax but hardens mud, and Moses’ signs hardened Pharaoh yet softened the “mixed Egyptian multitude”; what does this reveal about the condition of the will (“untrained, fierce, and barbarous” versus “pliant” and obedient), and how do you detect which direction your own heart is moving when God confronts you?

Another way to ask: The same heat softens wax but hardens mud, and Moses’ signs softened some but hardened Pharaoh. What does that say about the condition of a person’s will, and how can you tell if your own heart is getting softer or harder when God confronts you?

Direct Answer The transcript teaches that God’s confrontations expose what our will is becoming: an “untrained” will can grow more savage under God’s works, while a pliant will yields to obedience; you can detect the direction by whether correction produces humility and obedience or increased stubbornness.

Support from Transcript:

Origen: when a person’s will is “untrained, fierce, and barbarous,” it “may be hardened by God’s miracles and wonders” and become “more savage and thorny than ever.”
In contrast, another will becomes “more pliant” and “yield[s] itself up to obedience with the whole mind.”
The “heat” picture: “heat softens wax,” but “the same heat dries up and hardens mud,” showing the same event can have opposite effects.
Moses’ signs worked similarly: they “hardened Pharaoh because of his own wickedness,” yet “softened the mixed Egyptian multitude who departed with the Hebrews.”
Pharaoh’s pattern is described: he saw God’s long-suffering as “weakness” and “increased his own intransigence.”

Discussion Follow-ups When God delays consequences in your life, do you find yourself becoming more grateful and responsive—or more confident in sin because punishment didn’t come yet?

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Jumpstarter 9 of 10