If you have hardened your heart to deny God, and you recognize your life is on a path headed to destruction, you can choose to change your direction. You can choose to believe God and accept his free gift of salvation. He has never failed to answer that prayer. He will soften your heart and transform your life.
- What is the gospel?
- The gospel of rest
- Whosoever will may come
- Romans 12:1-2 From conformed to transformed by presenting yourself to God
The example of Pharaoh’s hardened heart
This account is sometimes used to prove the doctrine of extreme predestination but I think it is the exact opposite. It all depends on how, what, and why. How did God harden Pharaoh’s heart? What did God harden in Pharaoh’s heart? Why did God harden Pharaoh’s heart?
There is no verse anywhere in the Bible that even hints God forced Pharaoh’s unbelief. But there are many verses that say God hardened Pharaoh’s heart so he would not let the people go. Pharaoh chose to deny God; therefore, God hardened his heart so he could bear the plagues. Pharaoh could have chosen to believe God at any time. Even his magicians told him this was the hand of God. And they pleaded with him to keep Egypt from being destroyed. But he wouldn’t believe. So God kept hardening his heart to ignore the consequences until the destruction was complete.
- For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I caused you to be raised up, that I might show in you my power, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” (Romans 9:17 WEB)
God predicts Pharaoh would harden his heart
- I know that the king of Egypt won’t give you permission to go, no, not by a mighty hand. I will put forth my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in its midst, and after that he will let you go. I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, and it will happen that when you go, you shall not go empty-handed. (Exodus 3:19-21 WEB)
God promises he will harden Pharaoh’s heart
After Pharaoh chose to deny God, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart so that he would not let the people go.
- And the LORD said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in your power; but I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the LORD says: “Israel is My son, My firstborn. So I said to you, ‘Let My son go so that he may serve Me’; but you have refused to let him go. Behold, I am going to kill your son, your firstborn.”’” (Exodus 4:21-23 NASB)
- And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. Thou shalt speak all that I command thee: and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he send the children of Israel out of his land. And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt. But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine armies, and my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them. (Exodus 7:1-5 KJV)
Pharaoh hardened his heart
This must have been necessary because even the unbelieving magicians pleaded with him to let the people go.
- And he hardened Pharaoh’s heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said. And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh’s heart is hardened, he refuseth to let the people go. (Exodus 7:13-14)
- And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them; as the LORD had said. (Exodus 7:22)
- But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said. (Exodus 8:15)
- Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said. (Exodus 8:19)
- And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go. (Exodus 8:32)
- And Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not one of the cattle of the Israelites dead. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go. (Exodus 9:7)
- And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go; as the LORD had spoken by Moses. (Exodus 9:34–35)
God hardened Pharaoh’s heart
PHARAOH HARDENS HIS HEART AGAINST GOD (Ex 8:8-19)
Pharaoh began to harden his heart when Moses and Aaron performed the first miraculous sign before him, just as God said he would do (Ex. 7:3, 13-14). He hardened his heart further when his magicians counterfeited the signs (v. 22) and even when they couldn’t duplicate what Moses and Aaron had done (8:19). When Moses succeeded in stopping the plague of frogs, Pharaoh’s heart again hardened (v. 15). This hardening continued throughout the entire series of plagues (v. 32; 9:7, 34-35; 13:15).
What does it mean to harden your heart? It means to see clear evidence of the hand of God at work and still refuse to accept His Word and submit to His will. It means to resist Him by showing ingratitude and disobedience and not having any fear of the Lord or of His judgments. Hardhearted people say with Pharaoh, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice?” (5:2).
But the narrative also makes it clear that by sending these various judgments, God was hardening Pharaoh’s heart (4:21; 7:3; 9:12; 10:1, 20, 27; 11:10; 14:4, 8, 17). Does this mean that God was unfair and that Pharaoh shouldn’t be held responsible for what he did? No, for the same sun that melts the ice also hardens the clay. It all depends on the nature of the material.
To the very end of the contest (14:5ff.), Pharaoh was a proud, unrepentant sinner who refused to hear God’s Word, do God’s will, or even keep his own promises to the Jewish people. The Lord gave him more than enough evidence to convince him that the gods of Egypt were false and the God of the Hebrews was the true and living God. Pharaoh sinned against a flood of light, and though God used him to accomplish His own purposes, Pharaoh made his own decisions and hardened his own heart against God.
