Exodus 7:1-6
“So the LORD said to Moses,
‘See I have made you as God
to Pharaoh, and Aaron your
brother shall be your prophet.
You shall speak to Pharaoh
all that I command you. And
your brother shall speak to
Pharaoh that he must send
the children of Israel out of
his land…”
Exodus 7:1-6
“…And I will harden Pharaoh’s
heart, and multiply My signs
and My wonders in the land
of Egypt. But Pharaoh will
not heed you, so that I may
lay My hand on Egypt and
bring My armies and My
people, the children of Israel,
out of the land of Egypt by
great judgments…”
Exodus 7:1-6
“…And the Egyptians shall
know that I am the LORD,
when I stretch out My hand
on Egypt and bring out the
children of Israel from among
them.’ Then Moses and
Aaron did so; just as the
L ORD commanded them, so
they did.” (NKJV).
4
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
Some say that God made
Pharaoh do all that he did:
“God made Pharaoh wicked; that is
from wicked seed”
Martin Luther, Bondage
of
the Will, Section 83
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
Some say that God made
Pharaoh do all that he did:
Speaking of Pharaoh and others who rebelled
against God, claimed that God…
“…bends them to do his judgments, just as if they
carried their orders engraved on their minds…all
the counsels and actions of men must be held to
be governed by his providence, so that he not only
exerts power in the elect…but also forces the
reprobate to do him service”
John Calvin, Institutes of the
Christian Religion, Bk. I, 18.2)
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
Section One
God’s Instructions to Moses
Through the Fifth Plague
“I will harden”
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
What God Says:
“I am sure that the king of
Egypt will not let you go”
(3:19).
“I will harden his heart”
so that he will not let the
people go” (4:21).
FOREKNOWLEDGE
Isaiah 46:10; Psalm 139:4
DETERMINED
COUNSEL
Acts 2:23
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
“Harden” (Exodus 4:21)
Heb. chatzaq (qzj)
“to be or grow firm, strong, strengthen”
(Hebrew-English Lexicon of the Old
Testament Brown, Driver, Briggs, p. 304)
Can apply to the effect
someone’s word has upon another:
Judges 7:11; I Samuel 23:16;
II Samuel 2:7; Nehemiah 2:18
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
What God Says:
“I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and
multiply My signs and wonders in
the land” (7:3).
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
“Harden” (Exodus 7:3)
Heb. qashah (hvq)
“to be hard, severe, fierce…stiff, stubborn”
(Hebrew-English Lexicon of the Old
Testament Brown, Driver, Briggs, p. 904)
Can be used of stubbornness:
Deuteronomy 10:16; II Chronicles 36:13;
Proverbs 28:14; Jeremiah 19:15
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
What God Says:
“I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and
multiply My signs and wonders in
the land” (7:3).
“Pharaoh will not heed you so that
I may lay my hand on Egypt” (7:4).
“And the Egyptians shall know
that I am the LORD, when I stretch
out my hand on Egypt” (7:5).
Whatever this
“hardening” is it
DETERMINED
is
intended to
COUNSEL
cause
Egypt to
know that the
LORD is God –
not to prevent this
knowledge.
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
What God Says:
What Happened:
“Pharaoh’s heart is
hard” (7:14a).
“Pharaoh’s heart grew
hard…” (7:13a).
“He refuses to let the
people go” (7:14b).
“…he did not heed
them” (7:13b).
“…As the LORD had
said” (7:13c).
What God Said Would Happen -- Happened
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
What Happened:
This is what the
Lord said would
happen – and what
God called
“hardening”
Pharaoh’s heart
The First PlagueWater to Blood
“Pharaoh’s heart grew
hard and he did not
heed them as the LORD
had said” (7:22).
“Neither was his heart
moved by this” (7:23).
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
This also is what
the Lord said would
happen – and what
God called
“hardening”
Pharaoh’s heart
What Happened:
The Second PlagueFrogs
“When Pharaoh saw
there was relief, he
hardened his heart and
did not heed them as
the LORD had said”
(8:15).
This shows that God saying –
“I will harden Pharaoh’s heart”
= “[Pharaoh] hardened his heart”
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
This also is what
the Lord said would
happen – and what
God called
“hardening”
Pharaoh’s heart
This shows that God saying –
“I will harden Pharaoh’s heart”
= “Pharaoh’s heart grew hard”
What Happened:
The Third PlagueLice
“Pharaoh’s heart grew
hard, and did not heed
them just as the LORD
had said” (8:19).
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
The same thing that
happened here is
what happened
before – which God
called “hardening”
Pharaoh’s heart
What Happened:
The Fourth PlagueFlies
“Pharaoh hardened his
heart at this time
also, neither would he
let the people go”
(8:32).
