HARDENED HEARTS

SHELBY G. FLOYD

July 15, 2006

“For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.” Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.” (Rom. 9: 17-18.)

God Hardened Pharaoh’s Heart

Some have drawn the conclusion that because God said that he would have mercy on whom he would have mercy, and others he would harden, that God was directly responsible for the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart. It is not necessary to conclude that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart by a direct operation of his power. An inductive study of the scriptures relative to the hardening of his heart will reveal that God did have a part in the hardening, of Pharaoh’s heart.

On at least eleven different occasions the scriptures affirm that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. (Exodus 4: 21; 7: 3, 13; 9: 7, 12; 10: 1, 20, 27; 11: 10; l4: 4, 8.) When one examines all of these references, one will find, that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, not by any immediate operation of his power, but by sending Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh and demanding that he let the children of Israel go that they might go into the wilderness and worship.

The Demand of Moses and Aaron Hardened Pharaoh’s Heart

When God made this demand, Pharaoh replied by saying that he did not know who Jehovah was that he should hearken unto his voice to let the children of Israel go, and he emphatically stated that he would not let them go. This demand by God caused Pharaoh to be determined that he would not submit to this request, which brought about the hardening of his heart and absolute refusal to do what God asked him to do. Pharaoh felt like the children of Israel were his property, and subjects of his kingdom; therefore, he decided that he would put his strength against the strength of the Almighty.

The Magicians Enchantments Hardened Pharaoh’s Heart

When God sent Moses and Aaron he attended their commission with signs, miracles and wonders. This demonstration of God’s power caused Pharaoh to harden his heart. It is said in the book of Exodus, in the sane connection, that the intervention of Pharaoh’s magicians led to the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart. The magicians therefore hardened Pharaoh’s heart, not by any direct operation, but by their enchantments. (Exodus 7: 22; 8: 15, 19.) The magicians caused Pharaoh to be deceived into thinking that God was not really behind the work and demands of Moses and Aaron. As a result of this thinking, Pharaoh hardened his heart. In the same connection, the scripture says that Pharaoh hardened his own heart. (Exodus 8: 15; 9: 34-35; 1 Samuel 6: 6.)

Pharaoh Hardened His Own Heart

The hardening of Pharaoh’s heart then was brought about not by a direct operation, but by the combined work of three agencies. God hardened Pharaoh’s heart through Moses and Aaron; the magicians hardened Pharaoh’s heart by their deception and enchantments, and Pharaoh hardened his own heart by stubbornly refusing to do what was right in the face of the greatest evidence that God was behind the demands of Moses and Aaron.

The Bible Heart Is the Seat of Human Intellect

Today, when the word heart is used in connection with religion, many people have a very obscure idea as to the significance that is to be attached to the Bible term “heart.” When the Bible uses the word heart, what meaning does it convey to the human mind? First, the heart according to the Bible is the seat of the human intellect. For instance, it is affirmed in the scriptures that the heart can think (Luke 24: 38), imagine (Genesis 6: 5), reason (Mark 2: 8), understand (Matthew 13: 15) and believe (Acts 8: 37.) All of these actions of the heart are concerned with the intellect, reasoning and understanding power within man.

The Bible Heart Is the Seat of Human Emotions

Secondly, the heart is mentioned in the Bible as being the seat of the human emotions. This is sometimes styled the sympathetic nature of man. The Bible heart has the power to hate (Leviticus 19: 17), despise (2 Samuel 6: 16), sorrow (Nehemiah 2: 2), desire (Romans 10:1), trust (Proverbs 3: 5), rejoice (John 16: 22) and love. (Matthew 22: 37.)

The Bible Heart Is the Seat of Human Conscience

In the third place, the Bible heart is the seat of the conscience. Man’s conscience either approves or disapproves of his actions. Therefore, in this connection, the Bible heart is said to accuse and excuse the actions of a person. (Romans 2: 14-15.) The Bible heart is said to smite and condemn that which a man would do. (1 Samuel 24: 5; 1 John 3: 20-21.) Therefore, when the Bible uses the heart in some connections it has reference to the conscience.

The Bible Heart Is the Seat of Human Willpower

In the fourth place the Bible heart is the seat of man’s volition or willpower. Men are said in the Bible to purpose in their hearts. (Daniel 1: 8.) The human heart has intents, (Hebrews 4: 12.) It can determine (1 Corinthians 7: 37); it has the power to repent (Romans 2: 4-5); and one may obey the will of God from the heart (Romans 6: 16-18); these actions are the actions of man’s willpower.

Each Person Is Responsible For Hardening His Heart

The human heart then may be hardened in the intellectual realm by unbelief; it may be hardened in the sympathetic realm by cold indifference to the demands of Jesus Christ and his inspired apostles. The human heart may be hardened in the realm of the conscience when one sears his conscience over with a hot iron by violating that which he knows to be right. (1 Timothy 4: 2.) The human heart may be hardened, in the area of our volition or willpower when man becomes stubborn and absolutely refuses to obey the will of God.

Beware of Hardening Your Own Heart

Let every one who reads these lines beware of the hardening of his heart, and let everyone heed the exhortation of the Hebrews writer:

“Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.” (Hebrews 3:12-14.)