What Does it Mean that God Hardened Pharaoh’s Heart?

What does it mean that God hardened Pharaoh's heart? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of Core Christianity. Well, hi and happy Friday. I'm Bill Meyer, along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez.

Thanks so much for joining us. This is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. You can call us right now with your question. Here's the phone number. It's 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. Of course, you can always post your question on one of our social media sites, and you can always email us your question at questionsatcorechristianity.com. First up today, here's a voicemail from one of our listeners named Lisa.

Lisa, thank you for that question. Yeah, John 1-29, John the Baptist, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, or you are also mentioned, you know, John 3-16, one of the most well-known Bible verses. For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. Here's, I think, the right way to talk about the death of Jesus Christ. I mean, we're talking about the eternal Son of God assuming humanity so that in that humanity, He might die for the sins of His people.

The death of Jesus Christ is sufficient if you will to atone for the sins of the entire world. I mean, we're talking about, again, the eternal Son of God here. But it's only efficient, efficacious for God's people. And we receive the benefits of what Christ has done through faith. And so I think this is something that we see in John's Gospel, and not just in the Gospel here, but in his writings elsewhere. For example, in the Book of Revelation, in Revelation chapter 5, when John has a very good vision of heaven, and, you know, all the saints worshiping Jesus there in heaven, they are saying, Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals. This is Revelation chapter 5 verse 9. For you were slain and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. And you have made them to be a kingdom and priest to our God, and they are saying, Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals. For you were slain and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. That is the work of Christ and the death of Christ was not just about Israel. And, of course, there were many Jews during the time of Jesus.

That was the focus. But, of course, with the new covenant, this is being brought in doubt. And now, you know, the coastlands, the nations are being welcomed into the family of God through the work of Jesus Christ. And that's one of the things that John is highlighting throughout his gospel. And because of, you know, the sufficiency, if you will, of Jesus' atoning work, we're commanded to preach the gospel to everyone. Sometimes, you know, this is referred to as the promiscuous preaching of the gospel. Just everywhere to everyone, the free offering of the gospel is a real offer to all creation. We're commanded to go and to preach the gospel. And the basis for that is the atoning work of Jesus. And it's through that proclamation, through that preaching, that God is, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, drawing people to Himself, to salvation and to faith. And so, Lisa, thank you for that question and appreciate your voicemail.

The next 20 minutes or so, 1-833-843-2673. Let's go to a YouTube question. This came in from Chad. Chad says, how does God discipline us when we sin?

Yeah, excellent question. And of course, we read in the Proverbs, also in the book of Hebrews, that God does discipline His people. And I think that the main thing I would want to say is usually when it talks about the discipline of the Lord, it's always rooted in love. And so when God disciplines us, it's as His children, because He loves us.

Those whom I love, God says, I rebuke and chasten. And well, what does this look like in our lives as Christians? Well, I mean, in one sense, this is a reminder that if you belong to Jesus and you are living in ways that are contrary to God's law and you know it, you know, God is not going to let you off the hook, that there's discipline associated with that because He loves you.

And sometimes that discipline looks like sickness. I mean, I'm thinking of what the Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians where he's writing to the Corinthians because of, you know, the number of issues that the church in Corinth was having. And especially in the context of taking the Lord's Supper, he says, for this reason, because you're approaching the table sinfully without faith, he says, for this reason, many of you are sick and weak and some have even died. But if we judged ourselves, we wouldn't need to be judged by God.

But when we're judged, you know, we're disciplined because God doesn't want us to be condemned with the world. And so sometimes it can be sickness. Sometimes it can be just a sort of natural consequences of our sinful behavior. Sometimes it's this quenching of the Spirit. And what Paul talks about in the book of Ephesians is not quenching the Spirit. And so I think that there are seasons where, you know, if we're continuing in sinful patterns of behavior, that the sense of God's presence, the joy, right, the fruit of the Spirit, it just feels dried up. And so these are different ways, I think, that the Bible speaks of the Lord's discipline in our lives. But I think the main thing to remember, Chad, is that it's an act of God's love. And isn't that a wonderful thing that Jesus doesn't just save us and then leave us to do whatever we want, to live however we want? No, he is sanctifying us by the grace of his Holy Spirit and disciplining us when we turn away from his word.

Why? Because he loves us. And so God bless you. Great explanation of God's discipline.

Thanks for that, Adriel. This is Core Christianity. We have a new Bible study we want to tell you about today.

This is an excellent one. It actually focuses on the parables of Jesus. Yeah, I have a copy right here. It's a 10-week Bible study. It really is just a wonderful resource for you to go through on your own or maybe with a group of people. It's actually written by a friend of mine who's a pastor, Chuck Tedrick, and just a dear brother in the Lord. I know that he put a lot of work into this and that this is for the Church to edify you, to encourage you, to build you up. And so if you've ever had any questions about the parables of Jesus, why Jesus taught in parables, and the significance of the parables, I want to make sure that you get a hold of this resource. You can get it over at CoreChristianity.com for a donation of $20 or more. By the way, these are also available in bulk quantities. Be great to consider as you plan for maybe a fall Bible study, a small group, a Sunday school class. Especially if you're in leadership, you might want to check this out. Again, you can find that at CoreChristianity.com forward slash offers.

