by leonardobc from www.sxc.hu
There has always been much discussion about the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart in the book of Exodus. Those who teach predestination and unconditional election would point to the fact that God hardened his heart. But who does the Bible say hardened his heart? I examined these passages and found three categories [I used the NKJV]:
- God says that He either has or will harden the heart of Pharaoh (Exodus 4:21; 7:3; 9:12; 10:2, 20, 27; 11:10; 14:4). So clearly, God hardened his heart.
- Pharaoh is described as hardening his own heart (8:15, 32; 9:34). In Exodus 9:34 it says, “He sinned yet more; and he hardened his heart.”
- Finally, in several passages Pharaoh’s heart is referred to in a neutral way. These read that his heart “grew hard” (7:13, 22; 8:19), “is hard” (7:14), “became hard” (9:7), and finally “was hard” (9:35).
We know the Bible is not contradictory and confusing, thus it seems that our answer to the question of Pharaoh’s heart must take into account all of these categories. Here is my best answer. The first category is true because God hardened his heart through bringing the plagues upon him, such is implied in 9:14. The second category is true in that Pharaoh willingly chose to oppose God and harden his heart toward the will of God. The third category is true in that these statements simply narrate what happened in the events of the story. Pharaoh’s heart did certainly grow, become, and truly was hard!
The following old illustration still helps in our understanding of this story. The rays of the sun beat down upon clay and wax; to the clay the heat of the sun hardens, while to the wax the sun’s heat melts. The difference in the result lies in the substance.
So it is in our hearts, and in Pharaoh’s too, that the substance of our heart determines whether we harden or melt in relation to the actions of Almighty God.
