Did Pharaoh Have Free Will When "God Hardened His Heart"?
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- Опубліковано 11 жов 2024
- Here's the full study on this topic from my verse by verse teaching through Romans. • Why God Hardens Hearts...
This is my best understanding of this topic and I think that it fits really well with a wide variety of Scripture that speaks to the issue. For a fuller defense of my own view please see the video I have linked above.
My website BibleThinker.org
I’m seeing an awful lot of comments that earlier in Exodus, before Pharaoh hardens his heart, we have the event of God hardening Pharaoh’s heart. For example.
“But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt,”
Exodus 7:3 ESV
If you read this passage carefully you will see that it is not a record of when God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. It is a prediction that God will do so in the FUTURE. The actual chronology of when it happened in Exodus shows that Pharaoh hardened his own heart before God is said to harden it.
I hope this helps avoid a confusion on this point. Please consider viewing the FULL Bible study on the topic of God hardening hearts (Pharaoh’s as an example) from Romans 9. Here it is... ua-cam.com/video/mMuiT_R0zFQ/v-deo.html
If people are saying this, it is a mischaracterization (on their part) of what the important point is. God predicts, before Pharaoh has a chance to make a choice to harden his heart or not, that He would harden Pharaoh's heart. It seems as though this is a more important point than Pharaoh hardening his own heart "possibly" first or not. Similar to the Romans 9 where it says "Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad-in order that God’s purpose in election might stand:" With the obvious implication that before they had a "choice", God chose that the older would serve the younger.
You could say, "Well God just knew what was going to happen so he was telling Moses what was going to happen." If you say this, then there are a few questions that seem to come to mind. 1. When God said to Moses that Pharaoh would harden his heart to Moses, was there any choice from that moment on that Pharaoh could have chosen any differently? 2. Could God have created a universe in which Pharaoh could have chosen anything differently? 3. Why is the voice of the text so personal? He could have said "But Pharaoh will harden his own heart, so that he will not let the people go" He could have known the future and still been able to tell Moses what Pharaoh was going to do, but he doesn't. He takes what seems to be an active action of saying "I will". This brings about what some might claim on if there is injustice on God's part, which is the same question Paul answers in Romans 9. I am not here to defend God's justice, I am here to just read what it appears to be saying in the context of where it is said.
I listened to the lesson you linked last night, and it was "fine", but didn't seem terribly convincing. One issue that seemed to have was when you said that "hardening" is to (paraphrasing cause i don't remember exactly) "to solidify in its current position". This is a possible interpretation, but it doesn't necessarily mean this. It could literally just mean that something was soft, and then it was turned hard. It kind of feels like a reading in of the text to further a preconceived point rather than what it might also mean.
I appreciate your ministry, and have learned a lot from you. I hope you know that my disagreement on this issue with you doesn't really change that I think you are a wonderful disciple of Jesus and are doing great work on his behalf.
@@jrmitchell12 Do you have a more sound interpretation to provide? What mike has taught here seems very consistent with the rest of Exodus.
Excellent point. Additionally, even if someone wants to claim 7:3 were the moment God hardens Pharaoh's heart, they'd have to explain how they could claim Pharaoh's heart wasn't hardened towards God prior to 7:3! Before 7:3, he has enslaved the Jews and commanded the murder of babies. Then look at what he says in 5:2 about God. I think it would be hard to argue Pharaoh hadn't already hardened himself against his creator before 7:3.
@@jrmitchell12 If Pharaoh had done differently, God would have known differently. It is a non sequitur to say that because God, in His omniscience, knew something would happen before it happened that He is the one who caused it.
@@williamlkeating6410 Just curious but when you say "they'd have to explain how they could claim Pharaoh's heart wasn't hardened towards God prior to 7:3" I feel like the verses could have said lots of things to imply that it was already hardened. They could have said things such as "Pharaoh has already hardened his heart" in those early verses, or something to imply that it was already hardened at the time before Moses met with Pharaoh. Why does it say "I will" meaning not yet but will in the future? For instance, If i say "I will go to the store", I haven't been to the store yet, but I will be in the future. I'm not sure how else you can take the "I will". Do you have another suggestion on why he would imply the it being in the future instead of just saying it already happened?
Any interpretation that keeps the integrity of God’s character consistent with Scripture is a safe place to start. I recall the old saying: the same sun that hardens the clay, softens the wax. The responsibility of our hearts is on us, no matter how much light we get.
The same God can create vessels of glory and vessels of wrath. Traditional Christianity has very humanized and unbiblical view of who God actually is
I like your picture. The Mandelbrot set is really interesting.
Yes Reality, I agree. We should always put the onus on ourselves rather than passing it off to God. Yes, we can't do anything without God's grace; it is what we all require, but God says that He gives His grace _to the humble,_ yet He opposes the proud. The Bible says "humble YOURSELVES under the mighty hand of God" and then in response to us humbling OURSELVES, God promises to lift us up. ✝👑💖
'Reality,' I was going to write the same thing, but you said it very well. Thanks!
'IZ ZY', Calvinism has a very cruel and unbiblical view of who God actually is.
Thank you,Mike. Have wondered about this for decades. Finally, in my 71st year of God given life, it is explained succinctly. God bless you & yours.
John 14:26 & 16:13. He's a living God. Ask Him.
You could have simply looked up the passage and understood that Mike is lying to you. How lazy can you be? In my other post, I quoted where Exodus 4, 9, 10, and 11 says god will harden pharaoh's heart BEFORE it hardened. Cause precedes effects. Use the brains you were born with.
So sorry to tell you that you have wasted your 71-year-old brain that has been given to you.
God definitely hardened Pharoah's heart. The difference is - God gives you freewill to love Him. Not necessarily freewill to do as you please. Not a blade of grass moves without His sanction. We are all instruments of God, even those against us, and thus, we cannot hate anyone, but the sin. Hare Krishna.
“For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.”
Romans 9:17-18 ESV
Right on.
Paul interprets waaay differently than Mike Winger. Paul says in Romans 9 that God hardened Pharaoh's heart. It literally says God did it in Exodus too. Mike read that God hardened Pharaoh's heart.
Desire fully conceived turns into sin , sin full grown give birth to death. Trust me Mike’s interpretation is accurate.
Mike interpretation: human (Pharaoh) will is above God's will.
@@elunico13 When men use their free will to reject God, He turns them over to their sins and gives them what they want. God will even strengthen men in their rebellion as we see this in 2Thes 2:8-12er43e concerning the Anti-Christ. Here men refuse to accept the truth and therefore God sends them a strong delusion so that they will believe the lie, but this is only after they willfully(on their own) reject the truth of the gospel.
@@UA-camhatesconservativespeech Prove in scripture that man's free will is involved in their rebellion. Isiah the prophet and Paul disagree with you.
This is something that my theology professor in seminary pointed out and I'm actually going to be preaching on in a few weeks. I guess this goes back to that old saying, "A verse without context is a pretext for a proof text." I have a huge amount of respect for your careful interpretation of Scripture, and it is encouraging for me to know interpretation of this issue I have agrees with yours.
That actually works against this passage though. Becauae the most important thing people fail to realize when they say that is that the whole Bible has to agree with that one passage or else everything falls apart. Case in point? How can God both cause something yo happen and only k ow about it when he plainly says that all things are in his hands? Did he forget the cause of all things in this? How can he have all power and yet fall short of why things happen? How can God say that is the cause lf all things in the earth if so many things are left up to interpretation of the people who deal with them? Also you do realize that God is REALLY doing these things? How put of control would things be if God actually, according to this rule, waited until people got to their "worst" before he finally decided to step in? Also the works of God don't change. As in, he never stops doing things the way he does them. He gave sacrifices in the old testament, he makes a new one himself in the new. He saves souls from death and hell in the old, he does it in the new. He destroys the world in the old, he destroys it in the new. He does things this way specifically so that people might know that he does not show favoritism to anyone or anything. Ever.
