Message 21
In this message we come to a very difficult matter: the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart. The argument concerning this is related to whether God hardened Pharaoh’s heart or Pharaoh hardened his own heart. Regarding the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart, Moses uses various expressions. In Exo. 4:21 God says, “I will harden his heart.” However, in Exo. 8:15 Moses says that Pharaoh “hardened his heart.” Furthermore, in Exo. 9:7 we are told that “the heart of Pharaoh was hardened,” and in Exo. 9:35 that “the heart of Pharaoh was hard.” On the one hand, Exo. 10:1 says that the Lord “hardened his heart,” but, on the other hand, in Exo. 10:20 we see that the Lord “made Pharaoh’s heart hard” (Heb.). According to the meaning of the Hebrew words used, Pharaoh’s heart became not only hard, but also stubborn and obstinate. The fact that Moses uses different words to describe the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart indicates the seriousness of this matter.
The Bible says clearly both that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart and that Pharaoh hardened his heart himself. Some of those who do not believe the Bible argue that God was wrong in hardening Pharaoh’s heart. At the time Paul wrote the book of Romans, such arguments had already begun. Therefore, Paul appealed to God’s sovereignty and asked, “But, O man, who are you that replies against God? Shall the thing formed say to him who formed it, Why did you make me thus?” (Rom. 9:20). In the next verse Paul goes on to say, “Has not the potter authority over the clay, out of the same lump to make one vessel to honor and another to dishonor?” Here Paul says that as the Creator, God has the sovereign authority to do whatever He likes. Who are we to argue with Him? We need to recognize that we are clay and that God is the potter. He has the authority out of the same lump to make one vessel to honor and another to dishonor. He has the right to make vessels of wrath (v. 22) as well as vessels of mercy (v. 23).
Do you consider yourself a vessel of wrath or a vessel of mercy? On the one hand, the kind of vessel we are is absolutely a matter of God’s sovereignty. But, on the other hand, it depends on what we say of ourselves. Like so many other things in the universe, there are two sides here, God’s side and man’s side. If we say that we are vessels of wrath, that is what we are. But if we say that we are vessels of mercy and of honor unto glory, then we are such vessels.
In Romans 9:16 Paul says, “So then, it is not of the one who wills, nor of the one who runs, but of God, the One who shows mercy.” To be a vessel of mercy and of honor unto glory does not depend on our willing or our running, but on God’s mercy to us. It is of God’s sovereign mercy that we are vessels of mercy. We were not the ones who decided to become vessels of mercy. God made this decision before we were born. Only because of God’s sovereignty are we able to say that we are vessels of mercy. In ourselves and of ourselves we have no right to say this. As the One with authority over the clay, the Potter has chosen to make us vessels of mercy. However, our confession that we are vessels of mercy is a proof that God has made us so.
God’s mercy is according to His will. In Romans 9:18 Paul concludes, “He has mercy on whom He wills, and He hardens whom He wills.” We cannot explain why God has willed to show mercy to us. The only thing we can say is that, according to God’s will, the mercy of God has been extended to us. Regarding this, the Bible is emphatic. According to Romans 9:18, God may will either to show mercy or to harden. This is illustrated by the cases of Moses and Pharaoh. Moses was one to whom God willed to show His mercy, whereas Pharaoh was one whom God willed to harden. In Romans 9:15 Paul quotes God’s word to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” This indicates that the mercy shown to us is altogether according to God’s own will.
Furthermore, God’s mercy is in His sovereignty (Rom. 9:20-23). The only thing we can say to explain God’s mercy to us is that in His sovereignty He has chosen to be merciful to us. Consider the case of Esau and Jacob. Who can say why God willed to choose Jacob and not Esau? All we can say is that in His sovereignty God chose the one and not the other. God’s selection is absolutely according to His sovereignty.
