There are two ways to look at God hardening Pharaoh's heart. The first is from a theological standpoint, the other is from an apologetics standpoint. In this article, I will look at this same issue from an apologetics point of view. There are three things I would like to address here: The sovereignty of God (did God have the right to do this?) the justice of God (was it fair?), and the apparent contradiction of the account (free will vs. God’s purpose).
First, on the sovereignty of God. The skeptic might argue that God had no right to do this. In the eyes of many skeptics, it’s not fair to harden Pharaoh’s heart. But therein lies the problem. It’s not the eyes of the skeptic that matter. The skeptic is seeking to judge God, but really God alone is judge. This is his creation. He is therefore as entitled to do as He pleases with His creation as you would be to decide the fate of your paper plane.
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Skeptic interjection: Can I kill my child because I also created them?
Christian response: First off, it seems a great many atheists would answer with a firm "yes". While there are some atheists who recognise the abomination that abortion is, the majority of them support it, and as society drifts further from God, infanticide is becoming more popular. Setting abortion aside, the answer is a solid no. See, God initially created "ex nihilo" (i.e. from nothing), granting Him ultimate ownership over everything. When two people make a baby, they are merely the vessels through which God creates that baby. Therefore, that baby is still God's. Since God forbids murder, there are very few scenarios in which it is permissible to kill even your own baby. Now, can God kill your baby? This is a "yes, but" moment, because yes, as the child's ultimate Creator, God can kill a child, but His sovereignty cannot be divided from His character. God is not in the business of randomly killing children; every life He takes, He has a reason for. God defaults towards life, taking no pleasure even in the death of those who deserve it. Furthermore, for all intents and purposes, children are innocent, meaning when God does cut a child's life short, He grants them an inheritance in His Kingdom. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
God states His purpose for hardening Pharaoh’s heart as being so that His signs may be multiplied, and all will know He is God. He has every right to make His name known in any way He wants, whether by healing miracles or punishment of sin. Healing miracles don’t tend to spread as far. Jesus healed many in His time, but many fell away from Him and they eventually killed Him. Punishing sin, however, sends a message: Stop now, worship God.
But what of the apparent contradiction? James 1:13 states that God can neither be tempted to sin, nor can He tempt anyone. But isn’t He tempting Pharaoh here? Take a look at the verse in the header image. Here we see God fulfilling His promise to harden Pharaoh’s heart. Rather than using His divine power to commandeer Pharaoh, God does not provide anything to harden Pharaoh’s heart. Rather, Pharaoh hardened His own heart by calling upon his magicians to imitate the miracle Moses and Aaron had performed. They succeeded, but God demonstrated His superiority by having Moses’ snake eat the Egyptian snakes, which should certainly have clued Pharaoh in a little bit.
So this time, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened because Pharaoh himself had asked the magicians to replicate God’s miracle, and they did. But it doesn’t stop there. In Exodus 8:15, we are explicitly told that Pharaoh hardened his own heart. Why? Because God had relieved the plague of frogs. God didn’t harden Pharaoh’s heart by removing his free will. Rather, Pharaoh was already a hard hearted man: A brutal dictator corrupted by the absolute power he held over all Egypt. This fulfilled what God said in Exodus 3:19: Pharaoh will not let the Jews go unless he is forced with a heavy hand! God’s method of hardening Pharaoh’s heart was threefold:
A) He asserted Himself over Pharaoh as the superior authority by daring to send His prophet not with a request, but a command.
B) He did not prevent Pharaoh’s men, whom Pharaoh himself had appointed, from lying to him, nor did He prevent Pharaoh from believing those lies.
C) He had mercy on Egypt by relieving the plagues He sent.
Effectively, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart by being God. But I put this question to the skeptics: how do you differ from Pharaoh? Observe:
A) God has asserted Himself over you as the superior authority. He declares that you are sinners, and that He will judge you for it. Your response? Typically, it is to rage against His messengers, maybe even calling us bigots.
B) You have appointed for yourselves liars. Your favourite authors, bloggers and preachers give you messages you would prefer to hear, and the evidence they provide may appear convincing. Christians usually disprove these lies, but God doesn’t make you listen to us. If you want to believe Richard Dawkins or Bill Nye over Ken Ham and Jonathan Sarfati, that’s entirely your choice.
C) God is merciful to you. He won’t throw lightning at you, or fill your house with toads, and you take that as proof that He will not judge you. You’re fine “without” God, but really you’re only living without His visible blessings. His mercy is His patience, but you take it as proof that He isn’t there.
I put it to you, therefore, that God has hardened your hearts as He hardened Pharaoh’s. But just as He didn’t commandeer Pharaoh, He hasn’t commandeered you. You have hardened your own heart against Him. You reject Him because you want to. My challenge to you then is to do what Pharaoh couldn’t: humble yourself before God. Accept His authority, accept His love, repent of your sins and live.