Exodus 8 & 9
V. 8:15 The Second Plague. When Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his [own] heart...
8:19 The Third Plague. Pharaoh's heart was hardened...
8:32 The Fourth Plague. Pharaoh hardened his heart...
9:7 The Fifth Plague. The heart of Pharaoh was hardened...
9:12 The Sixth Plague. And the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart...
9:34-35 When Pharaoh saw relief, he sinned again and hardened his [own] heart [repeatedly] ... And Pharaoh's heart was hardened ... just as the Lord had spoken through Moses.
So we see Pharaoh's clear path to addiction right here. He is deciding to harden his own heart to the plight of the Hebrews, over and over again, until he's in the habit of hanging on to them; he's not able to release them, he's too dependent on them.
Since they don't seem to be getting any work done during these Plagues, this dependence Pharaoh has on them is now only in his mind; but nonetheless real. This is addiction, as anyone who has ever been addicted can testify.
Addiction is a self-imposed prison from which one cannot release himself. It takes an outside force to break out of those chains.
This Pharaoh never did decide to recognize the Israelites' God, so he was destroyed in the end. All the power he had among the Nations evaporated at that time, and Egypt has never again been a super-power in the World.
God wants to be the "outside power" that can release every addict, break every chain. That's why He sent His Son into the World, to be the Lamb of God, the blood sacrifice that will wash away all our sins.
When God came to me that day, and showed me Jesus on the Cross, I knew that He took my place there, that I deserved death, and He died for me. That's when His precious Blood washed away all my sins, all my foolish choices that left me in "chains." He was that "outside force" that overcame my addiction, and set me free.
And He wants to set you free, too, dear reader. His Blood is God's own Blood, with enough power to cleanse every sin, every stain, every fault, from every person who decides to seek Truth, the Way to God.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