Look for the parables of King Jesus. Well, we do receive voicemails here at Core Christianity. You can call us anytime, 24 hours a day, and leave your voicemail. Here's the number. It's 833-THE-CORE. That's 1-833-843-2673. Feel free to call us over the weekend.

And we had a voicemail come in from one of our listeners named Danny. My question is concerning. The Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart. I wrestle with this because it makes me question, what about free will?

I really appreciate your show and thank you so much. Well, thank you for that question. Yeah, this is one where, you know, a lot of people wonder what's going on here. We're thinking about the book of Exodus beginning in chapter 4. That's the first time where you have this idea of Pharaoh's heart being hardened.

It's actually what God tells Moses, you know, early on there as he's preparing him for ministry. Verse 21 of Exodus chapter 4, the Lord said to Moses, When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power, but I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. And then for the next 10 chapters, essentially, you have this sort of back and forth where it says that Pharaoh's heart was hardened or that God hardened Pharaoh's heart. And then there's even a few occasions there where we're told that Pharaoh hardened his own heart. And so there seems to be this interplay there in the text, God hardening, Pharaoh's heart being hardened, Pharaoh hardening his own heart. But it seems, I mean, just going off of Exodus 4 through 14, it seems like God is the one who is taking initiative here.

And it's really important. So we asked the question, well, why would God do that? Why would God harden Pharaoh's heart? And I think there's a clue given to us in chapter 9, so sort of right in the middle of everything in verse 16, where we read, But for this purpose I have raised you up to show you my power so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth. In other words, Pharaoh is being used by God as an instrument. And through Pharaoh and even through Pharaoh's rejection of the word of God, God is making his name known throughout the whole world for the good of the nations, for the hope of the whole world through Israel at that time. And of course, the best, I would say, way to interpret the scriptures is to let the scriptures interpret themselves. And so do we have any indication anywhere else in the Bible that this is the right track? Yes, God was hardening Pharaoh's heart, but that it was for a purpose, his own sovereign purpose.

And in fact, we do. When we turn to the New Testament, when we go to the book of Romans, in Romans chapter 9 specifically, the apostle Paul brings up these very passages. In fact, Romans chapter 9 brings up Exodus chapter 9, verse 16. And speaking about God's sovereign choice, God's sovereign working in the world, he says, Paul says in verse 14 of Romans chapter 9, What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? You see, the apostle Paul is anticipating what we're going to think when we hear about God hardening Pharaoh's heart. We think, well, gosh, is that not just for God to do?

Is that not fair? And so he asks the question, is there injustice on God's part? And he says, by no means. For God says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy. And then he quotes the text that I was referring to in Exodus.

The scripture says to Pharaoh, For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. Now you will say to me then, Paul says.

He's anticipating the response that you might have. Why does God still find fault? Who can resist his will? In other words, if that's the case, how can God find fault with anybody? Who can resist the will of God? And listen to how Paul responds here. Verse 20, Who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, Why have you made me like this?

Has the potter no right over the clay to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction in order to make known the riches of his glory for the vessels of mercy whom he has prepared beforehand for glory, even us, whom he has called not from Jews only, but also from the Gentiles? In other words, God's purpose, God's sovereign purpose is not God being cruel, and it's certainly not God being unfair. All of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. What God is doing here is he's displaying his longsuffering, his patience, his grace, his mercy, so that you might call upon his name and receive that grace and mercy.

That's, I think, what we're getting with Pharaoh there in the Exodus narrative, and that's how Paul interprets it in Romans chapter 9. Thank you for your question. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. We'd love to hear from you if you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life or maybe some doubts about the faith.

We'd love to hear from you as well. Here's the phone number. It's 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. Let's go to Laurie calling in from Newport, Arkansas. Laurie, what's your question for Pastor Adriel? Revelation 12 verses 13 to 17.

What is this referring to? Yeah, Revelation chapter 12. You know, it's one of those chapters.

It's a great text to preach around Christmastime, I think. Actually, you know, the heading, at least in my Bible, the ESV, the woman and the dragon, I think this is referring to ultimately the coming of Jesus Christ there, especially at the beginning of the passage, the persecution that he experienced, this sort of war that's taking place. So I want to just give some of the context starting in the beginning of chapter 12, and then we'll go to the verses you mentioned. We read in chapter 12, verse 1, A great sign appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars, and she was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains, and the agony of giving birth. And another sign appeared in heaven, behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his head seven diadems. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth, and the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it.

The dragon there is the evil one. The woman, some people have said, well, this is a reference to the Virgin Mary, or maybe even the people of God, the church. The child is Christ, the Messiah. She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God. This is a picture of, essentially, the redemptive work of Jesus' birth, now here being caught up to God, his ascension, and caught up to God in his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.

A lot there. Well, then you go down to verse 14, and we read, but the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, times, and half a time. The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman to sweep her away with the flood, but the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth. Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, I think the rest of her offspring, I mean, that's us, the children of the true and the living God, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. So I think what this is referring to, sister, is the persecution the Church experiences.

