The hardening of Pharaoh’s heart in the ten plagues against Egypt is a very interesting study in the intersection between God’s sovereignty, God’s will, and also man’s responsibility and man’s sin. We are told that God turns the king’s heart whithersoever he will, and this is very clear with Pharaoh. “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.” (Prov. 21:1) Who is responsible for the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart – God, Pharaoh, or just the general disposition of stubborn men and the unregenerate in this world? The answer is “Yes”. All three are true.

God is sovereign over the hearts of men, and the king’s heart is in God’s hand (Prov. 21:1). It was according to God’s will to allow Pharaoh to follow his natural course of rigid, illogical, stubbornness to continue to refuse to make the best economic and political decision to just cut his losses and let the Israelites go. Pharaoh could have never refused this command to let Israel go unless the Lord allowed him to. If God wanted his people gone at the first request, he could have struck Pharaoh dead if he tried to refuse (like he did with Herod in Acts 12 and how the Lord struck many people dead for one sin), or he could have sent Pharaoh out to eat grass like an animal for seven years like he did with Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 4). God’s interactions with Pharaoh affirm the same conclusion Nebuchadnezzar eventually reached after the Lord humbled him – that God is sovereign even over the kings of this earth and no one can overrule his will. “And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?” (Dan. 4:35) Pharaoh also shows what he said a few verses later that “those that walk in pride he is able to abase.” (Dan. 4:37) Nebuchadnezzar was abased from his pride immediately by being sent out to act like an animal. Pharaoh was abased from his pride by watching his entire country, economy, agriculture, military, and his firstborn son all be destroyed before him over a period of time. Both an immediate humbling of Nebuchadnezzar and God allowing the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart over time and multiple plagues to destroy Egypt were both according to his own will.

Pharaoh hardened his own heart (as we will see below), but the Lord was sovereignly in control over his heart because he could have humbled his heart at any time. However, the Lord allowed Pharaoh to continue in the normal course of a wicked, unregenerate man who fancied himself a deity to continue to get more cut to the heart, more mad, more rigid, and more stubborn with each progressive plague that was forcing him to do what he didn’t want to do, which was let the Israelites go. Any of us would get more and more and more rigid when we are asked ten times to do something we refused to do. In our nature, we progressively get more stubborn with each request that we deny. At any given time, after any of the plagues, the Lord could have overruled Pharaoh’s natural stubbornness and hard heart, and let his people go, but he allowed Pharaoh to follow the normal course of his stubbornness to accomplish God’s will to totally destroy Egypt that had persecuted and afflicted God’s people for hundreds of years.

However, while this all happened according to God’s will and Pharaoh’s hard heart was directed by the will of God, Pharaoh was still held accountable for his sin of hardening his heart. “And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants.” (Exod. 9:34) God did not cause Pharaoh to sin, but he allowed Pharaoh to follow the normal course of increased stubbornness that any person would follow instead of breaking down Pharaoh to let the Israelites go at the first request, or any subsequent request. The Lord asked Pharaoh before the eighth plague, “how long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me?” (10:3). This again shows that God is allowing Pharaoh to continue to be pridefully stubborn to further destroy Egypt, when God could have humbled Pharaoh at any time. However, God holds Pharaoh accountable for his refusal to humble himself, even though God was suffering him to continue to walk in pride. To summarize, God is sovereign over Pharaoh’s heart, his heart was in God’s hand to turn whithersoever he will, and circumstances played out exactly according to God’s will to destroy Egypt, but Pharaoh was still held fully accountable for his own sin of hardening his own heart. We see from Rom. 9:17-18, that God raised up Pharaoh for a purpose to show his power and to manifest his sovereignty in the hardening and softening of the heart of the most powerful man on earth and to show who truly rules in the kingdoms of men. If God is sovereign over Pharaoh’s heart, he is also sovereign over our hearts and our hearts are in his hand to turn whithersoever he will as well.

God tells Moses before he even arrives in Egypt that the Lord would harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he would not let the Israelites go (Exod. 4:21 & 7:3). Therefore, it was according to God’s will beforehand to allow Pharaoh to harden his heart to follow a path that would destroy Egypt. For what purposes did God specifically state that he would harden Pharaoh’s heart?

