The difficulty here is If God was responsible for the hardening of the heart of Pharaoh,why was Pharaoh blamed for his stubbornness,since he would have done nothing against the all powerful God?.
God is not a tyrant leader,He gives everyone the chance to repent and be reconciled to him.He says in Ezekiel that 18.23' Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live? Therefore God took no pleasure in the death of pharaoh. God will always give ample time for sinners to repent.
In Exodus 5.1-2 the word says:
'And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.
And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go'
It is quite clear from the above passage that Pharaoh himself had decided to harden his own heart.God
allows us to exercise our free will,He says in Genesis 6.3' And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
What God did was to give up on him seeing that Pharaoh had already made up his mind to remain as a rebel.God refused to approach him further for the release of the children of Israel.He allowed him to continue in his rage and hardness.This is in line with what Paul also says in Roman 1.26-28
26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet.
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient.
Since Pharaoh refused to retain God on his mind,since he refused to respect and serve him,God gave up on him.And whenever it seems as if God had given upon a person,the person will be doing certain things that are unimaginable to the natural mind.It is a good thing when we still have people who preach the word of life to us,who encourage us to repent,be converted and be closer to God.Ours is to yield to the voices of God through his servants so that HE wont give up on us just as HE did to pharaoh.
Written by Femi Obadun.
Weldon man of God for this powerful words here sir. The fact is that when a man is working contrary to the will of God He will them up to be delivered to their enemies.1king 22 vs 20-22 And the Lord said, who shall persuade Ahab,that he may go up and fall at Ramoth Gilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner. 21.And their came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord and said, i will persuade him. 22.And the Lord said unto him, where with? And he said, i will go forth, and i will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so. So was the Lord put lying spirit into the mouth of 400-prophets of king Ahab so as to deliver him up to his enemies since he has gone contrary to every comnandment of the Lord. When the way of man is not pleasing God and the person refuse to work according to the purpose and the plan of God for his life things will be working against him for him to be destroy,God will make everything around him to work against the person, it happens in the life of pharaohs, God harden his heart so that he would perish. I pray the grace to do his will to the end may the Lord bestow upon us in Jesus name. Evangelist Haruna M. Adekunle hmadekunle1930@gmail.com
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