As those favored by God, we should not only thank Him for His mercy, but also worship Him for His sovereignty. There are hymns on God’s mercy, but it is very difficult to find a hymn on God’s sovereignty. When it comes to writing hymns on God’s sovereignty, we have little to say. Along with Paul, we need to be brought to God’s sovereignty. Instead of reasoning with Him, we should say, “O Father God, I worship You for Your sovereignty. Although I am not worthy, in Your sovereignty You have willed to show me Your mercy.” Never presume to touch the sovereignty of God. Heed Paul’s warning when he asks, “Who are you that replies against God?” (Rom. 9:20). If we realize that we are nothing more than clay, we shall not argue with God. Rather, we shall simply worship Him for His sovereignty.
In the universe there are three things that cannot be denied: God’s sovereignty, God’s mercy, and man’s free will. God’s sovereignty and mercy are both divine and eternal, without beginning or ending. Man’s free will, on the contrary, is something created by God. In creating man with a free will, God displayed His greatness. Because He is great, He does not force us to choose Him. Rather, He leaves us free to make our own choice.
The fact that God granted man a free choice also reveals His wisdom and love. No one who is great, wise, and loving compels others to do things. Instead, such a person will always respect the free will of others and say, “The choice is yours. If you want to do this, you may choose to do so. You must make the decision.” Whether we take God or reject Him is a matter of our choice. Genesis 2 proves that man has a free will. According to this chapter, God placed the man created by Him in front of two trees, the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and man was free to choose between them. When I was young, I thought God was mistaken in allowing the second tree to be in the garden. It seemed to me that if there had been only one tree, the tree of life, there could have been no problem. But in His greatness, wisdom, and love, God gave man the opportunity to choose Him by placing him in front of two trees.
According to Genesis 3, Eve deliberately chose to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge. In making this decision, she exercised her discernment and free will. In the same principle, we must decide whether or not to believe in the Lord Jesus. Furthermore, after receiving Him, we must choose whether or not we shall seek Him. Some may think that the situation in the universe would be wonderful if Satan did not exist. Nevertheless, it is a fact that both God and Satan, both life and death, are present and we must choose between them.
With this as the background, we come to the problem of the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart. Did God firstly harden Pharaoh’s heart, or did Pharaoh take the first step to harden his own heart? As a help in answering this question, consider your experience in believing in the Lord Jesus. Was this initiated by you or by God? Surely it was initiated by God. However, you did the believing. Before I was saved, I had no thought of God. My believing in Christ was neither planned nor initiated by me. I have the full assurance that the source of this was God Himself. He planned it, initiated it, and scheduled it. Before I was saved, I was not willing to believe in Christ. However, one day I spontaneously became willing. According to my experience and yours as well, God took the first step to cause us to believe in Christ.
In the same principle, God took the first step in the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart. Before Moses had his first confrontation with Pharaoh, God told him that He would harden Pharaoh’s heart (4:21). However, in the case of our salvation, God initiated our believing in the Lord Jesus, but He did not execute it by believing for us. God planned that we should believe, but we ourselves had to believe. Likewise, God firstly hardened Pharaoh’s heart, then Pharaoh carried out this hardening through his own free will.
Here we see God’s sovereignty and man’s free will. Instead of being contradictory, these two correspond. Pharaoh could not escape responsibility in this matter and place it all on God. He had his own free will.
On the one hand, we must worship God for His sovereignty, but, on the other hand, we must fulfill our responsibility. God’s sovereignty does not contradict our free will, and our free will does not contradict His sovereignty. If we see this, we shall humble ourselves under God’s sovereignty and spontaneously take up our responsibility. We shall say, “Lord, everything is according to Your sovereignty. Nevertheless, I must carry out my responsibility.” The more we are willing to bear our responsibility, the stronger is the sign that we have been predestinated by God.
The Bible firstly says that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. But the Bible also says that Pharaoh hardened his heart. This shows both God’s sovereignty and man’s free will. We must always humble ourselves and say, “Lord, You are sovereign. But I must still carry out my responsibility.” This attitude indicates that we are favored by God. Suppose, however, that we have the attitude that because everything is according to God’s sovereignty, we are not responsible to do anything. This is a sign that we have denied God. Pharaoh could not absolve himself of responsibility, and Moses could not boast of his deeds. In this way, God shut every mouth. Moses had no room to boast. Neither did Pharaoh have an excuse not to bear responsibility.
