Did God truly harden Pharaoh's heart, or did Pharaoh harden it himself?
Pharaoh hardened his own heart. He repeatedly chose wrongly when God placed him on the spot with the demand to let Israel go, and that pattern hardened him. Scripture says God did it because God sovereignly orchestrated the occasions, but God did not force his heart; the choice remained Pharaoh's.
Les explains that Pharaoh's hardening was the result of a settled pattern of choices. Because he had chosen wrong, lived with it, and then faced the next demand, he would decide wrong again; in the process he became hardened. All God really did was put him on the spot each time He demanded that Israel be released, and Pharaoh hardened his own heart, even though Scripture says God did it. Les applies this same principle to mankind as a whole: when man's heart is hardened, it is not that God fries it; man does it to himself, but it happens under God's sovereign volition. God is sovereign and in total control, yet the exercise of free will remains ours. Choosing to put God out of their thinking and think only in the human realm results in a darkened, foolish heart as a response of God to their choosing of their will.
More Questions
What does it mean when the Bible says God hardened Pharaoh's heart?
In Pharaoh's case, God did not directly harden his heart; God put him on the spot with the demand to let Israel go, and every time Pharaoh hardened his own heart—though Scripture says that God did it.
Why did Pharaoh's heart become hard?
Pharaoh's heart got hardened because he had made a choice and lived with it; when the next decision came, he chose wrong again, and that repeated choice hardened him in the process.