Exodus 14:17: “And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians.”
Someone asked me why God would harden the hearts of the Egyptians. I had addressed this in earlier studies yet each time I approach this study I seem to discover a new dynamic to the idea of God hardening the hearts. So allow me to expand on my earlier studies on this issue
I read recently read Tom Clancy’s book The Cardinal of the Kremlin. In one chapter sharp shooters for the FBI are ordered by the President to shoot the Russian spies holding an American scientist hostage, even though the spies were not threatening to kill the American. The sharp shooters were shocked and troubled that they had to shoot another human being in literal cold blood. They were trained to shoot only if there was no other alternative to saving an American life and it completely went against the nature and training of these sharp shooters to just shoot down a man in cold blood who posed no threat to them personally or to the hostage. In war a soldier will kill an enemy only because he knows it is him or me. This is the idea behind the phrase that describes God as a man of war. God is a sharp shooter who will waste the enemy, but only if there is no alternative to saving his people. He will give every possible chance as He did with Pharaoh and the Egyptians, to turn to him. Indeed we learn that some Egyptians did believe in God and followed the Hebrews out of Egypt, although they caused a lot of problems later.
So we have a benevolent God who shoots only when there is no other recourse. Then how do we explain the fact that just when the hearts of the Pharaoh and Egyptians starts to soften, God turns around and hardens their hearts so he can inflict more suffering on them. That does not seem fair. It also seems to make Scripture contradictory because I Samuel 6:6 tells us: “Wherefore, then do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts?” So in one passage it is God hardening the hearts and in another they are hardening their own hearts.
Up until a few years ago we really could not explain this away. Either we took Calvin’s position: God can do what He wants and who are we to question or consider the attempts made to explain that this was just a Hebrew idiom. When God said: “I will harden the heart of Pharaoh;” this was an idiomatic expression for I will permit his heart to be hardened.” Sort of like in the New Testament where it says that “if we say we have not sinned we make God a liar (I John 1:10).” Well God can’t lie, but that is just an idiomatic expression. Sounds good but few Hebrew scholars were buying into this and hence you will not find a modern translation rendering this as “I will permit Pharaoh’s heart to be hardened.” At least I have not found any modern translation using this rendering.
However, in recent years there has been many new discoveries about the Classical Hebrew language, not the least of what is being learned from the Dead Sea Scrolls. We now know a few things about the Classical Hebrew that Calvin did not know. We know things about the Classical Hebrew that rabbis of the middle ages did not know and we are still learning new things.
One thing we have recently learned is the nature of the active voice in Hebrew. The word harden in the Hebrew is ’akesheh which means to be hardened, stubborn, etc. This is found in a Hiphil imperfect form, 1st person singular. Can’t get much more direct than that. Clearly it is God saying “I will cause Pharaoh’s heart to be hardened.” However, this is in an active voice and we have now learned from the Dead Sea Scrolls and the discovery of the Ugaritic language that when a verb is in a Hiphil active form it becomes permissive. Thus, we now have grammatical evidence that this should be rendered; “I will permit Pharaoh’s heart to be hardened.” Calvin would have loved that. Only by the efficacious grace of God would His heart not be hardened. In other words our hearts are hardened to God to begin with, it is only through His special grace or what we call the conviction of the Holy Spirit that our hearts soften to God. Yet, we learn in Genesis 6:3 that God’s Spirit will not always strive with man. There will come a time when, like with Pharaoh and the Egyptians, that God will remove the convicting power of His Spirit and we go back to our hardened hearts.
It is by grace that we are saved (Ephesians 2:8) and that is a gift of God. It would appear Calvin was right after all; even our hearts longing for God is a gift from God. It is God who makes the overtures to us and we respond to Him. Unlike Calvin, however, I believe this is offered to all people and God will strive with man a long time, but one day, if we continue in our sins, God may just withdraw His convicting Spirit allow our hearts to go back to its normal state and be hardened. I think of the little sins that I continually commit thinking “Oh well, He is a loving God, He will forgive.” That is true, but there may come a time when I would not care to seek his forgiveness, He will permit me to go back to a hardened heart.
But the real point is that any desire you have for God comes from Him. It is a gift from Him. You don’t have to beg, plead bargain or even give gift cards to Starbucks to get Him. He’s the one who gave you the desire to begin with. Without that gift you would be like old Pharaoh, and have a hard heart. Pharaoh had his chance and blew it, but then God came in and softened his heart but when he still refused to yield to God, God again withdraw his convicting Spirit and old Pharaoh let his sinful nature rule.
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