Why did God harden Pharoah's heart?

Several times during the Exodus story, Pharoah is prepared to let Moses' people go, but God steps in and hardens Pharoah's heart. The result of His doing this is there are more plagues and it ultimately leads to the infanticide of Egyptian innocent children.

Why do you think God did this?

 

Cause hes a sick kid with a magnifying glass standing over an ant hill. Thats the only explanation I have.

 

Because the God of the Old Testament was a proud (*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*).

 

These answers are of course predictable from those who don't believe in Him.

I am more interested in how believers justify this turn of events from scripture.

Not that I don't empathize with these posts. I do.

 

Bump.

Where are the true believers? This one a bit too uncomfortable?

 

God hardened Pharaoh's heart because a soft hearted Pharaoh might accidentally leave his seed on the ground and then God would have to smite him. And God really didn't want to get his toga messy before the big flood.

 

Well, trying to 'fit that bill,'..:


One of the 'not too clear' passages in OT scripture. Translation and proper selection of alternate archaic verbiage can vary... ref Strong's giving a list of many possible meanings, etc. In this case , if the meaning is as we read it in today's translations, it could mean that God hardened Pharaoh's heart in order to accomplish His purpose. That can be disturbing if one thinks about man's free will. God's 'influencing' man's free will!

But also, God 'sent' an evil spirit to torment Saul after Saul fell out of His will. But then again, Job, a righteous man of his time, was allowed to be tested as Satan demanded of God....Satan 'demanding' from God?...or was it 'Satan testing God' as in keeping His word and integrity concerning protecting the righteous?!

Passages like these dont 'shake my faith,' as such, since I believe in the 'lessons' demonstrated in OT scripture are valuable; and I take the spiritual intentions of individual 'stories' in scripture as part of the whole of scripture, cover-to-cover, knowing as scripture states: "Now we know in part, but we will know the total when the perfect comes." (the King OD xlation) The perfect, I see, as God's creation restored into its fullness. God's original will for the earth and mankind coming into fruition.



EDIT: BTW, Bruce I quit posting here due to the unfruitfulness of this forum with the 'end-time mockers & scoffers' running amuck that were foretold would come in NT scripture at the end times. It is a sign, just as the great Falling Away (Great Apostasy) is a sign and happening in the earth today (ref: all the European countries with crosses on their flags indicating their Christian heritage who have forgotten their reformation roots and are now almost fully secular..aka, Godless!)

But I will respond to sincere posters as the occasion arises..in your case, just as Thomas followed Christ until he was tested by the shame of his Lord, and became Doubting Thomas until he saw & handled the risen Lord; you have become a modern doubting follower...a Doubting Bruce, as it were. And as I said B4, I'm believing that you too will be restored as a believer B4 you stand before the Lord....

 

Did you just cast judgement on poor old bruce?

This is why I love this forum!

 

FYI, Bruce & I have a history of discussing his failed faith..

But I wasnt fishing for 'mockers & scoffers' to bite on a serious, sincere post (esp after 'calling them out,'), but it looks like I caught one anyway (they have no shame, huh)!

 

Lean not on your own understanding. For God's ways are not your ways.
Do you read the Bible?This world is a punishment you know.Can you tell?
You could have said why did God let Jesus be crucified but wait first humiliate the heck out of him.
Why does God let there be evil the devil or the illusion of death which we all face.
The appearence of Evil is what we perceive most and why I believe atheists just cannot believe there is a God or let alone one that's doing good.
Is evil really evil is the question also is goodness really good.
Did you also notice in this world that good things in life brings around evil or at least poor characteristics.
Such as a rich and or famous person. The most exciting thing in this world to be makes them conceded pompous or a royal (*)(*)(*)(*)(*) at times
and other bad characteristics. Which frankly happens in the middle-class with just a little bit of success brings about poor characteristics.or evil

 

God had a plan, and God fulfilled it. The Hebrews were God's children, had a purpose and everything was designed to launch them into a strong people of faith.

I've never had a problem with this verse. It shows God's ultimate power in all that He created. God has the power to harden and soften one's heart. I've prayed for him to soften the heart of people who might be hard and cold and hurtful. Ultimately the key is to build a relationship with God and depend and trust in God's ultimate plan and his Love for us.

 

Didn't Pharoah harden HIS OWN heart in three places...exodus 7 and twice in exodus 8 before God decided to harden pharoah's heart His ownself?? Pharoah enslaved the israelites for 400 years and he was a mass murderer. Pharoah ain't exactly an innocent bystander in this whole deal.

 

Divine love hardens the hearts of the children of the devil. That's why the pharisees wanted Jesus dead.

You're welcome.

 

Taken as intended, but in essence your response confirms the idea that scripture can not be taken as it is written, considered the inerrant word of God. Your only explanation is maybe the word has a different meaning, but no confirmation of that is given. I agree that God allowing his servant Job to be horribly abused for the sake of a wager is appalling as well.
I know your heart is good in your response, but it remains a very unsatisfying response.

 

This does not suggest why, when God's will would have been satisfied without massive bloodshed, He chose to harden Pharoah's heart. Not really responsive.

