When God heard the cries of the oppressed Israelites in Egypt, He raised up Moses to deliver His message “let My people go” to Pharaoh, the Egyptian ruler (Exodus 3:7-10). Pharaoh’s stubborn refusal to submit to Moses’ demands brought a series of divine plagues upon Egypt, finally resulting in the destruction of Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea (moments after Moses and the Israelites had miraculously crossed over on dry land).

Many great Bible teachers have taught that God preemptively hardened Pharaoh’s heart, as if God’s sovereign ability to overrule the will of man (and the glory He would receive through the Exodus) is the only story here. But such an emphasis hides a key truth about the hardness of Pharaoh’s heart — a truth which should serve as a warning to any of us who have allowed our hearts to become hard toward the cries of the children who are oppressed today by abortion.

It is true that before any of the plagues occurred, God told Moses that Pharaoh’s heart would be hardened by divine action:

“I will harden Pharaoh’s heart and multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 7:3)

But when Pharoah hardened his heart after each of the first five plagues, his hardness of heart was not (yet) attributed to God:

“But Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go.” (Exodus 8:32)

The fact that Pharaoh initially hardened his own heart (in a way which was not caused by God) is emphasized by the way scriptures change the description of the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart after the sixth plague:

“But the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh; and he did not heed them, just as the LORD had spoken to Moses.” (Exodus 9:12)

So after Pharaoh continually hardened his heart, God responded by choosing to make Pharaoh’s heart more hard — and God chose to use Pharaoh’s hard heart for His own glory, as Paul explained to the Romans:

“For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, ‘For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.” (Romans 9:17)

Patterns like this are seen throughout scripture: when we refuse to respond to the grace God has given us (the grace which calls us to obey God, Titus 2:11-12), God gives us over to the hardness of heart which we have chosen:

“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind…” (Romans 1:28)

But some Bible teachers I highly respect (like John Piper) point to Romans 9:18 as proof that God unconditionally hardened Pharaoh:

“Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.” (Romans 9:18)

Does this New Testament teaching nullify the Old Testament scriptures quoted above which show that Pharaoh hardened his own heart first, before God sovereignly hardened his heart? Does the Bible really teach us that God shows partiality, having mercy on His favorites while choosing to harden others without cause? Of course not: as explained above, Romans 1 lays an essential foundation (a foundation upon which Romans 9 rests), focusing on how and why God chooses to give people (those who reject Him) over to their own debased minds. This truth is expanded upon in Romans 2, in a way which clearly refutes the false doctrine that God unconditionally hardened Pharaoh’s heart:

“But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each one according to his deeds: eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness–indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God.” (Romans 2:5-11)

The scriptural warnings about the dangers of hardening our hearts clearly extend not only to heathen leaders like Pharaoh, but to those who minister in the name of God:

“Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.” (Hebrews 4:7)

If we choose to ignore His voice, our hard hearts lead us to a fate similar to Pharaoh:

“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.” (Hebrews 6:4-6)

When we hear God’s voice calling us to help oppressed people, it is particularly important for us to respond with soft hearts. If we harden our hearts when we hear such cries, we risk the possibility that our hearts can be hardened beyond the point of no return, when we will no longer hear God’s voice — and He will no longer hear ours:

“Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor
Will also cry himself and not be heard.” (Proverbs 21:13)

In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus delivers a clear warning to those who claim to minister in His name, warning them of the severe consequences of ignoring the cries of the “least of these” little ones.

“Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.” (Matthew 25:45)

If today’s pastors harden their hearts, ignoring the cries of the babies who are being sacrificed, will God further harden their hearts, eventually leading them to their own destruction? Tragically, this seems to already be happening, as we witness the recent trend of various pastors and “Christian” leaders deciding to “welcome and affirm” those whose aberrant lifestyles are specifically condemned in Romans 1.

While all of us should seek to hear God’s voice, this should be a particular priority for pastors, whose sermons depend upon receiving fresh insights from God. The fact that so many modern pastors have hardened their hearts against the oppressed little ones is frightening indeed. But in these last days, apostate churches and pastors are to be expected. Just as Pharaoh found, God will be glorified by the final result, even if those who have chosen to harden their hearts will finally glorify God by their destruction.

One way in which we can test the hardness of our hearts is to ask ourselves if we really believe that God wants to use us to end abortion. Many of us, even within the pro-life movement, can find ourselves surrendering to the spiritual stronghold which declares that abortion will never end. But Jesus taught His followers to pray “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). Clearly, if we follow Jesus’ basic prayer instructions, we will pray and work to end abortion in America.

Having a hard heart and hearing God’s voice is a constant struggle for me — a struggle which often becomes a focus of my prayers during our 40 day prayer vigils. If you too struggle with a hard heart, please don’t miss the opportunity during the coming 40 days to allow God to once again transform your heart of stone into a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26). Your own future may depend upon it.

“He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Matthew 11:15)

(Note: For additional reading, it may be useful to consider my detailed description of how our hearts harden in the context of abortion in this post I wrote several years ago about forgiveness after abortion. The part relating to hardness of heart begins in the seventh paragraph.)