Here, again, as I mentioned, some view the woman as the Church, the people of the true and the living God, and the fact that the evil one is making war against the children of the true and the living God. And this is, of course, what we've experienced since the ascension of Christ, since he was caught up to heaven. He's reigning right now in the midst of his enemies, but we, the people of God, experience tribulation. As Jesus said in John chapter 16, in this world you will have tribulation, but take heart, I have overcome the world. And so that's a very brief summary of what's happening there in Revelation chapter 12. Boy, that was a whirlwind tour through that chapter. Thank you for that, Adriel.

Appreciate that. You've preached through Revelation before, so you're very familiar with that book. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. We're going to be recording a second program today after our live program ends, so if you'd like to ask a question to Adriel, you still have about 35 minutes or so you can call in, and you can always email us as well at questions at corechristianity.com. Well, let's mention one more time we have this great Bible study that we're offering today.

It's called The Parables of King Jesus. It's our latest Bible study, and you can get that by going to our website corechristianity.com forward slash offers. Let's go to Diane in Rapid City, South Dakota. Diane, what's your question for Pastor Adriel? Yes, hello.

Thank you so much. My question is, when King David had an adulterous affair with Bathsheba, and then he killed or murdered, had Uriah murdered, did the Holy Spirit leave King David, and then was he able to get the Holy Spirit back? And does that happen to people, and can we retrieve the Holy Spirit should that happen? Diane, I love this question. You know, I remember years ago asking a similar question. For me at the time, it was the fear that, you know, what if you lose this? What if I lose the gift of the Holy Spirit?

And then what happens? You know, you think of King David, you think also of Saul in the Old Testament, and then these people who seem to have had the powerful work of God's Spirit in their lives, and then they sin in grievous ways. I mean, in the case of Saul, totally abandoning the faith, if you will. I do believe, I know, that David's sin grieved the Holy Spirit. In 2 Samuel 11, in verse 27, we read, And when the morning was over, David sent and brought Bathsheba to his house.

She became his wife, bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord. And this is a serious sin. You know, in the time of the Old Testament, David's sin actually warranted capital punishment. He receives grace from God. And I think one of the best texts for us to go to in thinking about this, and then in thinking about his relationship to the Holy Spirit, the God Spirit in his life, at that time is David's prayer of repentance, Diane, in Psalm 51. And this is the prayer that he offered up when Nathan the prophet had gone to him and confronted him about his sin. And one of the things that David says in that prayer in Psalm 51, verse 8, he says, Let me hear joy and gladness. Let the bones that you have broken rejoice. And we talked about the discipline of the Lord earlier on the broadcast.

David is experiencing that discipline. He has no joy. He has no gladness because of his sin.

He says, God, you're breaking my bones. He says, hide your face from my sins and blot out my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit. And so he's praying, God, give me your Holy Spirit.

Don't take your Holy Spirit away from me because of my sin. Now, what we have to understand, Diane, is that David lived at a different point in redemptive history than we do. David lived prior to Pentecost, prior to the sealing of the Holy Spirit, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and at that time in redemptive history, the Spirit of God would come upon people for works, you know, for the fulfillment of their offices, David in particular, right, in the office of a king, the Spirit of God working in and through him to prophesy, to do mighty things. But we have a unique relationship to the Holy Spirit today as Christians in Christ under the new covenant that was different from what David had.

In fact, it seems like he's praying for it. You know, create in me that clean heart. Give me a new heart. This is the promise of the new covenant. You know, give me the Holy Spirit. And so what I would say to you, Diane, is we as believers, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12, I believe it's verse 13, by one Spirit we have all been baptized into one body.

We were all made to drink of one Spirit. If you're a Christian, you have the Holy Spirit. You've been baptized in the Spirit.

You've been sealed with the Holy Spirit. And yet, you can still grieve the Holy Spirit by your sin. And that doesn't mean that you lose your quote-unquote baptism of the Holy Spirit, that the Spirit of God stops living inside of you as a temple for the Holy Spirit. But it does mean that we quench the Spirit.

We grieve the Spirit. We have a sense of the absence, if you will, of the Spirit in our lives, not because God has abandoned us, but because our sin blinds us and hardens us. So I don't think we go back and forth from having the Spirit to not having the Spirit to having the Spirit to not having the Spirit. We have the Spirit as Christians, but we can be more or less filled with the Spirit. And you're commanded, I'm commanded, to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Paul said to the Ephesians, Do not get drunk with wine, which is debauchery, but be filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking to each other, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. And so if you're concerned, Diane, that the Holy Spirit has abandoned you, maybe I just would say through Jesus Christ, by faith in Him, you have been sealed with the Spirit. And now we are called as Christians to walk in the Spirit, to be filled with the Spirit through the word of Christ, through asking God, God, fill me with your Spirit. Forgive my sins. Help me to walk in a manner that is pleasing to you, full of love and grace. God bless. Thanks for listening to CORE Christianity. To request your copy of today's special offer, visit us at corechristianity.com and click on offers in the menu bar or call us at 1-833-843-2673. That's 833, the CORE. When you contact us, please let us know how you've been encouraged by this program and be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's word together.