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Psalms 105:25 meaning

The Egyptians’ hatred was the beginning of God’s plan to display His power and bring Israel to their promised land.

He turned their heart to hate His people, To deal craftily with His servants (v.25). This verse describes a powerful moment in Israel’s history, when God allowed the Egyptians’ hearts to shift in attitude toward the Israelites, resulting in oppression and affliction. Egypt, a nation along the Nile in the northeast corner of Africa, became the place where the descendants of Jacob (also called Israel) were eventually enslaved (Genesis 15:13, Exodus 1). The scripture states that it was God who “turned their heart,” indicating His sovereign role in directing human affairs, even when it comes to the designs of human governments. In Egypt, the Israelites were forced into hard labor with increasing hostility. Their captors acted shrewdly, or crafty, in order to subjugate and exploit God’s people. Later on, this situation set the stage for the miraculous deliverance through Moses around 1446 BC, according to many chronologies (Exodus 3, Exodus 12). Moses, born into the lineage of Abraham, was chosen by God to lead the Israelites out of bondage (Exodus 3:10). His leadership and life constitute a key piece of God’s unfolding plan to demonstrate His power and faithfulness—freeing His people from a position that He Himself had allowed them to endure for a time.

He turned their heart to hate His people, To deal craftily with His servants (v.25). The idea of hatred here highlights a tragedy rooted in spiritual darkness. God, who never commits evil, permitted the Egyptians’ hearts to be hardened in order to fulfill His promises and demonstrate His judgment on evil. Much like Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, this condition engulfed the entire Egyptian population in a spirit of animosity (Exodus 9:12). In the unfolding of salvation history, the hardships of Israel also foreshadow the persecutions later endured by other faithful people who follow God’s way. Jesus, too, faced fierce opposition in His time, as did His disciples (John 1:11, Acts 4). God’s sovereignty and mankind’s responsibility remain intertwined: God shapes hearts as part of His grand design, but those hearts remain accountable for their cruelty.

He turned their heart to hate His people, To deal craftily with His servants (v.25). It was amid distress and oppression that Israel learned to rely on the covenant faithfulness of their God (Genesis 15:14, Psalm 105:37). When the moment for deliverance arrived, the Egyptians not only released the Israelites but endowed them with riches in fulfillment of God’s word (Genesis 15:14, Exodus 12:35-36). Ultimately, this verse serves as a constant reminder: God’s people may face hatred, but God uses every hardship toward His redemptive purposes. Rather than being a sign of divine absence, their suffering became a prelude to the revelation of God’s mighty salvation, setting the stage for the Exodus.

Psalms 105:25