God actively involved
- God hardened Pharaoh’s heart (Exodus 4:21; 7:3; 9:12; 10:1, 20, 27; 11:10; 14:4, 8)
- God hardened the Egyptians’ hearts (Exodus 14:17)
- God hardened Sihon’s heart (Deuteronomy 2:30)
- God hardened the hearts of the Canaanites (Joshua 11:20)
- God hardened the people from the fear of God (Isaiah 63:17)
- God hardened the hearts of the Israelites in Isaiah’s time (John 12:40)
- God has mercy on whom He wills and whom He wills He hardens (Romans 9:18)
- God will not harden the hearts of the Israelites against the poor (Deuteronomy 15:7)
No method given
- Pharaoh’s heart was hardened (Exodus 7:13, 14, 22; 8:19; 9:7, 35)
- The disciples’ hearts were hardened (Mark 6:52, 8:17, 16:14)
- Unbelievers’ hearts were hardened (Matthew 19:8, Mark 3:5, 10:5, Romans 2:5)
People did it to themselves
- Pharaoh hardened his heart (Exodus 8:15, 32; 9:34)
- Israelites, Pharaoh, and Egyptians hardened their hearts (1 Samuel 6:6)
- The Israelites hardened their hearts in Exodus 17 (Psalm 95:8; Hebrews 3:8, 15; 4:7)
- King Zedekiah hardened his heart (2 Chronicles 36:13)
- A man who hardens his heart falls into calamity (Proverbs 28:14)
- Hardened by the deceitfulness of sin (Hebrews 3:13)
Questions
- How did God harden hearts?
- How did God use foreign armies and kings (see Daniel 10:1 – 14)?
- If God hardens a heart, does that person lose the ability to choose?
- If God hardens a heart, is that person accountable?
- How can all the passages above be harmonized?