This shows again that –
“Pharaoh hardened his heart”
= God saying - “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart”
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
What Happened:
This again is what
the Lord said would
happen – and what
God called
“hardening”
Pharaoh’s heart
The Fifth PlagueDiseased Livestock
“The heart of Pharaoh
became hard, and he
did not let the people
go” (9:7).
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
What Have We Seen So Far?
The FOREKNOWLEDGE of God
The DETERMINED
COUNSEL of God
God knew that Pharaoh
would not let them go.
God determined how He
would use this situation.
God saying – “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart”
= “Pharaoh hardened his heart”
= “Pharaoh’s heart grew hard”
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
Section Two
The Sixth & Seventh Plagues
“The LORD hardened”
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
What Happened:
The Sixth PlagueBoils
“The LORD hardened
the heart of Pharaoh;
and he did not heed
them, just as the LORD
had spoken to Moses”
(9:12).
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
Some say to this point God had
not yet “hardened” Pharaoh:
“…Pharaoh was given five chances to
repent (in connection with the first five
plagues) but hardened his own heart, and
only after that did God confirm Pharaoh’s
decision by hardening Pharaoh’s
heart…God does not harden the heart of
anyone but a confirmed rebel”
David Stern, Jewish Commentary
on the New Testament, p. 391
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
However, the text says…
“I will harden his heart” (4:21).
“I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply
My signs and wonders in the land” (7:3).
“Pharaoh’s heart grew hard…As the LORD
had said” (7:13).
“Pharaoh’s heart is hard” (7:14).
The “hardening” which God promised
is already in operation.
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
What God Says:
What Happened:
“For this purpose I
have raised you up,
that I may show My
power in you…” (9:16).
The Sixth PlagueBoils
“As yet you exalt
yourself against My
people in that you will
not let them go” (9:17).
“The LORD hardened
the heart of Pharaoh;
and he did not heed
them, just as the LORD
had spoken to Moses”
(9:12).
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
God says to Pharaoh…
“you exalt yourself”
God says Pharaoh does
this himself.
“you will not let them go”
If God’s “hardening” of Pharaoh’s heart
prevents Pharaoh from being able to let
them go, why would God attribute to
Pharaoh what God Himself is doing?
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
What Pharaoh Says:
What Happened:
“I have sinned this time” The Seventh Plague- Hail
(9:27a).
“He who feared the word
“The LORD is
of the LORD among the
righteous…” (9:27b).
servants of Pharaoh made his
“…and my people and I
are wicked” (9:27c).
servants and livestock flee to the
houses” (9:20).
“He who did not regard
the word of the LORD left
his servants and his livestock in
the field” (9:21).
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
What Pharaoh Says: What Moses Says:
“I have sinned this time”
(9:27a).
“The LORD is
righteous…” (9:27b).
“…and my people and I
are wicked” (9:27c).
“As for you and your
servants, I know that you
will not yet fear the LORD
God” (9:30).
Their sin was that
they did not fear or
regard God’s word –
they were
“hardened” by it.
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
The Parable of the Sower
“…The Seed is the word of God”
(Luke 8:11)
“Now he who received seed among the
thorns is he who hears the word, and the
cares of this world and the deceitfulness of
riches choke the word, and he becomes
unfruitful”
(Matthew 13:22)
The Difference is the condition of the Heart
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
Is God’s Word Ineffectual?
“So shall My word be that goes forth
from My mouth; it shall not return to
Me void, but it shall accomplish what
I please, and it shall prosper in the
thing for which I sent it”
(Isaiah 55:11)
God’s word is intended to soften the good
and honest heart and harden those rebellious to it.
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
What Happened:
“And when Pharaoh
saw that the rain the
hail and the thunder
had ceased, he sinned
yet more; and he
hardened his heart, he
and his servants”
(9:34).
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
“Harden” (Exodus 9:34)
Heb. kabed (dbk)
“to be heavy, weighty, burdensome, honored”
(Hebrew-English Lexicon of the Old
Testament Brown, Driver, Briggs, p. 457)
Can apply what one does to themselves:
I Samuel 6:6
“Why then do you harden your hearts as the
Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts?”
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
What Have We Seen So Far?
• God says Pharaoh “exalts” himself.
• The Holy Spirit says they did not “regard” the
word of God.
• Pharaoh says “I have sinned.”
• Moses says they do not “yet fear” God.
• Text says Pharaoh “hardened his heart.”
Exalting self, refusing to fear & regard God’s word and
sinning against God -- is having a “hardened” heart – is
being “hardened” by God.
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
Section Three
The Eighth through
the Tenth Plagues
“I have hardened”
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
What God Says:
What Happened:
“I have hardened his
heart and the hearts of
his servants (10:1a).