A) To totally destroy the nation of Egypt’s economic, agricultural, and military might because of their persecution of God’s people.  

  • “that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine armies, and my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments.” (7:4)
  • “that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.” (11:9)
  • This should be one more example to remind us that it does not turn out well for the enemies of God’s people who persecute them. God will destroy the enemies of God who persecute God’s people, just as is shown in God’s destruction of Satan, the beast, the false prophet, and the Babylonian whore in Revelation who persecuted God’s people. If you afflict God’s people, the Lord will totally destroy you, and that’s what God did to Egypt through allowing Pharaoh to continue to harden his own heart.

B) To prove to the Egyptians that Jehovah is the one true and living God

  • “the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them.” (7:5)
  • “For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth.” (9:14)
  • “4) And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD. And they did so. 17) And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. 18) And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. (14:4,17-18)

C) To execute judgment upon the Egyptian false gods with ten plagues directly targeting specific Egyptian false gods to show that Jehovah is the only true God

  • “For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.” (12:12)

D) To show God’s power to all the earth (particularly to the Canaanites who were afraid of the Israelites after this) that the name of Jehovah God would be declared and revered throughout all the earth

  • “and in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.” (9:16)

E) To show God’s power to harden and show mercy to whoever he sees fit, according to his sovereignty and according to his will 

  • “For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. 18) Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.” (Rom. 9:17-18)

God affirmed that he would harden Pharaoh’s heart for his own purposes to show his power. However, what is the language used in the narrative regarding the cause of Pharaoh’s hard heart?

  • “the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart” – 6 times – initial request (7:4) and plagues six (9:12), eight (10:20), nine (10:27), and ten (11:10), and then the final time where he decided to pursue after them again (14:4,8)
    • In this language, God takes firsthand active responsibility for the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart. The hearts of Pharaoh’s servants were hardened by the Lord as well (10:1, 9:34), so the Lord ensured he had no one giving him common sense advice to hearken to the request to just let the Israelites go. Although even the servants were so overcome with the eighth plague of locusts, they later told Pharaoh to just let them go (10:7)
    • It is worth noting that the Lord takes personal credit for the initial request, as well as 4 of the last 5 (including all of the last 3). This shows that the farther this went on, the Lord is purposefully making him more and more rigid, more and more stubborn, to fully cripple the enemy of God’s people, Egypt.
  • “he hardened his heart” – 3 times –plagues two (8:15), four (8:32), and seven (9:34)
    • This language indicates that Pharaoh made the choice himself to harden his own heart. It is confirmed it was his own sin to do this (9:34), even though God suffered him to harden his own heart.
    • All of these were circumstances where there was a current grievous affliction (frogs, flies, and hail) that he wanted taken away, and he promised to let the people go if that was removed. Then, when it was removed, he changed his mind, hardened his own heart, and did not keep his word to let them go.
  • “was hardened” – 3 times – plagues one (7:22), three (8:19), five (9:7)
    • This language indicates that Pharaoh’s heart was just “generally hardened”, not attributed to either the Lord or Pharaoh directly.
    • (Note – it also says “was hardened” in plague seven (9:35), but since that was already attributed to Pharaoh in 9:34, this one was omitted)
  • Other notable numbers of the plagues:
    • We are reminded 6 of 11 times (initial, and plagues 1, 2, 3, 6, 7) that Pharaoh’s heart was hardened and he did not let them go “as the Lord had said”, showing the Lord is fully in control of this situation and working everything according to his will, as he had already told Moses beforehand that it would happen this way.
    • Of the 10 plagues, 5 times (plagues 2, 4, 7, 8, 9) Pharaoh tells Moses he will let the Israelites go, and then changes his mind, and his heart is hardened and doesn’t let them go. (3 of those are attributed to Pharaoh hardening his own heart, and 2 of those we are told the Lord hardened his heart when he changed his mind)

