Who Hardened Pharaoh's Heart?

"But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in Egypt, he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites. And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.” Exodus 7:3-5

Who Hardened Pharaoh's Heart?
By Rev. William Dohle

My wife is a mystery-a-holic.  She loves them!  She reads them and watches them.  She especially likes the mysteries she can't figure out!  The ones where who did what to whom is a mystery to the very end.

Lately the mysteries we've watched have been all televised mysteries:  Sherlock, Elementary, Castle, and Psyche have been among our favorites.

I am not a big fan of mysteries...but living with a big fan, it has worn off on me.

Today's reading brings about one such mystery from the book of Exodus.  A mystery that has no answer...or rather has two answers.  The question:

Who Hardened Pharaoh's heart?

It seems an easy mystery at first glance.  Who hardened Pharaoh's heart?  Pharaoh did!  Pharaoh has free-will, right?  He could change his mind at any time.  He has freedom of choice.  Pharaoh hardened Pharaoh's heart.

And at first glance at least that seems to be true.

We read:

But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said. (Ex. 8:15)
But this time also Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let the people go.(Ex. 8:32)
When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder had stopped, he sinned again: He and his officials hardened their hearts.(Ex. 9:34)

Pretty straight forward, right?  Pharaoh hardened his own heart against the Lord.  That was easy... right??

Not quite.  Because the same Bible, just a few verses later, says...

But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said to Moses. (Ex. 9:12)
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these signs of mine among them...(Ex. 10:1)
But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go.(Ex. 10:20)
But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was not willing to let them go.(Ex. 10:27)
Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go out of his country.(Ex. 11:10)
The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly.(Ex. 14:8)

If we were to count sheer number of references and measure the question that way it would seem that the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart!  The Lord did it...not Pharaoh.

Of course we, western, 21st century Christians, don't like that answer.  We'd rather have Pharaoh responsible for what he did.  After all, he had free will, right?  He had the freedom to choose whether to accept God or not.  God couldn't have been frustrating his efforts... could he have?

But on the same token...if God did it...then what do we make of the references that say that Pharaoh hardened his OWN heart?  Do we ignore them or dismiss them?  Didn't Pharaoh have the ability to choose?

This mystery, Who hardened Pharaoh's heart, will never be answered.  It is unsolvable.  Some might point to it as one of the many contradictions of the Bible...but I don't look at it that way.  I see it as a mystery.  A mystery behind our motivations.

What makes someone do something...has always been a question we have asked.  As we ponder why we ask:  Why did the Nazis kill millions of people, walking them to the gas chambers?  Why did the terrorists crash into the World Trade Center?  Why did that boy walk into Sandy Hook Elementary School and kill innocent children?

Confronting why questions brings us to the question of nurture vs. nature.  Was it how they were brought up?  Was it how they were raised?  Did they have any choice in the matter?  Or did the Lord harden their hearts by events beyond their control, moving them in position to act in this way?  Who's truly responsible for our actions?

The Bible points to sin and to death...but tells another story.  Even when God hardens the hearts of the most ruthless of leaders, redemption is still close at hand.   Even when the motivations are unsearchable and unknowable, God still cares for us.  And God will rescue and carry us through, even the hardest of situations.  Why?  Because He loves us!

I wish I knew, God, all the whys in this world, but I trust in you.  I trust that you will redeem me and rescue me even in my confusion and I thank you for your presence.  Amen.