Paul interprets waaay differently than Mike Winger. Paul says in Romans 9 that God hardened Pharaoh's heart. It literally says God did it in Exodus too. Mike read that God hardened Pharaoh's heart.
God hardened the heart of the Pharaoh so God could show his power by destroying Egypt. All that other stuff is just adding to the book.
Exodus 10:1-2 (NLT) Then the LORD said to Moses, “Return to Pharaoh and make your demands again. I have made him and his officials stubborn so I can display my miraculous signs among them. I’ve also done it so you can tell your children and grandchildren about how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and about the signs I displayed among them-and so you will know that I am the LORD.”
@@oldschool5 yeah, that exact argument means god is an evil megalomaniacal murderer and psychopath.
@@jonathan4189 I could see why someone would say that about bible god or the authors who speaks on bible gods behalf
Excellent exposition, Mike. I see this passage in Exodus 9 as an example of the passage in Romans chapter 1, verses 18 through 32. The apostle Paul states a couple of times that God gives the unrepentant people over to their own passions, where they will face God's judgment meted out as wrath because of their rejection of the truth of God's Word. I see this as the hardening of their hearts in the same way as Pharoah.
that fails since in one case this god does the action, and in the other, this god does nothing. It's a common claim, made to try to forget that this god murdered children for the actions of others.
Paul interprets waaay differently that Mike Winger. Paul says in Romans 9 that God hardened Pharaoh's heart. It literally says God did it in Exodus too. Mike read that God hardened Pharaoh's heart.
@@elunico13 yep, christians can't agree on what nonsense they want to claim. Mike has to lie about what his bible actually says to avoid having an idiot for a god.
"Paul interprets waaay differently that Mike Winger. Paul says in Romans 9 that God hardened Pharaoh's heart. It literally says God did it in Exodus too. Mike read that God hardened Pharaoh's heart."
Yes, God is the cause for that, but not the problem. God gave Pharaoh SO many oportunities, for a change of heart, to let the Israelites go, but Pharaoh didnt want to listen to the word of God.
A man who sees a beautiful woman, might fall in love with her, but we wouldnt say its the womans fault, how the man feels... its mans nature, to find women attractiv.
Its the same with Pharaoh, when God says, to let the Israelites go, he really doesnt want to hear that. Its clearly Pharaohs free choice to be against Gods will, because his heart rejects God, so he can have the Israelites for his own glory and not for the glory of God. God made us how we are, but its the ACTIONS we do or not do, that define us. Its clearly not the fault of God:
Romans 9:19 One of you will say to me, “Then why does God still find fault? For who can resist His will?” 20But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, “Why did You make me like this?”h 21Does not the potter have the right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special occasions and another for common use?
Thats at least how i see it, what Paul is trying to say with his clay analogy.
@@velkyn1 Did God "harden" your heart too XD Will you say to us too, that God make you write this comment?! XD You clearly just hate God...
i'm scared i'm just like him.. I'm not sure i will be saved i can't stop delaying my salvation i'm scared to submit fully to Jesus.. Please pray for me
Don't be afraid, just come to Him and everything will come into place. Following Him isn't easy, but what He wants is your heart. Praying for you
Read : “The Craving Cure” by Julia Ross … and apply the info. and wisdom found there.
Cheers !
I will pray for you
I'll be praying. Just give your heart to Him. Follow Him. Repent and let Him lead your life. He won't steer you down a wrong path. Accept the truth of Jesus, that He loves you and saved you from your sins and wants a relationship with you, and it will bring joy.
Don’t be afraid it’s the most amazing feeling in the world. People say it’s freedom before they know God because they can party lie and make bad choices, but trust me once you get to truly know him that is true freedom. Even on my bad days I try to rejoice and still be happy because of how happy my heart feels simply knowing that he is there with me through it all. Submitting to the Lord, brings you so much peace 🙏🏾🤗
My husband has had so much trouble with these verses. Thank you for the teaching, I’m excited to share this with him.
How convenient, I happen to be getting ready to teach a class on Moses and this is just the type of video that I was looking for. XD But on a serious note, God bless you Mike. Your videos are always so insightful, and I really do learn a lot from them.
If heart is
Harden and truth is found and wants to repent but can not is there mercy for that person
@@joanhoffmann7478 What do you mean? How can a person desire repentance but cannot repent? If you truly desire to repent then you will, and mercy will be granted.
Paul interprets waaay differently than Mike Winger. Paul says in Romans 9 that God hardened Pharaoh's heart. It literally says God did it in Exodus too. Mike read that God hardened Pharaoh's heart.
And your going to parrot to your class what Pastor Mike said? If you are a teacher do your own studies, man, and teach your students how to study for themselves!! how in the world can the church raise mature Christian if the teachers learn nothing else but parroting the wrong doctrine taught for generations before them? For your students sakes, stop relying on other pastors and do your own walking before teaching other!
@@DA-yd2ny I never said I was gonna parrot what Mike said. I never even implied that. All I said was that this video was helpful to what I happen to need. Critical reading skills are low these days, it seems.....
Thank you for simplifying this. I was so confused when I read the passages and now, I have a better understanding of what was happening during this time in the Bible.
Romans 9:17-18 NIV
For Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” [18] Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.
I love that you have Yul Brenner representing Pharoah. “Moses. Moses. Moses” cracks me up every time!
Pastor Mike, respectfully, there was one part that was not mentioned. In Exodus 4:21, God is speaking with Moses and this is what he says "And the Lord said to Moses, 'When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go." This is the first mention of Pharaoh's heart being hardened in Exodus and it's clear that the following times that Pharaoh's heart being hardened as "God had said" refers to this time. God's will and Pharaoh' s will worked together in this according to God's plan. God willed for Pharaoh to harden his heart because this was time God would establish the first feast that would point the Israelites to Jesus...the Passover.
Completely agree!!
I agree too. So God could destroy Pharoah’s army and demonstrate his power.
God says He WILL harden pharaoh's heart. You are assuming Him telling Moses what He will do is the point He does it. You're also assuming Pharaoh didn't already harden his own heart. Not a great assumption for someone enslaving people.
Fully agree. I also believe as many have already stated, Paul makes it clear in Romans 9:17-18 that God was indeed the ultimate and ACTIVE Agent (though not the only agent)in the hardening and had a specific purpose for doing so which was to demonstrate His Power which Paul follows by stating that God therefore has Mercy on whomever He chooses and hardends whomever He chooses which clearly portrays God as the Active agent. Which we know was indeed the case because Paul then says: "you will say to me then is there injustice on Gods part" which is the normal response we tend to have when we learn that God was indeed ACTIVE in the hardening process and even goes as far as to say: "you will say to me then for who can RESIST His Will" which again is a normal response when we concider it to have been Gods Will to harden.
Also when we look at the entire chapter of Romans 9 wherein we find this specific statement regarding hardened hearts, it is used in the context of explaining predestination which I believe testifies to the true meaning of what happened in Pharoahs case.
It seems to me that allot of Christians battle with this complex truth as I did as well and end up trying to dodge the bullet by saying God was not the active agent but instead merely "allowed" the hardening to take place on its own, which obviously would make God look "better" and would make us feel allot better too.
But I do not believe God took credit for something Pharoah did by himself, it seems pretty clear that God, unashamed ,made sure everyone knew that He was indeed active in the hardening and it was indeed His Will to do so according to His ultimate plan and purpose.
I think the confusion comes in where the human understanding fails to reach, which is this:
Can it be possible for God to remain the ACTIVE agent WHILE we in our "free" will actively participate?
I believe this question not only gives the answer to Gods right and ability to be active in the process, but is likewise a key to understanding our own salvation process.
God knows that Pharaoh will harden his own heart and not release the people so God hardened his heart to show his power and greatness and release the people.
Thank you for the powerful explanation. I never heard it said this way and I totally agree with what you said. Was a big eye opener for me.
