Exodus 7:3-5
3 And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.
4 But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine armies, and my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments.
5 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them.
Romans 9:17-18
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.
This is ABSOLUTELY straightforward.
Its not what you WISH Scripture said. Its not what most people WISH Scripture said. But it IS what Scripture says.
ex 7: 13 And
Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the Lord had said.
ex 7: 14 So the Lord said to Moses: “
Pharaoh’s heart is hard; he refuses to let the people go
ex 7: 22 Then the magicians of Egypt did so with their [
f]enchantments; and
Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the Lord had said.
Ex 8: 15 But
when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not heed them, as the Lord had said.
ex 8: 19 Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This
is the[
e] finger of God.” But
Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, just as the Lord had said.
ex 8: 32 But
Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also; neither would he let the people go.
ex 9: 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.
ex 9: 12 But
the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh; and he did not heed them, just as the Lord had spoken to Moses.
ex 9: 34 And when Pharaoh saw that the rain, the hail, and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet more; and
he hardened his heart, he and his servants. 35 So
the heart of Pharaoh was hard; neither would he let the children of Israel go, as the Lord had spoken by Moses.
ex 10: 20 But
the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go.
ex 10: 27 But
the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go.
out of all of these plagues, only three of them say the lord hardened Pharaohs heart. the rest say pharoah hardened his own heart. or his heart became hard.
Pharaoh did what he wanted to. God did not force him against his will. he strengthened his will. the old addage if you keep believing a lie knowing it is a lie. you will eventually be hardened to the fact that it is a lie, and actually believe it to be true.
as for how one hardens ones heart or God does it. He tells us in Is 6
Is 6:
9 And He said, “
Go, and tell this people:
‘
Keep on hearing, but do not understand;
Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’
10 “
Make the heart of this people dull,
And their ears heavy,
And shut their eyes;
Lest they see with their eyes,
And hear with their ears,
And understand with their heart,
And return and be healed.”
you do it by exposing to them the truth, the more they see and reject. the duller they become. the more they hear and deny, the harder they become.
he does not overrule a persons will. he strengthens their will..
as for romans 9. He lifted him up in place. because he knew pharaoh would do what pharaoh did. he did not force pharoah against his will to do those things,
he will have mercy on who he has mercy
he shewed mercy to the sinful jews. who so did not believe that they walked the wilderness for 40 years.. thats the context of romans 9
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