When we read through the account of Moshe seeking the release of Israel from Egypt and Pharaoh’s bargaining tactics, we tend to struggle with the concept of HaShem hardening the heart of Pharaoh. We struggle with concepts of free will, thinking “Did G-d really not allow Pharaoh free will in this? Did G-d not allow him to relent? What does that mean about my own free will?” Contrary to what we might think, Pharaoh was not a hopeless pawn in the “Battle of the Gods” in Egypt, without the opportunity to repent. Pharaoh was determined in his heart to do exactly what he did.
There are several things we need to understand about the hardening of hearts and it in no way violates our free will. HaShem does not want His creation to serve Him with anything other than our whole hearts, our whole being. He did not create us to be mindless and heartless men and women who mill about with no opportunity to choose. We were created to be creative, passionate, committed, and able to choose for ourselves. He created us and gave us the choice to serve Him or not. He has gone to great lengths to make it easy for us to find Him, to trust Him and to be accepted by Him. It is up to us to choose Him or not. It makes no sense to think that HaShem would violate the free will of any man at any point in time, not even Pharaoh.
First it is important to remember that it was Pharaoh who hardened his own heart through the first 5 plagues and again with the plague of hail. The whole chapter of Exodus 5 gives us insight into the heart of Pharaoh, King of Egypt, toward Israel. He simply is not impressed with Moses’ request and in fact, he chooses to increase the workload of the Israelites instead. Pharaoh had no fuzzy feelings for the people of Israel and this “insolent” Moshe standing before him was an insult – first an insult to Egypt by being a salvaged Hebrew child, then later murdering an Egyptian task master; but also an insult to Pharaoh because Moshe knew full well that all Egypt and Pharaoh himself considered Pharaoh to be the incarnate sun-god, Ra. When Pharaoh says, “Who is the Lord , that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord , and moreover, I will not let Israel go.” he is very likely thinking that there is no god greater than Ra, and he himself is one with Ra, so no order from some unknown G-d is going to matter, Whoever He Is. Pharaoh was proud and insulted that Moshe had the audacity to stand before him and make such a demand.
So what does it mean then that HaShem hardened Pharaoh’s heart? Let’s take a minute to look at the original words used to describe the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart. In Exodus we read at least 18 times that the heart of Pharaoh was made hard and the primary word used is the hebrew word chazak (חזק), it is used 12 of the 18 times. This word means “to strengthen, prevail, harden, be strong, become strong, be courageous, be firm, grow firm, be resolute“. Of the 12 uses it appears that this is simply an observation of the condition of his heart until Exodus 9:12 where it is HaShem who is hardening the heart of Pharoah. We can understand that HaShem helped Pharaoh’s decisions be strengthened, he would be made strong so as not to waver, his resolve would be made strong. The word kavad (קבד) is used 5 times and means “heavy or great“. From this we can understand that Pharaoh’s heart is stubborn and hard to move. Kasheh (קשה), meaning “to be hard, be severe, be fierce, be harsh” is only used in Exodus 7:3. This means that his heart is not soft and pliable but hard and inflexible. We would do well to understand the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart as a strengthening of his resolve to prevail in his own decision.
HaShem was not forcing any particular decision onto Pharaoh but He already knew the heart of the King of Egypt toward the children of Israel. HaShem knew what Pharaoh was doing to His chosen people, He heard their cries and pleas and now was the time to act. It would be through these plagues that the whole world would know His Name, His attributes, and would know that He alone is the Sovereign over the universe. Pharaoh needed no coaxing or manipulating to choose against Israel and HaShem, he only required strength to stick to his own convictions.
Now, what about us? We have multiple opportunities to choose HaShem’s ways or the ways of the world each day. We can choose the things that bring Him honor and glory, things that bring Him joy, or we can choose things that are opposed to those things even though they may bring us some sort of good feelings. Every time we choose “right” it makes it easier to make a right choice the next time. But the same is true for making wrong choices. Every time we make a wrong choice and choose sin, it becomes easier to make a sinful choice at the next opportunity.
It is well known that HaShem turns men and women over to the desires of their hearts, but do we recognize that He also gives us the strength to stick to our guns? It is not His will that we choose wrongly, but He will not take away from us the opportunity to be fully convinced and strengthened in our choices. In fact, often times He will strengthen our wills.
We would do well to choose this day, each moment, whom we will serve. And we can find peace in the knowledge that He will enable us to be strong in our choice.
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>> Pharaoh was not a hopeless pawn in the “Battle of the Gods” in Egypt, without the opportunity to repent. Pharaoh was determined in his heart to do exactly what he did.
