Don't Be A Chess Piece

Exo 7:13 LITV
(13) And the heart of Pharaoh hardened, and he did not listen to them, as Jehovah had said.

Exo 7:22 And the magicians of Egypt did so by their secret arts. And Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as Jehovah had said.

Exo 8:19 And the priests said to Pharaoh, It is the finger of God. And Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as Jehovah had said.

Exo 13:15 And it happened when Pharaoh hardened himself against sending us away, Jehovah killed every first-born one in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of men even to the first-born of animals. On account of this I sacrifice to Jehovah every one of the males opening the womb, and I redeem every first-born of my sons.

Exo 14:8 And Jehovah hardened Pharaoh king of Egypt's heart. And he pursued the sons of Israel. And the sons of Israel were going out with a high hand.

When we wrestle with God, we do so in a swimming pool of His grace. There are volumes to be written of the grace of God, who allows us chance after chance after chance to choose righteousness. But like with Pharaoh, there is a pattern. Pharaoh had a choice to make - to work with God or against God.

Notice that Pharaoh hardened his own heart against God until the last instance... when it says "Jehovah hardened Pharaoh king of Egypt's heart". You get so many attempts before God allows you to stick with your choice. At that point, God says, "I wanted to use your surrender for my glory, but now I will use your defeat for My glory. You are now a chess piece."

Pharaoh's choices ultimately cost him his son, and later his own corpse washed up on the beach before all his former slaves. This is a typical result of going our own way.