“And when Pharaoh
saw that the rain the
hail and the thunder
had ceased, he sinned
yet more; and he
hardened his heart, he
and his servants”
(9:34).
God considers
these the same
thing
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
What God Says:
“…that I may show
these signs of Mine
before him (10:1b).
“…that you may tell in
the hearing of your son’s son
the mighty things I have done
in Egypt…” (10:2a)
“…that you may know
that I am the LORD”
(10:2b).
Why Did God
Allow This?
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
What God Says:
What Happened:
“How long will you
TheNinth
Eighth
PlagueThe
Plaguerefuse to humble
Locusts
Darkness
yourself before Me?
“TheLL
ORDhardened
hardened
“The
ORD
Let my people go that
Pharaoh’s
heart,
and
he
heart,
and he
would
they may serve me Pharaoh’s
didlet
not
let the
not
them
go”children
(10:27). of
(10:3).
Israel go” (10:20).
If God’s
“hardening”
of
…
why, again,
would God
Pharaoh’s
heart
prevents
attribute to
Pharaoh
what
Pharaoh
from being
able to
God Himself
is doing?
let them go…
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
What God Says:
What Happened:
“I will bring yet one
more plague on
Pharaoh and on Egypt”
(11:1b).
“The LORD hardened
DETERMINED
Pharaoh’s
heart, and
he didCOUNSEL
not let the
children of Israel go
out of his land (11:10).
FOREKNOWLEDGE
The Tenth PlagueDeath of the Firstborn
“Afterward he will let
you go from here”
(11:1b).
What God Said Would Happen – Happened
Israel Left Egypt
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
Section Four
The Red Sea Crossing
“I will harden”
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
What God Says:
“I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, so
that he will pursue them” (14:4a).
“…that the Egyptians may know
that I am the LORD” (14:4b).
“I indeed will harden the hearts of
the Egyptians, and they shall
follow them…then the Egyptians
shall know that I am the LORD”
(14:17-18).
Whatever this
“hardening” is it
7:3-5 –to
isLike
intended
“That
may
causethey
Egypt
to
know
am
knowthat
thatI the
the Lis
ORD”
LORD
God –
not to prevent this
knowledge.
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
What Have We Seen?
• God allowed Pharaoh to “exalt himself.”
• He did so to demonstrate His power and
show Israel and the Egyptians that He is God.
• Pharaoh “hardened his heart” by failing to
“regard” God’s word.
• The effect which God’s word had on Pharaoh
is what is called God “hardening” his heart.
• God did not cause Pharaoh to sin, but used
Pharaoh’s rebellion for His own purposes.
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
Early Christian Writers
“Pharaoh and his host and all the rulers of
Egypt, their chariots and their horsemen,
were overwhelmed in the depths of the Rea
Sea, and perished for none other reason but
because their foolish hearts were hardened
after that the signs and the wonders had
been wrought in the land of Egypt by the
hand of Moses the servant of God”
Clement of Rome (ca. 96 AD),
To the Corinthians, 51
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
Early Christian Writers
“God, knowing the number of those who will
not believe, since He foreknows all things,
has given them over to unbelief, and turned
away His face from men of this stamp,
leaving them in the darkness which they have
themselves chosen for themselves…He did
also at that time give over to their unbelief,
Pharaoh, who never would have believed,
along with those who were with him”
Irenaeus (c. 130-200 AD), Against
the Heresies, Bk. 4, 29.2
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
Early Christian Writers
“For if he is hardened by God, and
commits sin in consequence of being
hardened, he is not the cause of sin to
himself; and if so, then neither does
Pharaoh possess free-will. And some
one will say that, in a similar way, they
who perish have not free-will, and will
not perish of themselves.”
Origen (ca. 185-254 AD),
De Principis, Bk. 3, 1.7
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
Early Christian Writers
“And as if the sun, uttering a voice,
were to say, ‘I liquefy and dry up,’
liquefaction and drying up being
opposite things, he would not speak
falsely as regards the point in
question; wax being melted and mud
being dried by the same heat…”
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
Early Christian Writers
“…so the same operation, which
was performed through the
instrumentality of Moses, proved
the hardness of Pharaoh… the
result of his wickedness…”
Origen (ca. 185-254 AD),
De Principis, Bk. 3, 1.11
James 1:13-14
“Let no one say when he is
tempted, ‘I am tempted by
God’; for God cannot be
tempted by evil, nor does He
Himself tempt anyone. But
each one is tempted when he
is drawn away by his own
desires and enticed”
Habakkuk 1:13a
“You are of purer eyes
than to behold evil, and
cannot look on
wickedness”
The God whose pure eyes do
not behold evil and who tempts
no man – did not, does not and
will not harden anyone directly
so as to cause them to sin!
Exodus 9:27
“…I have sinned”
“…the LORD is
righteous”