What do we do with Pharaoh?
This is a question that often comes up when we talk about God’s sovereignty and man’s free will. The problem is that the Bible explicitly says that God hardened Pharoah’s heart and then punished him for his actions. A further problem is that this is often used as evidence for Calvinism, primarily because of the reference to it in Romans.
For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE I HAVE RAISED YOU UP, THAT I MAY SHOW MY POWER IN YOU, AND THAT MY NAME MAY BE DECLARED IN ALL THE EARTH.” Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens. You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?” (Romans 9:17-19)
Today we are not going to be dissecting Romans 9. Our point is this: did God make Pharoah sin? Or, more specifically, did God take a soft (or neutral) heart and harden it so that it would sin? To find out, we need to look at the original account, which we find in Exodus.
We find the Israelites in bondage in Egypt, serving Pharaoh as a nation of slaves. God heard their cry and sent Moses to command Pharaoh to set them free. However, God told him up front that this would not be an easy task.
But I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand. (Exodus 3:19)
A little later, as Moses has gathered his family and is heading toward Egypt, God gives him more information.
And the LORD said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in your hand. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. (Exodus 4:21)
It is like God is saying, “Pharaoh will not listen to you. And, by the way, I’m going to be responsible for it.”
That has been a hangup for a lot of people. God would harden a man’s heart? How does that fit into our theology?
Notice, however, that God did not say when He would do this, just that He would do it. The question we’ll have is when and how God would do it.
Soon Moses and Aaron found themselves confronting Pharaoh for the first time.
Afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.’ ” And Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, nor will I let Israel go.” (Exodus 5:1-2)
Pharaoh says, “Nope. Not gonna do it.” That started the whole process of Pharaoh refusing to let the people go and God sending plagues in response. Before we get to these plagues, however, Moses and Aaron showed up again before Pharoah. To prove that God meant business, Aaron threw his rod on the ground and it became a serpent. Then Pharoah’s magicians did the same thing—but Aaron’s rod ate theirs. Look at Pharoah’s response:
And Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the LORD had said. (Exodus 7:13)
Notice that it does not say that God hardened his heart. There was no need. Pharaoh was doing a fine job of it himself.
Now it is time for the plagues. As we glance at them, we will see that in some instances Pharaoh hardened his own heart, and at other times God was responsible.
PLAGUE 1 – WATER TO BLOOD (Exodus 7:14-25)
Then the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments; and Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the LORD had said. (Exodus 7:22)
PLAGUE 2 – FROGS (Exodus 8:1-15)
But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not heed them, as the LORD had said. (Exodus 8:15)
PLAGUE 3 – LICE (Exodus 8:16-19)
Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, just as the LORD had said. (Exodus 8:19)
PLAGUE 4 – FLIES (Exodus 8:20-32)
But Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also; neither would he let the people go. (Exodus 8:32)
PLAGUE 5 – LIVESTOCK DISEASE (Exodus 9:1-7)
Then Pharaoh sent, and indeed, not even one of the livestock of the Israelites was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh became hard, and he did not let the people go. (Exodus 9:7)
PLAGUE 6 – BOILS (Exodus 9:8-12)
But the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh; and he did not heed them, just as the LORD had spoken to Moses. (Exodus 9:12)
This is the first time God explicitly hardened his heart.
PLAGUE 7 – HAIL (Exodus 9:13-35)
So the heart of Pharaoh was hard; neither would he let the children of Israel go, as the LORD had spoken by Moses. (Exodus 9:35)
PLAGUE 8 – LOCUSTS (Exodus 10:1-20)
Even before this plague, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart as well as that of his servants.
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, (Exodus 10:1)
After a superficial repentance, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart again.
But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go. (Exodus 10:20)
PLAGUE 9 – DARKNESS (Exodus 10:21-29)
But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. (Exodus 10:27)
PLAGUE 10 – DEATH OF THE FIRSTBORN (Exodus 11:1-12:30)
Pharaoh initially let the Israelites go after this one, but God wasn’t through with him yet. He wasn’t going to get off that easy.
And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; and the children of Israel went out with boldness. (Exodus 14:8)
Why did God harden Pharaoh’s heart after he finally freed the Israelites? Just a few verses before, God gave the reason.
Then I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, so that he will pursue them; and I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD.” And they did so. (Exodus 14:4)
God wanted Pharaoh to pursue Israel because He had a plan. It was time to eradicate the Egyptian army. We’ll come back to that shortly. For now, let’s look at some facts about Pharaoh’s rebellion that may help us understand what was happening.
1. Pharaoh made the first decision to rebel
The first time Moses and Aaron confronted Pharaoh, he seemed to be far from having an open mind.
Afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.’ ” And Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, nor will I let Israel go.” (Exodus 5:1-2)
He made the decision himself. He had no interest in anything God said. Apparently, when God hardens a heart, He does not take a soft and pliable heart and turn it into a monster. He solidifies it to continue to go in the direction it is already headed.
2. God put Pharaoh in a position where he would rebel
God knew Pharaoh’s heart. He knew what Pharaoh would do in this situation.
But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth. (Exodus 9:16)
God knew that if He removed Pharaoh and put someone else on the throne, the outcome would be different. He knew that although Pharaoh would soften occasionally, he would become hard again.
3. God had a purpose for Pharaoh’s rebellion
Purpose 1: He would bless Israel
In the end, God was going to bless Israel by the Egyptians giving them riches just to get rid of them.
And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be, when you go, that you shall not go empty-handed. But every woman shall ask of her neighbor, namely, of her who dwells near her house, articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing; and you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.” (Exodus 3:21-22)
The plan was to allow Israel to get riches and safety so they could get a new life started in the Promised Land, eventually providing for Jesus and the gospel.
Purpose 2: He would punish Egypt
Remember what God told Moses when He hardened Pharaoh’s heart for the last time:
Then I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, so that he will pursue them; and I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD.” And they did so. (Exodus 14:4)
Because of Pharaoh’s hard heart, the whole Egyptian army was destroyed. That neutralized them as a threat to Israel for a long time. While the Israelites had plenty of enemies in Canaan, they did not have to be concerned about Egypt, thanks to Pharaoh.
There is, of course, a personal application in this. We know that God does not cause us to sin—that is our own fault (James 1:13). However, he may put rebellious people in circumstances where their sin will accomplish His plans. You definitely do not want to be one of those people. Soften your own heart to God’s commands and you will not have to worry about being the next Pharoah.
