Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: “Let my people go, so that they may worship me.” 2 If you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them back, 3 the hand of the Lord will bring a terrible plague on your livestock in the field—on your horses, donkeys and camels and on your cattle, sheep and goats. 4 But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and that of Egypt, so that no animal belonging to the Israelites will die.’”

5 The Lord set a time and said, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this in the land.” 6 And the next day the Lord did it: All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one animal belonging to the Israelites died. 7Pharaoh investigated and found that not even one of the animals of the Israelites had died. Yet his heart was unyielding and he would not let the people go.

I am reminded of a story I read about a lawyer who was confronted with the evidence for the resurrection of Christ. Having examined it he said, ‘The resurrection is established beyond all doubt as fact. But I find I am no nearer to conversion because my problem is not with my head but my heart.’

Whether the story is true or apocryphal, it is certainly true to life. There are none so blind as those who will not see.

We make our choices and then our choices turn around and make us.

Pharaoh was being formed in his repeated rejection of the light.

Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. 38 This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet:

“Lord, who has believed our message

    and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”

39 For this reason they could not believe… John 12:37-39

‘True ignorance is not the absence of knowledge, but the refusal to acquire it.’ Karl Popper