–Be Delivered (Exodus): Finding Freedom by Following God (The BE Series Commentary) by Warren Wiersbe
Pharaoh began to harden his heart when Moses and Aaron performed the first miraculous sign before him, just as God said he would do (Ex. 7:3, 13-14). He hardened his heart further when his magicians counterfeited the signs (v. 22) and even when they couldn’t duplicate what Moses and Aaron had done (8:19). When Moses succeeded in stopping the plague of frogs, Pharaoh’s heart again hardened (v. 15). This hardening continued throughout the entire series of plagues (v. 32; 9:7, 34-35; 13:15).
What does it mean to harden your heart? It means to see clear evidence of the hand of God at work and still refuse to accept His Word and submit to His will. It means to resist Him by showing ingratitude and disobedience and not having any fear of the Lord or of His judgments. Hardhearted people say with Pharaoh, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice?” (5:2).
But the narrative also makes it clear that by sending these various judgments, God was hardening Pharaoh’s heart (4:21; 7:3; 9:12; 10:1, 20, 27; 11:10; 14:4, 8, 17). Does this mean that God was unfair and that Pharaoh shouldn’t be held responsible for what he did? No, for the same sun that melts the ice also hardens the clay. It all depends on the nature of the material.
To the very end of the contest (14:5ff.), Pharaoh was a proud, unrepentant sinner who refused to hear God’s Word, do God’s will, or even keep his own promises to the Jewish people. The Lord gave him more than enough evidence to convince him that the gods of Egypt were false and the God of the Hebrews was the true and living God. Pharaoh sinned against a flood of light, and though God used him to accomplish His own purposes, Pharaoh made his own decisions and hardened his own heart against God.
–Be Delivered (Exodus): Finding Freedom by Following God (The BE Series Commentary) by Warren Wiersbe
- And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had spoken unto Moses. (Exodus 9:12)
- And the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh: for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I might show these my signs before him: (Exodus 10:1)
- But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go. (Exodus 10:20)
- But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. (Exodus 10:27)
- And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh: and the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go out of his land. (Exodus 11:10)
- And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honored upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD. And they did so. (Exodus 14:4)
- And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand. (Exodus 14:8)
- And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honor upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. (Exodus 14:17)
Several themes run through the narrative of the first nine judgments. There is the theme of God’s watch-care over His own. As noted, in several of these judgments the Lord made it clear that He would protect His people from the judgments inflicted on Egypt (cf. 8:22-23a; 9:26; 10:23b). Of course, the best protection would come when the people were taken out of Egypt altogether (similar to what will happen to the Church when it is raptured and escapes the wrath of God during the great tribulation; cf. the comments on 1Th 4:13, 5:11 and Rv 3:10).
A second theme is resistance to the will of the Lord is futile. Pharaoh is made to confront the fundamental reality that the Lord’s will is irresistible. A sub-theme here is that partial repentance and temporary or insincere sorrow for one’s sins against the Lord are unavailing. Only sincere submission is acceptable. Only utter humility before God is appropriate (cf. 10:3).
And that leads to a third, but actually the primary, theme of this narrative, and it is summed up in the majestic declaration: By this you shall know that I am the LORD (7:17a). These events prove that God is sovereign; He is utterly unique (there is no one like the LORD our God, 8:10; there is no one like Me in all the earth, 9:14b); He is active in His creation (I am in the midst of the land, 8:22b); He desires the worship of His people (that they may serve Me, 7:16; 8:1, 20; 9:1, 13; 10:3); He demands the compliance and obedience of all creatures (e.g., every command made to Pharaoh in the narrative).
–The Moody Bible Commentary
A second theme is resistance to the will of the Lord is futile. Pharaoh is made to confront the fundamental reality that the Lord’s will is irresistible. A sub-theme here is that partial repentance and temporary or insincere sorrow for one’s sins against the Lord are unavailing. Only sincere submission is acceptable. Only utter humility before God is appropriate (cf. 10:3).
