Exodus 9:27 – And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.

Exodus 9:33 – And Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread abroad his hands unto the LORD: and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth.

Exodus 9:34- And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants.

Pharaoh provides a Biblical example of false repentance. It is important that we come to God for the right reason. God knows whether we are truly repentant or not. The right reason to come to God is for mercy and forgiveness of sins. God be  merciful to me a sinner. Pharaoh, despite what he said, was not interested in God’s forgiveness, he was interested in a solution to the problem which the plague had presented.

Romans 2:4 – Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

God’s goodness, forebearance, and longsuffering either hardens or softens us. Pharaoh hardened his heart and despised God. We can do that with the gospel today. If we don’t receive the gospel with a ready, willing, sincere, truth loving heart, we can become hardened to the gospel. The gospel is that Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, came into the world to save sinners. Jesus died, was buried and rose for us – 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. Anyone can be saved. God’s forgiveness is freely offered to all of us. However, we need to receive his forgiveness through repentance and faith. Pharaoh hardened his heart, and sinned all the more. There was no good soil in his heart for the seed of the Word of God to take hold.

The Bible shows what Godly repentance is. You can read of an example of what godly repentance looks like in 2 Kings 22.

Finally, 2 Corinthians shows that there is a godly repentance, and a worldly repentance.

2 Corinthians 7:10 – For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

2 Corinthians 7:11 – For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.

Pharaoh had worldly repentance. He perished as a lost man in the depths of the Red Sea.

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