 

This is a case where you feel that you would make a better "god". And I can't help you there.

 

Pharoah didn't live 400 years. God did harden Pharoah's heart, and that led to massive bloodshed. Do you want to respond as to why, because so far you haven't?

 

sure i did. Pharoah hardened his own heart in exodus 7 and 8. It isn't till exodus 9 that God hardens Pharoah's heart because pharoah had already hardened his own heart not once or twice but 3 or 4 times. Of course Pharoah did not live 400 years but he was as hard a task master as the pharoahs before him. You do realize that in Joseph's time, the then pharoah was hospitable and welcoming of Joseph's family and treated them respectfully. And in those days, Egypt prospered.

 

There is no indication in scripture that God hardened Pharoah's heart with love.
You are inventing scripture because you can't explain this strange dichotomy from the OT.
I'm welcome for what? You have provided nothing.

 

We aren't talking about those other times, though, are we?
Why did God harden Pharoah's heart?

 

Equally unresponsive.

 

That's the sort of detail a pharisee would zoom in on, as if it were of any consequence.

No, you're inventing facts about my thinking.

The dichotomy is entirely illusory, as I have demonstrated.

Actually I provided more substance than you're comfortable with, so you're nullifying it within the confines of the subjective universe you live in by closing your eyes to it.

 

I'm sure you think you have been very inciteful.
But unfortunately, you have provided nothing except the confirmation of your bias.

 

Relative to your tolerance for insight, sure I have.

Oh sure, like this thread had any other purpose but to reinforce the confirmation bias of atheists.

 

ALTER2EGO -to- THE BRUCE BEAT:

This episode in the Hebrew scriptures at Exodus involving the Egyptian Pharaoh and enslaved Israelites is easily misunderstood by those who cherry pick verses and ignore context. Context refers to the surrounding words, verses, and chapters. I will quote several verses from this episode without the context to give you an example.



GOD to MOSES:
"And Jehovah went on to say to Moses: 'After you have gone and returned to Egypt see that you actually perform all the miracles that I have put in your hand before Pharaoh. As for me, I shall let his heart become obstinate; and he will not send the people away." (Exodus 4:21 -- New World Translation)

"The LORD said to Moses, "When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go." (Exodus 4:21 -- New International Version)


"As for me, I shall let Pharaoh's heart become obstinate, and I shall certainly multiply my signs and my miracles in the land of Egypt." (Exodus 7:3 -- New World Translation)

"But I will harden Pharaoh's heart that I may multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt." (Exodus 7:3 -- New American Standard Bible)



Taken alone, those verses appear to be saying Jehovah programmed Pharaoh to not let the Israelites go, giving the impression that had it not been for Jehovah God, Pharaoh would have released the enslaved Israelites. Now look at the context.

"{1} And afterward Moses and Aaron went in and proceeded to say to Pharaoh: 'This is what Jehovah the God of Israel has said, "Send my people away that they may celebrate a festival to me in the wilderness." ' {2} But Pharaoh said; 'Who is Jehovah, so that I should obey his voice to send Israel away? I do not know Jehovah at all and, what is more, I am not going to send Israel away.' {6} Immediately on that day Pharaoh commanded those who drove the people to work and their officers, saying: {7} 'You must not gather straw to give to the people to make bricks as formerly. Let them themselves go and gather straw for themselves. {8} Moreover, the required amount of bricks that they were making formerly, you will further impose upon them. You must not make any reduction for them, because they are relaxing. That is why they are crying out, saying, "We want to go, we want to sacrifice to our God!" ' " (Exodus 5:1-2, 6-8 )


Notice Pharaoh's attitude, his arrogance at Exodus 5:2. Then notice how immediately, the same day he was approached by Moses, he spitefully ordered that no further assistance was to be given to the enslaved Israelites as formerly—such as the Egyptians themselves collecting straw for them. The Israelites were now to collect their own straw and still produce the same amount of bricks.


Did God make Pharaoh do that? Certainly not! The scriptures simply says God would not intervene to make him send the Israelites away (referred to as "hardening" Pharaoh's heart). That part about the straw was Pharaoh's own idea. That's is what God was dealing with: an arrogant man. God allowed Pharoah's own disposition of arrogance to flourish. Consider that Jehovah could have destroyed Pharaoh and all of the Egyptians at anytime, but in his mercy, he chose not to. Instead, he gave Pharaoh freedom to refuse to let the Israelites go. Because Jehovah is able to read hearts and inclinations, he knew ahead of time that Pharaoh would behave in this manner: displaying arrogance and stubbornly refusing to let the enslaved Israelites go.

"I, Jehovah, am searching the heart, examining the kidneys, even to give to each one according to his ways, according to the fruitage of his dealings." (Jeremiah 17:10)



So when the Bible says God "hardened" Pharaoh's heart, that is simply a figure of speech that means Jehovah allowed Pharaoh to be himself—stubborn and hard-hearted. I can show other scriptures from the Exodus account proving that Pharaoh had the ability to let the Israelites go at anytime but that he chose not to. Since I don't want this post to go much longer, I might do that at a later time.