"Now the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his servants, that I may show these signs of Mine before him...But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go." vv.1,27
Read chapter 10
I always seem to get confused and wonder why it says that God hardened Pharaoh's heart (and others throughout scripture). Some may argue predestination of salvation or not here, yet I can't believe that according to God desiring all to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4). Yes God predestines people for His use but not unto salvation. Well, here's not that argument totally. In Ex. 9:34 we see that Pharaoh hardened his won heart after sinning all the more. How often do we do that to ourselves when we continue in a sin that we make our own heart hard, all because of our choices, not God's. God is working in absolute grace today to believers and nonbelievers a like but during Exodus He was working justly too. Grace is what gies us a soft heart, so God could've taken away His grace, undeserved favor, so that Pharaoh's heart couldn't soften. Also by Hebrew idiom of active verbs of doing are used of suffering or permitting a thing to be done. Because of Pharaoh's previous decisions of not turning to the Lord, God permites his heart to be hardened. "it was in each case God's forbearing goodness which produced the harding...just as the same sun which softens the wax hardens the clay." (The Companion Bible note on Exodus 4:21). In what ways have you hardened your heart towards God? How has God's grace softened it?
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