Thread: Why did God harden Pharoah's heart?

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.

Originally Posted by thebrucebeat

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?

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

You're welcome.

Originally Posted by OverDrive

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....

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.

Originally Posted by CKW

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.

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.

Originally Posted by thebrucebeat

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.

Originally Posted by MisLed

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.

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?

Originally Posted by thebrucebeat

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.

Originally Posted by yguy

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

You're welcome.

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.

Originally Posted by MisLed

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.

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