EXCELLENT explanation! This directly opened my eyes and allowed me to reconcile this once difficult passage. Thank you, Pastor Mike!
God definitely hardened Pharoah's heart. The difference is - God gives you freewill to love Him. Not necessarily freewill to do as you please. Not a blade of grass moves without His sanction. We are all instruments of God, even those against us, and thus, we cannot hate anyone, but the sin. Hare Krishna.
Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen had a great analogy on this point, he said “sunlight shining on wax softens it, but sunlight shining on clay hardens it. There is no difference in the sun, there is only a difference in that which receives its light” Moses’ heart was like wax, pharaoh’s heart was like clay
Yes for years I had thought God had purposefully hardened his heart and I questioned free will and the morality of God and I saw God as evil for that an Eastern Orthodox priest taught me the truth about that he used the same analogy I believe a Certain Catholic saint said it in his theological writings
"For this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that My Name may be proclaimed in all the earth."
"But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go."
God Himself hardened Pharaoh's heart for His own established purpose. God's purpose is and was for the good of His chosen people, whom He Himself saves, whose hearts He Himself softens, who were dead in sin and were rebels against Him, whose heart He Himself changed and caused to live, just as He called light to shine out of darkness.
As for Pharaoh, God's purpose was not to redeem him, nor to save him, but to use him to demonstrate His own power. God could have had mercy on Pharaoh and softened his rebellious heart, but God had not purposed to do so.
As He said, "I will have mercy on whom I will, and I will have compassion on whom I will."
And as it's also written, "He hardens whom He wills, and He has mercy on whom He wills."
And as it's written, "He is able to humble the proud," and "His arm is not short, that it cannot save!"
And "I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and will give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgements and do them."
And "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."
And "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing."
And "No one knows the Father except the Son, and those to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."
And "You are my witnesses, and My Servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I AM HE."
I hope this sheds light for whoever needs to understand this teaching. This used to give me trouble, because I knew that if my coming to Jesus had depended first on my own will, and not on His, then my very salvation was just as prone to change as I am.
I know how often I harden my heart; I know that if God deals with me in the same manner as He dealt with Pharaoh or with Judas (which is His right to do), then I am a surely dead man. But God has not dealt that way with me, and will not - nor will He with any in Christ.
The Christian's faith does not depend on the Christian, but on Christ! If God had not changed my heart and opened my eyes, I would still be a rebel against Christ. If my will were not in God's hand, I would have no hope that He is able to keep me.
But He is able. He is able both to humble the proud and to preserve those who believe in Him.
I can look at any number of times where, if it were dependent upon me, I would have abandoned the faith. But God, faithful and merciful, preserved my faith intact. He, not I.
He, not I.
And so it is that "of all the Father gives Me, I lose none, but raise it up on the last Day."
And "No one can snatch them out of My Hand."
And "Nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus."
He makes the blind to see, and the deaf to hear, and the dead to live. "He is able to humble the proud." The Spirit gives life to whomever He wills, revealing who Christ is.
If this still does not settle in your heart, please reflect on the contrast between God's dealings with Pharaoh (Exodus 1-15) and with Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4). "Those who walk in pride He is able to humble."
And please consider the Lord's words to His friend Peter, saying "I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail." Therefore Peter's faith failed in human terms that very night, but not in God's eyes. Peter was preserved and restored, just as the Lord had said.
I pray this is helpful to those who are struggling or in doubt.
The verses you wuote do not go against a free will interpretation. You’re reading Calvinism into the texts instead of drawing it out
PREACH
God be the glory!
I agree...many times I fell away and only because of Gods mercy HE pulled me back to Him. Every time, unequivocally it was Him. I praise my God for His kindness and mercies.
If people want to put a calvinist label on me so be it.
But that is part of my testimony or experience and no one can tell me any different because I experienced it. I don't label myself other then a child of the most high God, and a repentant sinner.
Thank you for that post brother.
Many of the verses you shared here are stating that God saves who He wishes. I don't think anyone disagrees. But who does God wish to save? He tells us in scripture: those who humbly repent and believe in Him are saved.
You must determine in your own heart to follow the Lord. This is the most consistent message of scripture. He has graciously provided us the means to come to Him. He has done all the work. But if we don't accept the salvation He's provided in Christ, He will not force Himself upon us. Love is nothing if not freely given, and that is what God desires.
@@FellishBeast Nope, that is synergism. God's salvific plan will not be limited by man. God saves the elect, those whom He foreknew would choose Him. That is clear from Scripture.
I’ve wondered about that. Almost stopped me from accepting Jesus as my Savior years ago. Thanks for addressing this.
Exodus 10:1 “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them, and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, that you may know that I am the Lord.”
Exodus 4:21 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.”
I was just reading this and had the same question. Perfect timing.
Me toooo! Crazy
me too!
I was just talking to my husband about it, yesterday!
nfortunately Winger did not accurately break this down…. He forgot to include key scripture!
ERROR from Mike again….
Did God not specifically raise up Pharaoh and harden him (all acts being done by God) so that God could demonstrate His power and His name be proclaimed????
“For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth.” So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.”
Romans 9:17-18 NASB1995
@@clayweir9020 Brother, I don't see how those verses conflict with what he was saying. God put Pharaoh in power, and Pharaoh rejected God and hardened his heart. God hardened Pharaoh's heart by showing Pharaoh his glory, and in so doing, demonstrated his power. Grace and Peace in Our Lord Jesus Christ!
God bless you, Pastor Mike! Finally my question has been answered!
Unfortunately Winger did not accurately break this down…. He forgot to include key scripture!
ERROR from Mike again….
Did God not specifically raise up Pharaoh and harden him (all acts being done by God) so that God could demonstrate His power and His name be proclaimed????
“For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth.” So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.”
Romans 9:17-18 NASB1995
@@andrea.andrea23 Only 2 of those verses assign the hardening to Pharaoh and both point out that he did so by sinning against God. Consider that all of those 7 verses come after Exodus 7:3 Where God lays out to Moses how He will Harden Pharaohs heart and lead Israel out! Then it happens just like that…
Where Mike errs is in his understanding of How God hardens a heart. He does so by simply lifting His restraining hand! Romans 1 discusses multiple times that “God gave them over to their sin”! This an Act that God performs upon man! God hardens whomever He wishes!
But you will then say to me “How can God then find fault, for who can resist His Will”
But I say “Be quiet foolish man, who are you to council God?” 😉
“So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires. You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?” On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it? Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use?”
Romans 9:18-21 NASB1995
@@clayweir9020 you must be a calvanist.😏
@@andrea.andrea23
Did God create Satan knowing he would create evil ?
@@andrea.andrea23
On its on is not written in any bible.
Harden in that text is Strengthened. God strengthened Pharohs heart in his already rebellious attitude toward God.
Thank you so much Mike for your in-depth study and sharing of the word.
But that is going against free will tho, even if he had a predisposition. Because if it wasn't hard enough for him to act then God's push violated his free will. But if he was going to do it regardless, then why harden it at all?
If you had a predisposition towards eating candies, but for health reasons you are trying to avoid them. Then, God uses that predisposition to make you eat candy and you end up getting diabetes. God is the one responsible not you. It doesn't matter if you had a predisposition and God only gave an small push.... because you wouldn't have done it without God's intervention. And that is the whole point, the point is not how much God intervened, but the fact that he did.
That’s my understanding.
Anyone can "harden/strengthen" hearts. We're always being afflicted by one outside force or another. That does not mean we have free will. Jeremiah 18.
@@farrex0This is where His will is above ours even if we have free will. His will is still above because He is God as it is written I am above and you bellow
@@warriorofthelord4142 So.... he is a tyrant? See free will is used to excuse the existence of evil, so that God is not responsible for evil. But then, you have God hardening Pharaoh's heart for him to commit evil.