In the middle of the grievous eighth plague of locusts, Pharaoh even gives the pretense of confession of sin against God. “Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you. [17] Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and intreat the LORD your God, that he may take away from me this death only.” (10:16-17) However, he proves these words are not sincere as he changes his mind – the Lord actually hardened his heart after this statement (10:20) – and does not actually let Israel go. This proves that wicked men can sometimes say the right words, even if they do not mean them in their heart. Pharaoh is not truly repenting and confessing his sins, but he is just trying to say whatever is necessary to have the locusts removed, to do whatever is necessary to end his suffering. This is similar to the rich man in hell, who is not repenting of his sins, but he just wanted a cool drink of water to end his sufferings of hell’s flame (Luke 16:23-31). Pharaoh is not displaying repentance of sin; he is just trying to say whatever will be most palatable to Moses to remove his suffering and remove the locusts. When the locusts are removed, the Lord hardened his heart again (10:20) – or the Lord allowed Pharaoh to harden his own heart again – to continue further judgment upon Egypt in the last two plagues.

When they finally arrived at the tenth plague – the death of the firstborn – the Lord announced to Moses beforehand that this would be the last one. “And the LORD said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence: when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether.” (11:1) This shows yet again that Pharaoh is not in full control of his own heart; the Lord is suffering his hardening of his heart only up to a certain point, according to his own will. There was no ability for Pharaoh to harden his heart again this final time and prevent the release of Israel on his own. No, the Lord ensured that this would be the final plague to totally cripple Egypt, and Pharaoh could not choose to keep Israel any longer on his own. The Lord was directing his heart to be hardened up to this point, and while I don’t think his heart was necessarily softened, the suffering and pain of the loss of his own son – even for an unregenerate man – was too much for him to continue to endure. Therefore, according to God’s will and God’s word, after the tenth plague and the death of all the firstborn of Egypt, Pharaoh relents and gives approval to let Israel go.

While God caused Pharaoh to let his people go, the Lord comes back and hardens Pharaoh’s heart again (14:4,17) to get him to pursue Israel to the Red Sea that his entire military would be wiped out. This shows so clearly that truly, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.” (Prov. 21:1) God suffered Pharaoh to follow the normal course of a wicked, stubborn man being continually told to do something he didn’t want to do. He allowed Pharaoh to harden his own heart continually, getting more rigid, more stubborn, and more hard with each of the ten plagues that destroyed the economy, agriculture, livestock, and killed many firstborn citizens. Then, the Lord turns his heart to allow Israel to be let go. Then, the Lord comes back and turns his heart yet again and allows Pharaoh’s rigid, hard heart to pursue Israel to totally destroy the entire Egyptian military at the Red Sea.   

Could you imagine hearing – which the Canaanites did which is why they were afraid of the God of the Israelites – about what was happening to the most powerful country in the world from the outside?  Water turned to blood; infestations of frogs, lice, and flies; all their choice cattle and beasts are killed; then, grievous boils on the remaining cattle and the Egyptian people too; hail destroys their crops and then locusts eat anything that is left, leaving the land totally barren; then darkness, the death of the firstborns, and the destruction of their entire military. Egypt was totally destroyed from an economic, agricultural, and military perspective, and even had a good portion of its male population wiped out. God raised up Pharaoh and allowed him to harden his heart repeatedly and chose not to humble him each time to publicly manifest his power to all the Egyptians, to all the Israelites, and to all the world that there is only one true and living God, and his name is Jehovah! Also, considering that Pharaoh is many times a type of the devil and Egypt a type of the world, it shows us that the devil can do nothing else, can do no more than what God allows him to do at the boundaries of his providential hedge. Even though Satan thinks he is in control, he is actually being suffered according to God’s will to arrive at and create his own destruction, just like Pharaoh and Egypt led themselves to their own destruction by God’s will in suffering Pharaoh’s hardness of heart. Let us remember that God will many times give the wicked, give Pharaoh, and give the devil, just like Haman, God gives them just enough rope to hang themselves. Pharaoh’s hard heart led him to his own destruction of his family and his country, and even though he thought he was hardening his own heart, the Lord was working everything after his own will the whole time to deliver his people and to destroy the enemies of God in the process. Praise God for his overruling providence that we see played out in this account of the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart!