Through the lens of Young married
The plagues — God versus the gods of Egypt
Pharaoh’s heart hardens nine separate times in Exodus 5–11. Sometimes the text says Pharaoh hardened his heart. Sometimes it says the LORD hardened his heart. Both are true at the same time. Hardness is a choice the Father will eventually let stand if you keep choosing it.
Marriages can harden the same way. The first time something hurts, you protect yourself. The second time, you protect yourself a little more. By the tenth time, you do not even feel it land anymore. You have built a wall — for very real reasons — but the wall is now keeping out the very person you covenanted to share a life with.
Hardness in marriage is rarely dramatic. It is the slow accumulation of not addressing small things. Each one is small. The build-up is what kills.
The plagues come because Pharaoh refused to listen. The Father does not want your marriage to require plagues. He wants you to listen now.
One small thing this week: name one small thing that has been hardening you toward your spouse. Bring it up — gently, honestly, without escalation. Soft hearts are not the natural state of two sinners living together. They have to be tended.