And then, you say he is allowed to do that freely whenever he chooses? Tell me, how can you know every single act is done freely or via God messing with our free will?. But more importantly, who then is to blame for that evil? If Pharaoh had to have his heart hardened to commit that evil, then it is God the one that truly committed that evil, not the Pharaoh.
Imagine, God messes with your free will to commit murder... would it be fair for you to assume the consequences for said murder?
The sun melts butter, hardens clay; it is how WE react to His light:
For the Lord will not reject forever,
For if He causes grief,
Then He will have compassion
In proportion to His abundant mercy.
For He does not afflict willingly
Or grieve the sons of mankind. - Lamentations 3:31-33
God is NEVER malicious. Tough love is better than a soft ride to Hell. "The kindness and severity of God" (Rom 11:22).
Wow!!! It makes so much sense. Thank you for this shortened version of explaining. Love it!!!
What a great explanation! I never thought of it that way. I love listening to you teach! You make things so easy to understand. Thanks Pastor Mike!
Agreed, Pharaoh started the process with his free will, God honored his decision and finished the job.
Did God create Satan knowing he would create evil ?
@@jasonnoble7302 yes. what satan intends for Evil God intends for good. Similarly stated in Genesis 50:20 God planned everything but the motives for God are different from the motives of the one doing the action.
But do we have free will before we believe? Or do we get free will because we believe?
@@timetravlin4450
What does it mean to say a motive is good or evil ?
@@dudenotsoperfect9366we have free will
Yes heart hardening happens every day - my adult children know the truth but if I venture to talk about a truth in Christ relevant to what’s going on today the shutters come down and I stop because I don’t want them to shut down totally - even telling someone of a fantastic book whom you know would enjoy the response is resistance - I have to admit that’s been me too
I believe that God allows certain things to happen for a reason. The reasons they refuse you are because they know not the Lord whom you serve. That's the same as refusing God. As Jesus said, he that accepts you accepts me. And he that refuses you, refuses me. And he that refuses me, refuses him that sent me.
I was actually reading 1 Kings 12 today and I was confused about whether Rehoboam really had a choice when he refused to listen to the elders and treat the people badly so that the kingdom could fall into Jeroboam's hands. But this cleared up a lot and confirmed what I was thinking where Rehoboam DID have a choice but because God understood his heart, God knew that he would refuse wise counsel and so he could make that promise to Jeroboam. Thanks again Mike.
I have been in situations where someone is against me so when i pray that same person and suddenly they change. So God can change someone's heart it's not impossible he can do it. I myself came to repentance but i still needed God to help me to change my heart because it's not easy.
I remember dealing with this, like, a year ago, so before I watch I'll put forth what I theorised: it's less that God reached into Pharaoh's heart to harden and more so that what he caused to happen in Egypt lead to Pharaoh hardening his heart. Even if it was God's intent to harden his heart, it was still Pharaoh's choice. Especially since at one point Pharaoh hardens his own heart.
I agree
I love how everyone just makes things up when they have a question the bible cannot answer.
@Dominican Dude Or they are just breaking down what's already there in the text. Something that scholars have done for thousands of years. Have a blessed one.
@@Kidsgettinghurt2024 This is what happened though. God doesn’t interfere in our free will but He does manipulate all of His creation to get a desired response. If I stump my toe I’ll be mad. I could choose to not be mad but chances are I’ll be mad. If a crow steals a 3 Karol diamond ring and drops it off in my windowsill I have the choice to keep it or find its owner. The choice is mine but the way it happened is God’s. God uses if/then and cause and effect scenarios to interfere and interact with us. But under no circumstances will God change our minds spontaneously. Why? Because He said so, and He doesn’t have to. Humans are so predictable.
@@proverbs2522 with you saying that I’m just now noticing that leads to further showing WHY God created our brains to be electrochemical machines. They’re easily programmable by nature and repetition. He knows what we’re thinking so he could easily influence our surroundings to affect our brain chemistry as a means of contorting our will. Which is, in part, probably why people feel some sort of euphoria when they have a conversion experience.
Just a hypothesis. But it’s a nice thought to ponder on.
In chapter 7 already God says “But I will harden Pharoah’s heart”
Hmmm. He doesn’t say, “Pharoah will harden his heart” or “but Pharoah hardened his heart”
Amen. Another one reading their Bible 👍
Typical Calvinist not reading the verse in context or with the cotext. Bad exegesis
@@junederksen9205 yeah , I’m struggling to understand the points. I would’ve like him to had start from exodus 4:21. Which was the initial conversation with Moses
… “ But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go”
Thanks Mike! Great little mini lesson, it’s always helpful to hear how you think through topics like this and helps me use the techniques to move through other difficulties and issues!:)
_''Therefore God has mercy on whom He WANTS to have mercy, and hardens whom He WANTS to harden''_ ~ Romans 9:10 l remember when l was a kid a LONG time ago watching The Ten Commandments, and if there anything that jumped out it was God hardening Pharaoh's heart. Can't get away from the Soverign will of God.
Romans 9:10 Paul is referencing from the old Testament. Very verse has witnesses. Can you put it in context as to why Paul was referencing this to the Israelites.
The correct reference is *Romans 9:18
@@susiedyck4914 “in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory- even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? As indeed he says in Hosea, “Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’ and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’””
Romans 9:23-25 ESV
He does it to the Jews as well as the Gentiles .
@@susiedyck4914 ~ He was talking about predestination. :)
@@janedoe3648 ~ Yes you are right that is a type err. :)
Amen this is so good! When God exposes darkness with His light.
Did God create Satan knowing Satan would create darkness?
Mike, I appreciate your content. Just wondering if you have considered Luther's Bondage of the will? I'm currently listening to it on audible and finding it quite informing
Great book! I think Mike stands with Erasmus on this issue.
That is a fantastic book and incredibly eye-opening! And I agree with @rdrift1879 in thinking Mike likely stands with Erasmus on this… :\
@@rdrift1879 thanks for your reply. I am aware that is the case as I also once of the same opinion. Although I did not even know who Erasmus was. My question was to inquire if Mike has considered Luther's writing in this matter
Amen. I picture a person going to his or her tool box to find the best tool to accomplish his/her job. Pharaoh became,through his own hardness, the perfect tool for God’s glory and judgment to be shown. (“Ok, Pharoah, you want to be hard? I WILL MAKE YOU HARD AND USE YOU!)What kind of tool will our hearts be in His hand & will?
Excellent analogy, Amen to that. Sadly the Calvinist cannot see that plain truth that men are in fact free to choose and God allows us to rebel and stay in that rebellion and He will use it for His purpose and glory.
My only issue is Scriptures that describe Gods power and sovereignty over his creation. We plant the seed yet GOD gives the increase… God is the AUTHOR and FINISHER of our Faith.. I was a satanist for a decade … I was amongst the worse of the worse I would presume… yet God gave me abundant increase to the point where he was undeniable… why didn’t he do that to Mrs Stacy down the street who spends her time volunteering at a animal shelter and helping the homeless.. yet she never had the thought to look into scripture? Well God hasn’t given her the increase ? There are plenty of scriptures that entail the Saints being Chosen … people want to argue and say “I’m just smart enough to accept to Christ, Free will is in effect” yet you get a Stanford neuroscientist who is way smarter than I who will cleave to the idea that there is no existence of God whatsoever… God hasn’t given him the increase. I’m not a Calvinist.. I just believe in Scripture. Free willers want to Say God isn’t in Control of everything and it’s all up to them.. they’re the special boys!! I’m not willing to say that God is not in control of Everything!!
@@SavingSoulsMinistries HE IS THE POTTER & we are the clay. His thoughts & ways are not ours. I’m just SO THANKFUL to be saved!! GOD continue to lead and mold and have His Way in us both.✝️💟🔥👑🙏🏼🙏🏼
Exodus 7:3 tells us that God hardened pharoah's heart.