Interestingly, the non-literal The Message translation of the bible reads Romans 9:14-18 like this,
God told Moses, “I’m in charge of mercy. I’m in charge of compassion.” Compassion doesn’t originate in our bleeding hearts or moral sweat, but in God’s mercy. The same point was made when God said to Pharaoh, “I picked you as a bit player in this drama of my salvation power.” All we’re saying is that God has the first word, initiating the action in which we play our part for good or ill.
When I read that part about Pharaoh being a “bit player”, I immediately thought, “pawn”.
Of course, a more literal reading is, “I [God] raised you [Pharaoh] for this very purpose.”
That does leave some wiggle room for free will. Interesting.
Thanks for this thought-provoking post.
Judah ~
Interesting that you bring up Romans because originally I had parts of Romans 1 (specifically 1:24) in my entry too but my post became way too long so I re-focused myself.
Interesting how The Message reads in that it does shout “pawn!”, isn’t it? Seems like there’s a little bit of the translator’s bias in there maybe. We all do that though so we can’t be too hard on them. It’s our responsibility to work out our own salvation and to test everything against the Scriptures.
The quote in Romans 9:15 is from the time when Moshe wanted desperately to see HaShem’s face and he was sheltered in the cleft of the rock and allowed to see His “back” as He passed by. HaShem was angry with Israel at that time and Moshe had been pleading for mercy and grace toward Israel. We can do teshuva (repent) but that doesn’t absolve us from consequences of our actions nor does it obligate HaShem to go easy on us. It’s His decision on whom He will show mercy. But in Romans, Shaul moves right to the Pharaoh illustration in verse 17. I think Shaul is illustrating that He chooses whomever He will to illustrate His attributes. He did not choose to harden Moshe’s heart at various points in time but it seems that He did strengthen Moshe at other times. It was to illustrate HaShem’s Name. He choses whomever He will.
It is thought provoking, isn’t it?
The one thing that I have always been clear about is the concept of free will. I know that I know that we have free will. So, imagine my confusion when I was taught that G-d hardened Pharaoh’s heart so that the Egyptians would learn of his power and fear him. I never could make peace with the idea of G-d manipulating in that way. This was a blessing for me. Thank you. Roni :0)
Roni –
This whole issue is one that I struggled with a lot as I was growing up. I couldn’t understand how a good G-d would destroy so much and ‘manipulate’ people to do what He wanted them to do. It was truly a struggle for me when I was young. But praise G-d He never gave up on me and had allowed me to hang on long enough to start to get those questions answered.
l things. The free will of man is a humanistic, American religion and is pervasive throughout the American church. However scripture represents a God who is sovereign over all things, including the hearts of man. We all struggle with this matter because it “feels” like we do all the choosing. And you are right, the Bible is full of passages that tell us to choose. But behind all of our choices is a sovereign God. This is confusing for our finite minds but it is a fact and we must submit our wills to God’s will. We must look at all of scripture and know what kind of God we serve. Deciding these very important issues is not a matter of human reason but of what God tells us about Himself. Exodus tells us over and over again that God hardened Pharoah’s heart . Way before the plagues began God said that He would harden Pharaoh’s heart. Some verses say that Pharaoh’s heart was hardened “just like God had said”. We can’t reason this away. A different definition of harden doesn’t change it. The Word means exactly what it says. God controlled Pharaoh’s heart for His purposes. Romans 9 addresses the topic and the whole of Romans 9, 10 and 11 are something that “free-willers” must grapple with.
I believed in the free will of man until about 8 years ago. Once I understood scripture more fully and realized what God was doing when He pulled Abram out of idolatry… and chose Jacob over Isaac before they were born….and chose little ‘ol me too….well, the beauty of God’s grace and love became so much more meaningful. Election is not any reason to boast. It is the most humbling of all doctrines. And I am so glad that God is in control of my heart because I know that my natural bent is only toward evil all the time. I would be a Pharaoh if God did not change my heart of stone into a heart of flesh. I am glad that He has been pleased to cause me to choose to repent and cling only to Him for salvation.
