I preached this morning from the plague accounts in Exodus 7-12. I think a lot of people stumble over the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart. How can God punish Pharaoh for refusing to let Israel leave when God himself keeps Pharaoh’s heart hard?
I think it helps to look at chapter 10 carefully. Ever notice that in verse 1 God hardens the heart of both Pharaoh and his officials, but by verse 7 the officials were pleading with Pharaoh to let the Israelites go? Whatever it means when God harden’s someone’s heart, it doesn’t seem to remove their autonomy and self-will.
Kirk Cowell 