Great Mike! I have been thinking about this. You provided the key! Thanks! Christ love! ✝️
Thank you Mike. Your teachings have really blessed me. Monitors thank you for your work. Please review a post from “Larry” around 4am today. Thanks
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Oh my goodness, I was wondering about this just hours ago!!
Unfortunately Winger did not accurately break this down…. He forgot to include key scripture!
ERROR from Mike again….
Did God not specifically raise up Pharaoh and harden him (all acts being done by God) so that God could demonstrate His power and His name be proclaimed????
“For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth.” So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.”
Romans 9:17-18 NASB1995
@@clayweir9020 Please stop copying and pasting this response in the comments.
@@HopeKuhn please give me a biblical reason as to why? Error about God must be corrected, unless you desire to suppress the truth in unrighteousness?
@@clayweir9020 I’m a moderator, you’re spamming, that’s why I told you not to do that. Your opinions are fine, but engage in a better way.
@@HopeKuhn I only did it to 6 or 7 comments!!! And I hardly would consider that spamming as I am not peddling anything,,, just freely sharing the truth!
In order for it to be spam, it must be unsolicited and random! I purposely chose to address each comment I responded to because they showed to have been led astray by Mike’s error on this video.
If you are a moderator, perhaps you should be more focused on the error taught here instead of suppressing comments that are filled with the TRUTH!!!
By the way, I was thankful Mike responded to my first comment but he just obfuscates by directing to another video and blames me for not understanding! 😳
I understood quite well what he was saying and it was wrong! There are over 200 comments on here that show this! I followed up to his comment but now he went dark! He must be okay with leading people astray! 🤷🏼
This is so helpful and insightful! thank you Mike 🙏🏻
So basically you're saying God followed Pharoah's will instead of His own. In order to believe what you're saying you have to negate Romans 9 and twist its meaning for your own comfort. In my opinion you're interpreting it to fit what you're comfortable with.
Romans 9:15-16 says...
For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.
It literally says it depends NOT on human will or exertion. But you're saying God hardened it because that's how Pharoah's heart already was. So He's just going with Pharoah's current direction. That doesn't add up.
Aren't all of our hearts like pharaoh's before we're saved? If so why doesn't God just continue our hearts in that same direction and harden them like He did with Pharoah? By your logic none of us would be saved. All of our hearts were hardened before we knew God. How does that change Mike? Does God do to all of us the same as He did to Pharaoh? Or does He choose to have mercy on some and soften our hearts?
If God is hardening hearts because a heart is already hardened then He would have to harden all of our hearts because we ALL had hearts of stone before we were saved.
Mike, thanks for making this an actual clip! This is such an important topic for people who've been pulled into more Calvinistic teaching. I'm really glad you covered it, and put it into a short clip that can be shared easily. I really went down that rabbit hole for several years. And I was kind of ...not sure how to say it, other than major cognitive dissonance. Huge implications for the nature of God, in my opinion. Thanks, as always!
"I came so that those who are blind may see and those who see may become blind" John 9:39
Mind blown how ignorant I was in my own religiosity thinking I had it all figured out, until Jesus sent a nightmarish storm to my life that lasted 10 years to break my pride forcing me to call out to Him and finally, in the midst of that storm He opened my eyes....and I didn't deserve it.
I praise you Lord because I still remember the day I was born again.
Yes He is truly one of the kind
this perspective is very helpful. this exact topic came up in my bible study last week, we were in John 12 at the quoting of Isaiah 6 and 53.
But though He had done so many signs before them, they still were not believing in Him, so that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: “Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, '“He has blinded their eyes and He hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes and understand with their heart, and return and I heal them .”
John 12:37-40
That's a quote of Isaiah 6, of course. Bear in mind that Isaiah was supposed to preach to people whom God had hardened/deafened/blinded, and their blindness was to continue until the return of the Messiah (see v 11-13). So that's either 750 years (until Jesus' first coming) or 2,750 and counting (until Jesus' Second Coming). Either way, God is hardening their hearts for a very long time. (See Rom 11)
@@timffoster Paul interprets waaay differently than Mike Winger. Paul says in Romans 9 that God hardened Pharaoh's heart. It literally says God did it in Exodus too. Mike read that God hardened Pharaoh's heart.
@@elunico13 it's easy to think that God works in an either-or fashion. If we reflect on the fact that "in Him we live and move and have our being", we get closer to seeing that God AND Pharaoh hardened Pharaoh's heart. We see this in the last few verses of Ex 9 and the first few verses of ch 10. Its one heart-hardening episode, and both God and man are working together to harden his heart. But God is the Primary Cause.
That's why the Bible always summarizes it as God hardening.
I agree, Mike. We should always put the onus on ourselves rather than passing it off to God. Yes, we can't do anything without God's grace; it is what we all require, but God says that He gives His grace _to the humble,_ yet He opposes the proud. The Bible says "humble YOURSELVES under the mighty hand of God" and then in response to us humbling OURSELVES, God promises to lift us up. ✝👑📕
You forgot Exodus 4:21: 21 "And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. 22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son." it was pre-determined, pre-arranged that God would harden Pharoah's heart. "I will harden his heart" does not say he will not listen, he will harden his heart, no it's precise "I will". It Seems like you are taking the "I will" away from God's mouth brother. The passages that follow and that you mention CONFIRM what God has done, not go against it.
That is an acceptable point, HOWEVER !!!
Pharaoh already burdened Israel with major abominations like the genocide he committed upon them and the hard labor they were in. The Word does not say anything about God causing Pharaoh to do those things and yet we see the hardening that God said He would do upon Pharaoh to be a parallel to what Pharaoh already did ON HIS OWN. Therefore even if God did this we see that it is still a response parallel to Pharaoh’s heart condition that he had showed towards Israel prior to that point where God hardened his heart.
You are correct in noticing that and it’s a very good observation, but we have to carefully guard this text from being yanked all the way to the extreme like the error of Calvinism’s systematic, by making sure we are seeing the whole picture, which you also helped us to do here.
“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 KJV
It definitely says somebody hardened Pharaoh’s heart.
I read this recently and finally understood.
Matt 13:15
15 For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.'
NKJV
There is another good way to understand this. Another meaning of harden is to strengthen. So in this case Pharaoh wanted to oppose God and had numerous times “fortified” his own heart. As it became painfully obvious that God was all powerful this could have resulted in Pharaoh relenting out of fear alone. In order to fully display his power and visit justified punishment against Egypt collectively. God gave Pharaoh courage to continue doing what he wanted to do. A beautiful example of God working out his plan while leaving man’s free will in tact.
This is what RC Sproul and a lot of other reformed folk believe! 😊
I don't think this flies. When Pharaoh repented twice, God still hardened his heart. Basically, the kitchen got too hot for Pharaoh, but God dragged him back in. God didn't help Pharaoh repent at all.
Because Pharaoh's repenting was not God's objective. Destroying Pharaoh's gods and Pharaoh's son was His objective. He says so even before the conflicts started:
[+]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, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Israel is My son, My first-born. “So I said to you, ‘Let My son go, that he may serve Me’; but you have refused to let him go. Behold, I will kill your son, your first-born.”’” (Exod 4:21-23)
Exodus 7:3-5 (NLT) But I will make Pharaoh’s heart stubborn so I can multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. Even then Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you. So I will bring down my fist on Egypt. Then I will rescue my forces-my people, the Israelites-from the land of Egypt with great acts of judgment. When I raise my powerful hand and bring out the Israelites, the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.”
Exodus 10:1-2 (NLT) Then the LORD said to Moses, “Return to Pharaoh and make your demands again. I have made him and his officials stubborn so I can display my miraculous signs among them. I’ve also done it so you can tell your children and grandchildren about how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and about the signs I displayed among them-and so you will know that I am the LORD.”
Pharaoh himself said "who is [the Eternal] that i should obey His voice to let Israel go? _I do not know [the Eternal]_ , nor will i let Israel go." The inherent problem with this argument is that Pharaoh admitted that he didn't know God, so it is illogical to argue that his intent was to willfully oppose God from the start.
