God told Moses on three occasions that he would harden the hearts of Pharaoh and his army: once after enlisting him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, a second time upon their release from captivity, and a third time as they camped at the Red Sea.
Consequently, Pharaoh refused to free the Israelites until after the tenth plague, which brought about the deaths of all firstborn Egyptian males. He then mobilized a team of his best soldiers to pursue them into the desert. These men drowned in the Red Sea after God collapsed the parted waters.
God’s comments about hardening hearts raise some interesting questions about his role in these outcomes.
Did God bait Pharaoh into defying him so he could craft a dramatic Israelite exodus narrative that would echo through history? No. God always acts righteously. He never urges anyone to defy him or commit evil acts.
Did God coax Pharaoh into pursuing the fleeing Israelites? No. Pharaoh acted in accordance with his perceived self-interest. The Israelites were slaves, a source of cheap labor. Pharaoh realized that their departure would cripple Egypt’s economy, erode his divine authority, and threaten his reign.
Did God’s will for the Israelites require the firstborn Egyptian males and the pursuing soldiers to die? No. He could have easily resettled the Israelites in the Promised Land without their deaths. He would have been pleased if Pharaoh had released them from captivity before the tenth plague, or if the Egyptian soldiers had returned home after seeing the parted waters of the Red Sea.
Avoidance Options
God gave Pharaoh and his army ample opportunity to avoid these deadly outcomes.
Pharaoh could have spared the firstborn males if he had reflected on the first nine plagues—which likely unfolded over weeks, if not months—recognized God’s obvious concern for the Israelites, and realized that releasing them was his best course of action.
After witnessing the devastation of the tenth plague, Pharaoh could have concluded that pursuing the Israelites into the desert was unwise. He had plenty of time to reconsider his intercept plan while waiting for his chariots and soldiers to assemble.
After watching God part the Red Sea, the Egyptian army could have retreated in awe instead of following the Israelites onto the dry seabed. They had hours to ponder this option while God’s angel and the pillar of fire blocked their advance.
No Manipulation
God’s comments about hardening hearts reflected his perfect understanding of Pharaoh’s mindset, not a coercive plan to manipulate him.
Pharaoh was the richest, most powerful person in Egypt. His subjects considered him the earthly embodiment of a divine being. They worshipped him in temples and at festivals, performing rituals that affirmed his supremacy. He was accustomed to exercising sovereignty over the entire nation.
God foreknew that when Moses petitioned Pharaoh to free the two to three million Israelites under his rule, the exalted leader’s selfish pride and fear of economic loss would prompt him to refuse. God also foreknew that Pharaoh would try to recapture the Israelites after finally releasing them, to save face before his subjects and preserve his theocratic monarchy.
God never hijacked Pharaoh’s mind or emotions to force these outcomes. He merely asked, through Moses, that Pharaoh free the Israelites so they could serve him in their ancestral homeland — admittedly a big ask. Pharaoh’s responses stemmed from his own megalomania and hubris, not divine coercion or mind control.
Free Will
God performed three miracles while commissioning Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.
He spoke to him through a burning bush that was not consumed; turned his shepherd’s staff into a serpent and then back into a staff; made his hand leprous, and then healed it. Moses ultimately responded to these wonders with humble obedience.
God performed twelve miracles before Pharaoh finally agreed to let the Israelites go once and for all: he turned Moses’ staff into a serpent and back again, sent the ten plagues, and parted the Red Sea.
Pharaoh responded to these wonders with prideful dismissiveness, stubborn resistance, conditional bargaining, and insincere confessions before finally capitulating.
Both Moses and Pharaoh witnessed God’s miraculous power and authority over nature multiple times. One responded by softening his heart; the other by hardening his. Yet both acted according to their own free will.
Our Agency
This same pattern has played out ever since Adam and Eve exited the Garden of Eden.
Upon hearing the same message about God’s salvation plan, some people soften their heart and accept his offer of eternal life, while others harden their heart and either ignore it or overtly reject it. As with Moses and Pharaoh, humility and pride account for these divergent responses.
An imperfect but helpful aphorism captures this truth: the same sun that softens butter hardens cement.
All the sun must do to soften butter and harden cement is shine. All God must do to soften or harden hearts is reveal himself and his salvation plan and encourage us to walk in harmony with him.
However, unlike butter and cement, which have no agency in their reaction to the sun’s heat, we possess the free will to respond to God’s revelations and encouragement with either humility or pride.