God’s sovereignty and our responsibility are both involved in our spiritual seeking. All proper spiritual seeking is planned and scheduled by God. But we are still responsible to seek the Lord. When we seek Him, we should not be proud. Rather, we should humble ourselves and confess that our seeking of the Lord is according to His sovereignty. At the same time, we fulfill our responsibility. If we are indifferent toward the Lord, we are in danger of not fulfilling our responsibility. But if we are zealous in pursuing the Lord, we must be careful not to boast of our spiritual seeking. Once again we see that we need to humble ourselves under God’s sovereignty and, at the same time, carry out our responsibility. If we are conscious of God’s sovereignty and our responsibility, we are truly favored by God.
We have pointed out that some verses say that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, whereas other verses say that God made Pharaoh’s heart hard. In the same principle, in some places we are told that Pharaoh hardened his heart (8:15, 19) but elsewhere, that Pharaoh’s heart was hard (7:13, Heb.). There is a difference between hardening the heart and the heart becoming hard. In Exodus we are told both that Pharaoh hardened his heart and that his heart became hard. This indicates that Pharaoh firstly hardened his heart. The result was that his heart became hard. Hence, the heart being hard was the consequence of the hardening of the heart. Before Pharaoh hardened his heart, it was still possible for his heart to be softened. But instead of softening his heart, Pharaoh hardened it. The same is true today. Before a person hardens his heart, his heart is not hard. To some extent at least, it is soft. But once he decides to harden his heart, his heart becomes hard.
We can learn an important lesson from this: Never allow anything negative to develop toward the Lord. Before this negative thing arises, you still have two choices — to be for God or to be against Him. But once something negative comes forth and your heart is hardened, you will have only one choice, and that is to reject God.
From the way Pharaoh dealt with his heart we can see how God dealt with Pharaoh’s heart. Firstly, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and then He made his heart hard. After God had hardened Pharaoh’s heart, He could have softened it. However, He did not do so. Instead, He kept Pharaoh’s heart in a hardened condition. This means that God made Pharaoh’s heart hard. In the beginning, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart; then He made Pharaoh’s heart hard. In other words, God did not intervene to change what He had done to Pharaoh’s heart.
If we allow something negative to develop toward the Lord, there will be a serious issue. God may not change this result. Rather, He may allow it to continue, just as He did not show mercy to Pharaoh, but let him stand by himself in order to show forth His power in him (Rom. 9:17). Once you harden your heart, your heart will become hard and remain hard. This is on your side. On God’s side, He firstly hardens your heart and then He may refuse to change what He has done. Firstly, He hardens the heart and then He keeps it hard. This warns us to take heed lest any negative thing arise within us. Once this negative thing produces a particular result, that result will remain. It may be that not even God Himself will change it. He may allow it to remain as it is.
I believe Moses used various expressions to describe the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart so that we might learn to humble ourselves before God’s sovereignty, to take up our responsibility, and to guard ourselves from allowing negative things to develop toward God. Once these things develop, it is very difficult to change the result they cause. Instead, the condition remains and may even worsen. Let us learn from the example of Pharaoh. He allowed something evil to begin, and the result remained permanently. What a serious warning this is!
Throughout the years, I have seen many cases of those who allowed negative things to develop. At first, there were two choices in front of them, and it was still possible for them to change their direction. But once they made the negative choice, there was no turning back. From that time onward, there was no change of the condition or the consequence resulting from their choice.
Be careful of any negative thing rising up. Never regard such a thing as insignificant. Do not say to yourself that you will do a certain thing and change later. You may desire to change, but the result of your choice may not allow you to change. Furthermore, God may not have the intention to change such a negative situation.
We need to worship God for His sovereignty, thank Him for His mercy, carry out our responsibility, and keep negative things from arising between us and the Lord. Then we shall be in God’s favor, a Moses, not a Pharaoh. We need to look to the Lord that we may be not vessels of wrath like Pharaoh, but, like Moses, vessels of mercy and honor unto glory.
