"And the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh: for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I might shew these my signs before him: And that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son's son, what things I have wrought in Egypt...that ye may know how that I am the LORD" (Ex 10:1-2).
What a fearful thing that God would harden the heart of Pharaoh so that he would stubbornly refuse to let the people go. Some have said, "but that doesn't seem fair that God would harden Pharaoh's heart and then judge him for disobedience." The Apostle Paul in Romans chapter nine dealt with similar objections: “What shall we say then? “Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. 15For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 16So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy” (Romans 9:14-16).
Perhaps some would believe that God’s choices are arbitrary, unrighteous or made with the wrong motives. Therefore Paul asked rhetorically, “Is there unrighteousness with God? No! God can do as he pleases. And what he pleases to do is always right whether we can understand it or not. How does God choose? In order to fully understand what many have tried to understand for centuries we would have to be God. But nevertheless we can trust that His choices are in keeping with is character, wisdom, power and foreknowledge. “One person decides who receives God’s mercy—God. Does that mean that God will not have mercy on you? No. Do you want mercy? You may have it. God does as He pleases and He is always pleased to do right. And He will in no way cast out anyone who will come to Him” (John 6:37).
Once again Paul demonstrates the supreme wisdom and power of God in the affairs of men in his dealings with Pharaoh: 17For 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. 18Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.”
When Moses was sent by God to Pharaoh to command him to let his people go, he refused and as a result experienced great judgments. God did not will for Pharaoh to be an evil man willing to murder innocent children, but in his sovereignty he can use a man like Pharaoh to accomplish his purpose. In the case of Pharaoh God used this hard hearted man in order to display his power for his glory and the good of his people. This was the case in the life of Joseph whose own brothers conspired to kill him and sold him into slavery in Egypt where he would later become second in command of all of Egypt. After coming into power, Joseph had this to say to his brethren, “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. 20But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive” (Gen. 50:20). God is so big that he can take the sinfulness of man, weave into our lives to accomplish his purposes without ever ordaining the sin.
Some take the phrase in reference to Pharaoh, "...even for this same purpose have I raised thee up" (Rom. 9:17), to mean that God made him for condemnation. But this passage speaks of Pharaoh's position not person. God allowed him to become King, knowing that he had a hard heart so that he could demonstrate his power. In verse 18 Paul writes, “Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.” When we refuse to hear God's voice our heart as a consequence becomes more hardened against God. God harden Pharaoh's heart as a judgment because his heart was already set against God. "...If you hear His voice, harden not your heart." (Heb.3:7)
Paul knew there were those who objected to God’s prerogative to have mercy on whoever he wills and to harden whoever he wills. Therefore he writes. “Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?” (v.19)Their thinking was that if God hardens a person’s heart like Pharaoh and then judges him wouldn’t that be unjust? Does God make one person for hell and another for heaven—one person a sinner and another and a saint? If so how can God hold us responsible for the way he made us? “To such a scenario on God’s part would make as much sense as a potter going to the time, trouble, and expense of creating a line of pottery and then smashing them with a stick.” (Rogers, Adrian).
To this objection Paul writes, “Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?” (Romans 9:20). There are two points that Paul is making here. To begin with, Paul rebukes those who are finite beings for supposing that God is somehow unrighteous in his dealing with man: “Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Granted there are things about God that we won’t understand. Someone said, “if we could understand everything about God he wouldn’t be God.” It’s one thing to have questions about God and his dealings, but it’s quite another thing to imply that God is somehow unjust because we can’t understand his ways and his thoughts.
Secondly, Paul says, “Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?” (v.20) What is the answer to his searching question? God has the divine right to harden the heart of someone like Pharaoh as a judgment for a heart that was already set against God. In so doing God displayed his power showing that he is God above all gods. Remember that God’s hardening of Pharaoh’s heart was not something he did when Pharaoh was born so that he could damn him to hell. He raised him up (allowed him to come into power knowing that he had a hard heart) for his sovereign purposes. Paul uses the word “formed” and not “created” (v.20) for he is referring to position not person. Pharaoh for example was not created by God to be damned to hell. He was “formed” by God to serve his divine purpose.
The author of Hebrews wrote, "To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts"(Heb. 3:15). Pharaoh's heart was already harden against the Lord when he refused to obey his voice. As a result God hardened it even more in order to display his glorious power that others might believe. The consequence of disobedience is a hard heart. Obey His voice.
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