Long answer to a very complex question. But you asked for a response
Ooooops! Big mistake. I meant to say that God choose Jacob over Esau! Sorry that my fingers can’t keep up with my mind! LOL
Hello my dear friend ~
The Bible is full of admonitions for us to choose. He wants us to make the right choice, to choose to obey Him, to choose to love one another, etc. If it weren’t possible for us to choose, He wouldn’t instruct us to do so. HaShem never instructs us to do things that are impossible for us. I don’t believe that we were created to be mindless beings, only doing what He makes us to do. I believe He created us to choose Him or not. I believe that in the Bible we find that HaShem is all powerful but not all-controlling (as in manipulative). He created everything with an order, a nature, and everything works well within that order/nature. Whether the children of Israel reached the Red Sea at the perfect moment that a storm blew in and divided the waters right over a natural land-bridge and then the storm stopped at the precise right time, or whether HaShem went outside of nature and divided the waters makes little difference – either way it is a significant miracle that only He could put together at the right place, right time and with the right people. The question that is often raised with this is: Does He suspend the laws of nature or did He create the laws of nature perfectly and He works within it for His glory? Personally, I think the later indicates a much greater, much more amazing and awe-inspiring Creator.
Philosophers and teachers have debated the issue of “free will” for thousands of years. The Bible has many examples of our being instructed to choose well. He urges us to do so but it does not seem that He forces us to do so. Because He is sovereign and omnipotent He already knows what choices we will make, He put us in the time and space He did for His own purposes. There are times when He makes us strong in our determination so that we “stick to our guns” and hold fast to our decision. It is always for His purposes, but the choice was ours to make. He knew we would make it and He places us where He does for His purposes. He chooses whomever He will, but that does not mean we are all like pawns in His game of life. He gets no real glory from beings that only serve Him because He makes them to do so. True glory, I feel, comes when we willingly choose Him and choose to follow, obey and worship Him.
I don’t personally have a problem with both free will and election being “right”. But I do have trouble with the concept of election in that if taken to it’s end it can lead us to “do whatever we want” because we’re either in or we’re out and there’s nothing anyone can do about it.” I know many people who hold fast to the election teachings and “live like the devil” every day with their “justification” being that they believe they are among the elect and that’s all that matters. “I’m in and that’s all I need.” On the flip side, I know people who have been told that they are not among the elect and they used to truly strive to serve the Father with their whole lives, but felt that since there was nothing they could do to become one of the “elect” that there was no use. It is this end of the pendulum that I strongly disagree. I know you do, too.
Hello Jeannine. I recently listened to a podcast on Jewish history taught by Jewish Rabbi Ken Spiro. He teaches that the idea of monotheism and free will started with Abraham. The idea that one is not just on earth to be played with by gods and that each person has a choice to make concerning the path he or she will take keeping in mind that each path will have consequences. When I look at the world and think of the role of Father God, I can only believe that each man and woman has free will.
Shabbat Shalom!
Dear Roni,
It is weird to discuss things with strangers because I really don’t know where you are coming from other than your words. So I will answer your words, trying to be as respectful as possible. IF Abraham had the “idea” of free-will, that doesn’t necessarily make it so. God is not defined by Abraham, or a rabbi, or your opinion of what kind of God you can believe in. We don’t make God in our image. He tells who He is and His Word is FULL of His Sovereignty. This doesn’t mean that we are “playthings of the gods” and it doesn’t take away our full responsibility for our actions. This is indeed a mystery and I acknowledged that in my post. You really need to read Romans 9 because in that chapter, Paul outlines things very carefully and also answers all the objections you have raised. Then you need to go back to the Exodus passages, beginning with Exodus 4:21 and read all the way through Exodus 14. Over and over you will read about Pharaoh’s hard heart and each time God is involved.
What we must remember is that we do not begin in a neutral position. Each of us is born in sin and all have fallen short of the glory of God. Our hearts are already hard and no one deserves salvation. Only God can soften our hearts enough to respond to Him. No one comes to the Son unless the Father first draws him. God left Pharaoh in his wickedness and hardened him further so that a distinction could be made between the world and God’s people. But you will also note that Israel is not “choosing” to follow Moses. They complain bitterly to Moses at the very beginning and they complain still at the Red Sea. God is bringing them out of His free will, not theirs. This is amazing grace – that He loves us before we love Him!
I see a message in Romans 9 (and the greater portion that it is taken from) that Shaul is speaking of the greater redemption of all Israel (and those who are grafted into Israel) because NO ONE whom He has chosen will ever be lost. He chose Israel through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. That can never be un-done. From Rom. 9 we read through to Romans 11. It is because of HIS favor that He has chosen anyone, but it is our responsibility to reciprocate. We will either make His Name great or we will not.
Yes, it is only because He calls us that we can enter into a Master – servant relationship with the King of the Universe. But “many are called, few are chosen” (Matt. 22:14). It appears that there will be those in the Kingdom who are “least” while others will be “great”. Some will have crowns to cast at His feet while others, it seems, will not.