And that leads to a third, but actually the primary, theme of this narrative, and it is summed up in the majestic declaration: By this you shall know that I am the LORD (7:17a). These events prove that God is sovereign; He is utterly unique (there is no one like the LORD our God, 8:10; there is no one like Me in all the earth, 9:14b); He is active in His creation (I am in the midst of the land, 8:22b); He desires the worship of His people (that they may serve Me, 7:16; 8:1, 20; 9:1, 13; 10:3); He demands the compliance and obedience of all creatures (e.g., every command made to Pharaoh in the narrative).
–The Moody Bible Commentary
God has mercy, but when we choose to deny him, he will harden us
Before leaving this section, we need to discuss the “hardening” of Pharaoh (Rom. 9:18). This hardening process is referred to at least fifteen times in Exodus 7–14. Sometimes we are told that Pharaoh hardened his heart (Ex. 8:15, 19, 32), and other times that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart (Ex. 9:12; 10:1, 20, 27). By declaring His Word and revealing His power, God gave Pharaoh opportunity to repent, but instead, Pharaoh resisted God and hardened his heart. The fault lay not with God but Pharaoh. The same sunlight that melts the ice also hardens the clay. God was not unrighteous in His dealings with Pharaoh because He gave him many opportunities to repent and believe.
–Be Right (Romans): How to Be Right with God, Yourself, and Others (The BE Series Commentary) by Warren Wiersbe
–Be Right (Romans): How to Be Right with God, Yourself, and Others (The BE Series Commentary) by Warren Wiersbe
- So then, he has mercy on whom he desires, and he hardens whom he desires. (Romans 9:18 WEB)
- Free Will in the Old Testament – The Old Testament contains almost 4000 years of history about people exercising free will to obey or disobey God bringing blessings and curses
- The potter and the clay – The sovereign potter tries to make one kind of vessel but the stubborn willful clay ruins it by resisting him so he makes another kind of vessel
Don’t harden your heart like Pharaoh
If you choose to deny God, then he will harden your heart, just like Pharaoh, so you will ignore the consequences and continue living to your own destruction.
- But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him: for the LORD thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into thy hand, as appeareth this day. (Deuteronomy 2:30)
- If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother: (Deuteronomy 15:7)
- For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that he might destroy them utterly, and that they might have no favor, but that he might destroy them, as the LORD commanded Moses. (Joshua 11:20)
- Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? when he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed? (1 Samuel 6:6)
- Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the LORD their God. (2 Kings 17:14)
- And he also rebelled against king Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God: but he stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart from turning unto the LORD God of Israel. (2 Chronicles 36:13)
- But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments, (Nehemiah 9:16)
- And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not. (Nehemiah 9:17)
- And testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments, (which if a man do, he shall live in them;) and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear. (Nehemiah 9:29)
- Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: (Psalm 95:8)
- A wicked man hardeneth his face: but as for the upright, he directeth his way. (Proverbs 21:29)
- Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief. (Proverbs 28:14)
- He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. (Proverbs 29:1)
- O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance. (Isaiah 63:17)
- Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers. (Jeremiah 7:26)
- Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all her towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it, because they have hardened their necks, that they might not hear my words. (Jeremiah 19:15)
- But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him: (Daniel 5:20)
- For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened. (Mark 6:52)
- And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened? (Mark 8:17)
- He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. (John 12:40)
- But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus. (Acts 19:9)
- Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: (Hebrews 3:8)
- But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. (Hebrews 3:13)
- While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. (Hebrews 3:15)
- Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. (Hebrews 4:7)
Ask God to soften your heart
If you have chosen to deny God through an evil heart of unbelief, and you recognize your life is on a path headed to destruction, you can choose to change your direction. You can choose to believe God and accept his free gift of salvation. He has never failed to answer that prayer. He will soften your heart and transform your life.
This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their hearts; who having become callous gave themselves up to lust, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But you did not learn Christ that way; if indeed you heard him, and were taught in him, even as truth is in Jesus: that you put away, as concerning your former way of life, the old man, that grows corrupt after the lusts of deceit; and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man, who in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of truth. (Ephesians 4:17-24 WEB)