I came here to enjoy the tap dancing, but was pleasantly surprised to see it was a gymnastics meet instead. Gold medal!
I like your interpretation of this subject. I always had a hard time understanding why God wouldn't give Pharaoh a chance to choose him.
Sunlight softens butter but hardens clay. God was doing the right thing. Pharaoh chose to be clay.
Pharoah never wanted to choose God in the first place. It's not that Pharoah wanted to free the Israelites and God made him harden his heart. Pharoah wanted to keep the Israelites, that was what his desire was.
@@michaelpark5764 indeed.
God's desire was not for Pharaoh to choose Him or for Pharaoh to be forgiven. God's desire was to show He was superior to Pharaoh and his gods, and destroy them all.
[+] 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, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Israel is My son, My first-born. “So I said to you, ‘Let My son go, that he may serve Me’; but you have refused to let him go. Behold, I will kill your son, your first-born.”’” (Exod 4:21-23)
[+]‘For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments-I am the LORD. (Exod 12:12)
Right, Tim. God FOREKNEW that Pharaoh would choose to fight him. God used his foreknowledge to accomplish his will: to destroy Pharaoh.
'Harden' in verse 9:12
ḥāzaq: A verb meaning to be strong, to strengthen, to be courageous, to overpower. This verb is widely used to express the strength of various phenomena, such as the severity of famine (2Ki_25:3; Jer_52:6); the strength of humans to overpower each other: the condition of Pharaoh's heart (Exo_7:13); David and Goliath (1Sa_17:50); Amnon and Tamar (2Sa_13:14); a battle situation (2Ch_8:3); Samson's strength for his last superhuman performance (Jdg_16:28). This word occurs in the commonly known charge, "Be strong and of good courage!" (Jos_1:9). Moses urges Joshua (Deu_31:6-7) to be strong. The Lord also bids Joshua to be strong in taking the Promised Land (Deu_31:23; Jos_1:6-7, Jos_1:9), after which Joshua encourages the people in the same way (Jos_10:25).
We have free will, and so does God. Pharao was a vessel formed and raised by God.
Wouldn't that verb in this instance refer to God overpowering the heart of Pharoah though? That doesn't mean what you think it means.
See if you can find the comment I just made above. Folks have made this way more complicated then it needs to be or really is.
Mike, I have had many dialogues with Christians over the years on the subject of Pharaoh and hardening of his heart. Folks say, well, Pharaoh hardened his own heart so God hardened his heart. That seems redundant. If Pharaoh hardened his own heart why is even necessary for God to harden his heart? I have yet to come across someone that has gone back before the actual events in Exodus and explained something very important. You need to look at Exodus 4:21 & 7:3 which are both prior to Moses going to Egypt to demand the release of the Hebrews. In these verses God definitively stated that He is the agent of Pharaoh's hardened heart prior to anything happening. I am certain that Paul is thinking about this precisely when he says the same in Romans 9:18.
God is eternal so if He made the judgment to harden Pharaoh's heart He was equally aware of it both when Moses was in the desert and when Moses was in Pharaoh's place. God knew equally that Pharaoh would harden his heart, before Pharaoh hardened his heart, and when Pharaoh hardened his heart.
Hello!
I think you might find Mike´s teaching on hardening very helpful then.
The risk we have is that we take a term like "hardening" and think we understand it without looking at what the Bible says about it. When I studied the subject this is what I found in Bible about hardening:
1. It´s a judgement on already rebellious people.
2. You can still repent even if you are hardened (this is Pauls hope for his people Israel after they had been hardened, if they repent the veil will be removed)
3. Hardening as a word implies strengthening someone in their resolve, not changing their resolve. So Pharao was rebellious and God made Him more rebellious.
4. Hardening is done by external means. In the Bible, God is said to be hardening Israel by the use of Jesus´ parables. So the place where we know hardening is taking place and we know how it was affected, it was external. God knew Pharao was a proud man, so how do you think Pharao would respond to being ordered around by Moses, a shepherd? Or how do you think Pharao would respond to being humiliated by miracles that shows how powerless he is?
"If Pharaoh hardened his own heart why is even necessary for God to harden his heart?"
Moses tells him to let his people go, and Pharao is obstinate and hardhearted and will not. Then God strikes Egypt with miracles, and most people would now crumble and let them go, not from repentance, but from fear and terror. God now steps in and gives Pharao the resolve (courage of a sort) to keep resisting. This is what hardening as a word means, in many places the same word is translated as strengthen.
Later Pharao follows the people to the Red Sea, and he sees the ocean open up before the israelites. Most people would give up in fear at this point. He wants to kill the israelites, but you would have to be mad to go into the sea at this point. So God hardens his heart, makes him even more stubborn and foolish and leads him to his destruction.
Thanks for your comments. I think that you miss the chronology of things and your thoughts don't harmonize with Romans 9. Also, your comment on the redundancy issue fails due to circular reasoning. Perhaps I was not clear in my point. God's hardening of Pharaoh is not redundant. It is prior to Pharaoh's personal hardening and is sovereign and immutable. What is the purpose of Pharaoh's hardening? Well we have a scripture that tells us why. YHWH says: "I will glorify myself in Pharaoh and in all his host...". God's "eternal power and divinity" (Romans 1) is made know to all mankind.
BTW, I have listened to Mike for years and find him very helpful on many things although I disagree with him on soteriology.
The Lord bless you today!
@@Saratogan And may the Lord bless you brother!
Greetings from Sweden, I hope you are well.
I didn´t think you believed the hardening was redundant but I tried to explain how it is not redundant even on a free will view. I have studied Rom 9 a lot and I think this view fits very well, mostly since I see that Paul is making a parallell between hardened Israel in Jesus´ day and the hardening of Pharao. When Paul says God hardens whom He wants, who is he speaking about? His jewish people that rejected Jesus, right? And we know they were hardened for their sin, many texts say that, and we know they can still be saved if they repent as Paul says in Rom 11: 23 "And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in; for God is able to graft them in again."
"Also, your comment on the redundancy issue fails due to circular reasoning."
Maybe it does, but I don´t see how that is. You would have to explain what you mean.
"God's hardening of Pharaoh is not redundant. It is prior to Pharaoh's personal hardening and is sovereign and immutable."
How do you know it is prior? What is prior in the text is the declaration that He will harden the heart of Pharao, future tense. As Mike shows, in the description, Pharao´s hardening of his own heart comes first, and God´s hardening comes later. And even so, we have no indication that Pharao´s heart was not already hard at this point.
You also say it is sovereign and immutable. Where do you get that? What does it mean? God is sovereign and can do whatever He wishes, but where in the text itself does it claim this decision was unstoppable? As Stephen says in Acts, people resist God all the time.
And is it immutable? It doesn´t say. But one thing we can know for certain is that Paul considered hardened israelites to be saveable. As he says:
"But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts; but whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away." (2 cor 3:15-16)
So being hardened does not mean it is impossible for you to repent.
@@thomasfryxelius5526
"How do you know it is prior? What is prior in the text is the declaration that He will harden the heart of Pharao, future tense. " As I stated in my first comment, the Bible student must look to Exodus 4:21 and 7:3&13 all of these events are BEFORE Moses went to Egypt and BEFORE we hear that Pharaoh hardened his own heart. It was already in the Divine plan. YHWH relays it to Moses so that he will not be discouraged when Pharaoh is so difficult and refuses to let the Hebrews go.
The point is everyone on the Arminian side of the discussion starts with Pharaoh and his personal hardening of his heart. Those of us on the Divine sovereignty side start farther back when the Divine plan is disclosed to Moses. YHWH says "I WILL (future tense) harden Pharaoh's heart." Exodus 4:21; 7:3. I hope that this helps you understand the perspective. BTW, I do understand your perspective as I used to hold it. 🙂
Maranatha!