Abraham could have easily chosen not to leave Ur, or to settle in Haran instead (he did stay there for some time when that wasn’t what he was instructed to do). Eve could have chosen not to eat the fruit, but He knew she would. Knowing she would, He put all things together so that all men would be able to know Him and have no excuse. The prophets tell us that in the end it will be like Eden again for those whom have been chosen, those whose names are recorded in the Book of Life. A complete restoration will one day take place. If it weren’t for our ability to choose, why would He not start His creation with just the chosen ones in Eden and take away the ability to choose to sin or not? (rhetorical question, btw) He is sovereign and that is enough.
No, G-d is not defined by Abraham or by a rabbi or a pastor. He defines Himself in the Torah and then expands on that through the lives of His chosen people. Not only does He reveal Himself to us in the Torah but His Name (His attributes, reputation, etc) is defined by what He does throughout Scripture. One cannot invalidate the other. He is defined by what He does in Scripture. We should have no need for teachers because we have been given both the Torah and also the Spirit as a “down payment” until the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31 and following) is fully enacted in the end of days. Until then, we are in a process and we are part of the process. We do need teachers, however we need not rely on teachers alone. We need teachers who will help us understand the context, the culture, the language and deep insights into the Word of G-d. We have only one Master and we are all disciples of The Master, yet we do need teachers to help us along the way. It is still up to each of us to test all these things against the whole of the Scriptures and see if they are in line with the whole of the Word or not. We are to study to show ourselves approved, to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, to walk before Him and be holy as He is holy. We need each other in this walk, our wrestling with His Word is good and necessary.
Dear Jeannine,
Let me say up front that I am no Bible scholar. My degrees are in Mathematics, Spanish and Sonography. Unfortunately, I spent my adult life up to 42 happy to dig and study in many areas other than the bible. I attended church, said amen when appropriate and spent portions of my income on the occasional “Bible study” now and then. All that changed on Nov. 2, 2007 when my world was turned upside down by accepting an invitation to a “Shabbat” dinner at a friend’s house. I’ve been trying to put away all my Greek things since. So, when I saw your statement about free will being “a humanistic, American religion….pervasive throughout the American church” I took that in as something to prayerfully ponder. Ironically, I was listening to the Rabbi that I mentioned and heard him teaching free will as a “Jewish” concept. In no way was I suggesting that Abraham defines the Almighty. Nor am I suggesting now that being a “Jewish” concept makes it correct. I was merely throwing out that free will of man is taught, at least by some, as being a Jewish concept. As for the rest of your reply, I agree with you. G-d is doing what he set out to do but why is it taking so long? I think the answer might be “man’s free will.” Please know that your post has not fallen on deaf ears and I will read the suggestions you mentioned. Blessings.
Hey, we made it onto Judah’s Weekly Baracha 10!! I’m honored.
Enjoy the bracha goodness.
Dear Roni, Thank you so much for your response. It is nice to “meet” you!
I understand much more of where you are coming from and I have continuing discussions with my good friend Lisa on many of these issues. You are right to put away “Greek” thinking if that is used as a reference to worldiness. But there is a danger in embracing all things “Jewish” too. Where Hebraic thought is guided by God’s instruction, it is Godly. But so much of Jewish thought became distorted and ungodly because the father of all lies, our enemy, can so easily twist the truth and take us away from God’s instruction. The Law became a stumbling block to Israel. Their system blinded them to the point where they could not recognize the Messiah that they were waiting for. They were so busy cleansing the outside of the cup and not realizing that sin comes from within. They actually thought that their blood connection to Abraham brought them salvation! This is why Jesus called them blind!
And we are no different today. The enemy still distorts and takes our eyes off of the truth. We are fallen creatures who want what we want and we want a god that we can control. We want our salvation to come on our terms and to be rewarded for the good that we do. This is our sin nature and we cannot escape it without God’s intervention.
All of this is why I am so careful to point out that there is NOTHING we can DO to merit eternal life and it has NOTHING to do with who we ARE. It’s not about Israel or the Law. It is not about me making a decision for Christ or praying some magic words. We are only made clean through the shed blood of the perfect Lamb, Jesus Christ. And we only receive this cleansing based on God’s grace. He has mercy on whom He wills – any other system is not grace, it’s works. “So then it is not him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.”
Another danger that I see in embracing all things Jewish is when one might consider the Torah to be the most important part of God’s Word. I completely disagree with that and there is nothing in Scripture that will support that thought. It is a Jewish concept and a dangerous one. God gave us His entire Word and it is a complete revelation of who He is and how He wants us to live and how he relates to his creation. We must be students of the whole Bible.
When I stated that free will is a humanistic, American religion, I did not mean to state that we invented it. There is nothing new under the sun. I meant to point out that this is an area where the church has adopted the world’s thinking. Afterall, the first sin was where Eve wanted her own rights and was not willing to submit to the will of God and trust that He knew what was best. This is the basic sin we all have – we want to be in charge. We want free-will.
I know that for you the thought of no human free-will is a tough one to swallow. I’ve been there. But if you will iust entertain the *possibility* and read the Bible from that perspective…..well, things will come to light in a whole new way. The Word is so much more exciting when we realize that God is working all things together for our good and that this good is for us to be conformed to the image of His Son.
Now, let me tell you a little about myself. Last fall, I was diagnosed with breast cancer, at the age of 48. I have three children that I am schooling at home and much work left to do. My chemotherapy is very debilitating and I have two surgeries in my future. This has certainly been a time to grapple with God’s will! Am I sick due to genetic reasons? Am I sick because I ate the wrong things? Am I sick because I sinned? All of this thinking is prevalent in the church today and all of this thinking has Jewish roots. But it is not Biblical. I have cancer because God willed it and did so before time began. The Bible teaches this and understanding this fact has been a great blessing to me in my illness. I don’t feel like a pawn; I feel like a person chosen to suffer like my Jesus suffered. I feel like a person that is being refined by fire. I feel like a mother watching God work in the lives of her husband and children. I feel like a person waiting with expectation to see what kind of person God shapes me to be….or whether He will be pleased to bring me home. I feel like a person whose only choice is to say, “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven!”
Now, let me give you a string of verses that clearly shows that this cancer is from God….not “allowed” by God…. but FROM GOD. (I know this post is getting long but I just have sooooo much to say
Exodus 4:11 Then the LORD said to him, ‘Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him miute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?
Deut. 32:39 See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.
I Sam. 2:6-7 The LORD kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up. The LORD makes poor and makes rich; he brings low and he exalts.
Eccles. 7:13-14 Consider the work of God: who can make straight what he had made crooked? In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.
Isaiah 45:5-7 I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you though you do not know me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things.
Lam. 3:37-38 Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come?
Amos 3:6 Is a trumpet blown in the city, and the people are not afraid? Does disaster come to a city, unless the LORD has done it?
See what I mean? When you read these scriptures about my cancer and whatever adversity you are in…..do they not just scream to you that God is in complete sovereing control of all things, including nature and the hearts of man? Do you still feel manipulated? I hope not! I hope that you can rejoice in a good and wise God that will only do what is best for his chosen people. And the best thing is for us to relinquish our wills and submit to His loving care.
Thanks for “listening” to me spell out all the amazing things that God is teaching me!
Jeannine
Hey again. Jeannine, I am so sorry to here about the battle you are fighting. I am a sonographer. I worked at Hope A Woman’s Cancer Center (that’s the actual name) and most of my patients had either breast or orvarian cancer. I can tell you are indeed fighting the good fight! I just wanted to say nice to meet you too. You asked if I felt manipulated. I think you might have misunderstood. I’ve never felt manipulated. I have always believed that my actions have consequences and that this is true on a larger scale for all of creation. NOT to say that you have cancer because you sinned more than me because I bet you don’t sin more or as good as me LOL But, I think that our abuse of the environment and generations of not eating the way the Creator instructed has brought those types of consequences. I know you are right though because not even a sparrow falls to the ground apart from Him.
Hey again. Jeannine, I am so sorry to here about the battle you are fighting. I am a sonographer. I worked at Hope A Woman’s Cancer Center (that’s the actual name) and most of my patients had either breast or ovarian cancer. I can tell you are indeed fighting the good fight! I just wanted to say nice to meet you too. You asked if I felt manipulated. I think you might have misunderstood. I’ve never felt manipulated by G-d. I have always believed that my actions have consequences and that this is true on a larger scale for all of creation. NOT to say that you have cancer because you sinned more than me because I bet you don’t sin more or as good as me LOL But, I think that our abuse of the environment and generations of not eating the way the Creator instructed has brought those types of consequences. I know you are right though because not even a sparrow falls to the ground apart from Him.
Roni, Great conversation and I love to discuss these things….but I am really tired and need to move on to some of my responsibilities. Thanks for your well-wishes and I know you see all spectrums of this disease in your work. But thankfully, God is in control, and I completely rest in that. Blessings to you (and all who are eaves-dropping LOL) as we all seek to know God more fully. Now we see through the glass darkly….but someDAY! our knowledge will be complete! Praise God!
–Jeannine