The God Who Hardens Hearts

"Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials, that I may perform these miraculous signs of Mine among them, and that you may tell your children and grandchildren how severely I dealt with the Egyptians when I performed miraculous signs among them, so that all of you may know that I am the Lord.”

~Exodus 10:2

God's power to remove a heart of stone and replace it with a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26) is glorious and worthy of all praise however, equally glorious is God's ability to harden a person's heart when it chooses to defy and resist towards God. As distressing and troubling as it may be for us when people around us harden their hearts to the gospel, we may take great comfort in the fact that God can harden hearts so that through their resistance, He can display His marvellous works of judgement and chastisement to the world.

Consider how such a text gives us peace and comfort in various trials and tribulations:

1) Moses was told at the very start that Pharaoh would not listen to any of his words, and yet Moses was told to go and speak. Do we labour daily to evangelise that hardened skeptic friend or parent? Be comforted that through their stubbornness, God will both sanctify you, and show them the vanity of all that they put their hope in, thus glorifying His name and giving you joy in Him.

2) Is there a weary Christian pilgrim suffering hatred or even persecution from those in authority? Be comforted that that hardened heart is in the hands of the Almighty and that He intends to show the world His hand of Providence over you, the work of the Spirit in you, and the power of the Gospel through you. Hardened authorities are God's canvas for His signs and wonders to the world.

Praise be to the Almighty One whose power is displayed not only in His ability to soften hard hearts but also in His absolute control over the hearts of the wicked to do His sovereign will. Hallelujah!