Every time God showed mercy to Pharaoh, Pharaoh responded by hardening his heart
Exactly! Like Mike said, God did not directly harden Pharaoh’s heart. Pharaoh hardened his own heart and God still miracles in pharaoh’s sight and still offered him mercy when Moses prayed for pharaoh. If we harden our hearts, God will give us over to a depraved mind and that’s what happened to pharaoh because he continually rejected God.
@@katierucker2870 So when the bible says God hardened his heart and Pharaoh hardened his heart it's not a contradiction as some critics say because both are true
@@rjones2000rBoth are true
Let me end this discussion with one verse.
EXODUS 7:3
And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.
Before Pharaoh even heard the words let my people go God had decided he would harden his heart. This concept makes people uncomfortable
Wrong. It makes Calvinists arrogant.
God saw the Future. He knew exactly what was needed
Romans 9:17,18
17 For Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”[g] 18 Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.
I never quite thought of it that way! The analogy you used about a kid asking his parents for something really opened my eyes on how God hardened his heart,and even Jesus speaking to the Pharisees. Fantastic teaching!
Love your content, keep doing the Lords work!
Kindness isn't avoiding criticism
Recently, the psychologist Jordan Peterson gathered a bunch of scholars to have a deep discussion on the book of Exodus. One of those was Dennis Prager, (though I know him more for his political work than for scholarship) who is a practicing Jew. When they came to this passage in their discussion, he had an interesting insight that I'll try to paraphrase here.
If I recall correctly, I believe he said that the Hebrew word used for "harden" could also be interpreted as "strengthen," and that his interpretation of this passage is that God strengthens Pharaoh's resolve. Basically, rather than being moved by the plagues as they happened and having God twist his arm, Pharaoh's heart was 'hardened,' or 'strengthened,' so that he would be more likely to do the thing he actually wanted to do. By hardening his heart in such a way, God was emphasizing Pharaoh's free will and making the plagues less of a coercive influence in his decision-making.
This explanation doesn't fly because Pharaoh repented twice, yet God still hardened Pharaoh's heart so that Pharaoh would disobey God. If the 'strengthening' theory was true, then God would have helped Pharaoh repent. And He didn't.
God's desire was not for Pharaoh to choose Him or for Pharaoh to be forgiven. God's stated desire was to show He was superior to Pharaoh and his gods, and destroy them all.
[+] 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, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Israel is My son, My first-born. “So I said to you, ‘Let My son go, that he may serve Me’; but you have refused to let him go. Behold, I will kill your son, your first-born.”’” (Exod 4:21-23)
[+]But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth. (Exod 9:16)
[+]‘For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments-I am the LORD. (Exod 12:12)
Hmmm both comments are interesting
This explanation ignores all of the passages that shows God telling Moses that He would harden the Pharaoh's heart, so using Dennis Prager's commentary on Exodus is suspect at best. As an Orthodox Jew, Prager's commentary relies heavily on man-made traditions nd interpretations that require him to ignore what the Bible actually says.
Yes, of course, Pharoah had free will. ❤❤❤ It’s so human of us to presume that God’s thoughts are the limited understanding that WE have.
If we did not have free will then there is no reason to praise or punish anyone. Sadly the Calvinist do not understand that simple logic men are chosen but free.
@@UA-camhatesconservativespeech Calvinism, that is confessional based, does not deny free will.
@@ShepherdMinistry Not blatantly, but it does. If you don't believe me, take it up with McArthur, Bachmann, Sproul, Piper, White, and Pink.
@@ShepherdMinistry thanks for commenting. Can you explain the Calvinist doctrine of predestination in that context? That is something I have always pondered.
@@Andrew_the_Worthy_Shield I’m not speaking of any men, I’m speaking of the confessions these men get Calvinism from.
However, MacArthur does believe in free will he just doesn’t claim to understand how it works with Gods sovereignty.
Thank you I've actually been wondering about this piece of scripture
I believe so, yes. Just because we want something and don't do it doesn't mean we didn't have the choice, we don't have the will.
Pharaoh wanted it, he just didn't have the balls. Like Jesus said, "if you've done it in your heart, in the spiritual, you've done it for real."(paraphrased)
God simply gave him the fortification of will to do his heart's desire. If it were for God, it could've been the other way. In fear of losing his power, it did the opposite and he selfishly served his ego and the spirit that dwelt within him.
Uh oh, you're gonna need a disclaimer warning for Calvinists on this one!
😄
That was good, thanks Mike!
I came to the same sort of conclusion this king this one over in the past.
The Calvinists were predetermined to watch the video with or without the disclaimer anyway ;D
Mike and IP are two of my favorite non-Calvinist Christian UA-camrs. I respect the ministry and what God is doing through them. Obviously as a reformed Christian I love this passage 😂, but loved hearing Mikes take on this. Good stuff as always.
Unfortunately Winger did not accurately break this down…. He forgot to include key scripture!
ERROR from Mike again….
Did God not specifically raise up Pharaoh and harden him (all acts being done by God) so that God could demonstrate His power and His name be proclaimed????
“For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth.” So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.”
Romans 9:17-18 NASB1995
@@LaugicalThe Calvinist has arrived to expose the Error Winger has presented. No need to worry, we are always close by to correct biblical illiteracy and contend for the Truth! 😉
Hi! As a Calvinist, this is what we believe about this:
RC Sproul taught that God hardened pharaohs heart, not by actively making pharaohs heart hard when it wasn’t before, but by simply strengthening pharaohs will. God does not make pharaoh act contrary to his will, but rather gives him the courage to do what he has already chosen to do.
It is clear that God used pharaoh to accomplish His plan which was to show His power that they may know that Yahweh is God, yet pharaoh is still 100% guilty of his sin. God could have had mercy on Pharaoh, but He didn’t, which is what Paul is speaking about in Romans 9. God used pharaohs hard heart for His own glory to demonstrate His wrath and make His power known (Rom 9:22). And then He shows His mercy on those who believe (Rom 9:23), all for His glory! If God would have had mercy on Pharaoh, Gods wrath and power wouldn’t have been made known to Egypt and Israel.
🙂
Duh, we all have free will
You'd think "duh" but a growing amount don't believe in Free Will.
Which is ironic, because they freely will themselves to believe that.
Free will doesn't exist if you have to threaten your creation with eternal torment.
@@ayybeealternative1999Eternity separated from God IS eternal torment. People choose separation when they reject Him. He didn't threatened us. He warned us AND provided an escape. But ppl still choose to not follow Him and He allows it. Free Will.
@@ennuiblu Exactly, to think that one choice is positive and the opposite is negative means you don't have a choice is simply bad logic. The same in life. If you choose to do unhealthy activities and become unhealthy, you choose to be this way. Don't tell your doctor that "you threatened me with torment because I had to eat my vegetables." Life and the afterlife have responsibilities and you have to account for your actions.
@@ennuiblu He knows everyone who will rebel against him. God creates people he know will rebel against him.
I have thought long and hard about this. It's been a struggle for me when understanding the character and nature of God. I'm glad to find someone cover this seriously and not just hand wave it away
”And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.“
Exodus 7:3 KJV, Praise The Lord!
That was an interesting perspective on this topic. I really enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing!
Sorry brother... God raised him up for this purpose...anything else is reading in to the scripture
Rom 9:17 "For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I RAISED THEE UP, that I might shew my power IN THEE, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom HE WILL he HARDENETH.
That’s completely consistent with my view.
@@MikeWinger okay sorry bro 😆...
Yep. God raises kings and kingdoms. And did harden Pharaoh's heart - by giving him over to what he wanted.
Free will doesn't really exist in the first place.
thats a slicey statement
Yep.
@@ayybeealternative1999Free will
Jeremiah 19:5
5 (they have also built the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings to Baal, which I did not command or speak, nor did it come into My mind). Notice the evil people did was not decided by God
Matthew 23:37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not WILLING! (As you can see they are not willing, it not that God is not making them "not willing"
1 cor 9:17 For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a stewardship.
John 5:40 But you are NOT WILLING TO COME to Me that you may have life
John 7:17 If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine
2 Chronicles 30:9 For if you return to the Lord, your brethren and your children will be treated with compassion by those who lead them captive, so that they may come back to this land; for the Lord your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn His face from you if you return to Him.”
Joshua 24:15 "choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve"
Israelites didn't had life because they were not WILLING to follow Jesus. John 5:40
Isaiah 30:15
1 Peter 5:2
Heb 2:1
Philemon 1:14
Luke 6:38; 15:10
Heb 3:14-15
14 For we have become partakers of Christ IF WE HOLD THE BEGINNING OF OUR CONFIDENCE STEADFAST TO THE END
15 while it is said:
“Today, if you will hear His voice,
DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS as in the rebellion.”
😂 Who hardened Pharaoh's heart? God. There's no way around it within the mythology.
What
@@noahcole6856 If you read the Bible, Pharaoh was willing to set free the Israelites but to make a show of power god hardened his heart so that Pharaoh didn't want to free them until god stepped in and freed them in some insane show of a power play. Of course it didn't actually occur because there was no Exodus.
@@joelschama1735 where does it say pharaoh was willing to let God’s people go?
@@noahcole6856 1. Exodus chpt. 1 " Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land."
Get them up out of this land... That is, to let them go.
Moreover, why would god need to "harden his heart" if he wasn't going to let them go. That would be nonsensical and ludicrous. Yet here it is:
"Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.
Exod.7
[3] And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.
[13] And he hardened Pharaoh's heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.
[14] And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh's heart is hardened, he refuseth to let the people go."
You really should familiarize yourself with the Bible rather than asking others to do your homework.
@@noahcole6856 God wouldn't need to.harden his heart of he WASN'T already go to set them free (see Exodus 1).
"[3] And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.
[13] And he hardened Pharaoh's heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.
[14] And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh's heart is hardened, he refuseth to let the people go."
The more I learn about the Bible the more I see it as a script or maybe closer to a mix between a movie and an open world game.
Even if free will is an illusion, we should still do our best to fulfill our role in the script. To us, we will still feel that we have free will because creation is designed to feel real and free. Chuck Missler explain perfectly that there is no such thing as random. When something claims to be random, it still follows a formula.
Love your videos Mike. I wish everyone would take a look at an interview Frank Turek did with Dr. Titus Kennedy on this. He (Kennedy) is a biblical archaeologist who believes that the “hardening” of Pharaoh’s heart has more to do with the Egyptian beliefs in the afterlife and the weighing of a kings heart to see if he is worthy of paradise. Total eye opener.
On my Watch Later list. I love your thumbnail! The 10 Commandments was an epic movie for its time. It's still my favorite version.
How did you grow on your UA-cam Channel? 🤔I love your content, you get so deep in the word of God.
It demonstrates God's absolute Sovereignty. In the end, everything in God's creation, serves God... including Satan. God is such a great Master that He is even able to turn the wickedness of Satan into good. All beings are God's 'vessels' that serve Him. (Romans 9:17)
Thank you so much Mike that was a really good explanation of hardening hearts!!!
Pharaoh gonna Pharaoh, thank you brother Mike. God bless you
An standard prerecorded intro inserted before the cuts from old Q&A vids would be awesome. Although, I do appreciate how quickly you get to the point. Maybe you've already considered this and I'm just conditioned lol
I would love to go through your full study, but I have no idea when I will be able to do that. I watch your videos after the kids have gone to bed while I'm doing the dishes. I want to say a HUGE thank you for making this chore nearly painless roll
At the end of this vid, I wondered your opinion on how to pray for someone who hardens their heart toward God. I believe God to be good, holy and gracious in showing who He is to that person even though it may harden their heart further. Kinda looks like a sick cycle. So, how can I pray for that cycle to stop? Do I simply pray they would soften their heart towards God? Do I pray for bad things to happen to them and to be so miserable that they finally do reach out for God? It sounds harsh, but if they come to Christ wouldn't all those bad things have been worth it?
Pharoah was going to say "No" on that last night.
The God of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob made him say *NO*
Free Will is not being usurped here.
Pharoah got exactly what he wanted and Egypt has never recovered.
My wife is one of the six Cherubs that brought about the Plagues Of Egypt.
That song from Prince Of Egypt is her song. Also in Exodus Gods and Kings you see Akhenaten , who was Moses and posessed vast Cosmic Power bargaining with God's representitive, her. Who can forget that.
Rom 9:15-18: "For to Moses He is saying, "I shall be merciful to whomever I may be merciful, and I shall be pitying whomever I may be pitying." Consequently, then, it is not of him who is willing, nor of him who is racing, but of God, the Merciful. For the scripture is saying to Pharaoh that "For this selfsame thing I rouse you up, so that I should be displaying in you My power, and so that My name should be published in the entire earth." Consequently, then, to whom He will, He is merciful, yet whom He will, He is hardening."
Paul gives you the answer here.
"To imagine that God has created a multitude of lesser deities, with wills absolute, so that they stray beyond the pale of His purpose, is to dethrone Him and dishonor every attribute and essence which defines deity. To give them the consciousness of self-determination is quite another thing. That His creatures should be oblivious of the power which impels them is essential to the exhibition of His love, for the response must be without conscious constraint." -A.E.Knoch, from 'The Phantom of Free Will'.
Would love to hear you and James White or Jeff Durbin have a long talk
I like how one point this is and no time is wasted
The first instance of "harden" is in Exodus 4 when God tells us exactly what HE is going to do before everything goes down: Exodus 4:21: "And the LORD said to Moses, "When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go."
Proverbs 21:1: "The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will."
It's not ultimately about man's will but about God! God explicitly says it's not about man's will:
John 1:12-13: "But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God."
Romans 9:15-18: "For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills."
God is sovereign or man's will is sovereign. It can't be both.
So good. Reading scripture in context ..what profound truths we can discover!
Excellent explanation of how pharaohs heart grew hard. Thank you thank you thank you. Love the thumbnail.👍😊
Thanks for answering a question I've had for most of my life.
Mike. This one is gold!! Thank you!! 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾
I like what John Chrysostom (347 - 407 A.D.) said about this topic and Romans 9:22:
"Why are some people vessels of wrath and others vessels of mercy? It is by their own free choice. God, being very good, shows the same kindness to both. For it was not only to those who were saved that God showed kindness but to Pharaoh also, as far as he deserved. For both Pharaoh and God’s people had the advantage of God’s patience. And if Pharaoh was not saved it was because of his own will, since God had done as much for him as he had done for those who were saved."
This is a really great explanation! Thank you.
Hey Mike, could you make a video about the story in John 8;7, the woman caught in adultery? Whether this is in the actual original Bible or not.
Your videos have helped me so much. Appreciate it mike and crew
When i hear Harden ones heart. My thinking is that he makes them angry and un remorseful. But i see it now in this passage as he is telling Pharaoh the truths of his ways and is making him angry. For example, when we love on a friend and tell them the truth because we care for them and all they do is become hateful and filled with anger.
Some folks think they can call an event before it happens, but none can do that like God. Some think they are tapped in to truth, but God is the truth. Pharoah had his heart hardened by the events of things. God brought those events to fruition.
Thank you, I had been wondering about this!
I’m reading the book of Exodus right now and in Ex 3:19 God tells Moses, “But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him.” This is the first mention of how things would go, and this indicates that God already knew what it would take for Pharaoh to finally listen and let the Israelites go. So yes, this was Pharaoh’s own decision and he had free will from the start.
Amen! It’s so critical to examine Scripture in context of the rest of Scripture.
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:21
“Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing…” 1 Peter 3:9
God always fights evil with Good. He fights darkness with light. God is so amazing!!!!