No — God is not unfair; Pharaoh hardened his own heart through repeated rebellion, and God's hardening was the just consequence of Pharaoh's choices.
When Moses and Aaron confronted Pharaoh, God gave him a choice, and Pharaoh kept saying no. Les Feldick explains that every refusal moved Pharaoh further into a hardened position. Scripture says God hardened Pharaoh, but that hardening was God putting him on the spot, not overriding his will.
Exodus 9:12 — This verse records the Lord hardening Pharaoh's heart, which is the event the question is about.
Romans 9:18 — Paul directly states both sides of God's sovereign dealing: He shows mercy on whom He will, and He hardens whom He will.
Romans 9:19-21 — Paul raises the fairness objection and answers it through the potter and clay, showing that the creature cannot charge the Creator with injustice.
The event itself is recorded in Exodus 9:12: "And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had spoken unto Moses." Romans 9:18 repeats the principle: "Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth." Paul immediately puts the fairness objection on the table: "Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?" The Scripture answers not by appealing to human merit, but by pointing to the Creator-creature relationship: "Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?" It then uses the potter's right over the clay to show God's authority (Romans 9:20-21). The same judicial pattern appears in Romans 1. Those who knew God did not glorify Him, became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Then God gave them over to a reprobate mind to do things that are not fitting (Romans 1:21,28).
Les directly rejects the idea that God unfairly forced Pharaoh to rebel. He says, "It wasn't that God just zoomed in on his heart like a laser beam, and fried it." Instead, God put Pharaoh on the spot through Moses and Aaron. Pharaoh had a choice, and he kept choosing not to let Israel go. With every wrong choice he became more hardened. As Les puts it, "all God really does is puts him on the spot." Les also explains the word "hardeneth" by saying it is usually translated "heavy". "The more Pharaoh tried to oppose God, the more the weight of God's wrath weighed down on the man." He grounds the whole matter in human nature: "We are not sinners because we sin... We sin because we are sinners, and we are sinners because we are born of Adam." When God put Pharaoh on the spot, "Pharaoh bristled up and said, I'll not let those people go. See, and so he hardened really his own heart." For humanity as a whole, Les says "Man does it to himself, but it's under the sovereign volition of God." He applies the same pattern to Romans 1, where God gave people over to a reprobate mind after they chose vanity. He also answers the fairness accusation by noting that God had dealt with the whole human race for 2,000 years; they ignored Him and rebelled, and in His foreknowledge another long period would not have changed them.
Les says no. When God began dealing with Pharaoh through Moses and Aaron, He was giving Pharaoh a choice: let Israel go, or don't let them go. Pharaoh chose not to let them go. After the first plague he thought about it, but when the next demand came, he said no again and was in a more hardened position. Les says it was not God zooming in on his heart and frying it; Pharaoh hardened his own heart through his sustained choices.
Paul anticipates the exact objection: "Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?" Les understands the answer in light of Pharaoh's own volition. Pharaoh had no right to reply against God because he, of his own volition, rejected God's offer to take Israel out of Egypt. The potter and clay image in Romans 9:20-21 shows that the creature cannot demand an answer from the Creator. The hardening was not God making an innocent man evil; it was a judicial response to repeated rebellion.
Les expands the principle to all of humanity: "When we speak of man's heart being hardened, it isn't that God fries it. Man does it to himself, but it's under the sovereign volition of God." He connects it to Romans 1, where those who became vain had their foolish hearts darkened, and God gave them over to a reprobate mind. Les also answers the charge that God was not fair to those who came before Israel: God had been dealing with the whole human race for 2,000 years. They rebelled, ignored what He expected, and in God's foreknowledge giving them more time would not have produced a different result.
God vs. Satan's Magicians: Why Aaron's Rod Swallowed Theirs
why he calls it a secret or a mystery. He said, behold, I show you a secret. Jesus never mentioned this. The Old Testament never mentioned it, but Paul does, and so he calls it a secret. We shall not all sleep or die physically, but we shall all be changed. Now the reason has to be, of course, we can't go to glory in this old body.
God Gives Pharaoh a Choice
Les explains that God put Pharaoh on the spot and gave him a real choice. Pharaoh chose not to let Israel go, and each refusal moved him to a more hardened position.
Pharaoh Hardens His Own Heart
Les shows that the hardening came because Pharaoh made wrong choices and lived with them. Although Scripture says God did it, God's part was only to put Pharaoh on the spot; Pharaoh chose.
Judicial Hardening Pattern
Les applies the same pattern to all mankind: every time Pharaoh said no, God judicially put him on a tougher spot, and God gives people over to a reprobate mind when they choose what is not fitting.
The Meaning of Hardeneth
Les notes that the word translated 'hardeneth' means 'heavy.' The more Pharaoh tried to oppose God, the more the weight of God's wrath pressed down on him.
Sinners by Birth, Choosers by Will
Les says we are not sinners because we sin; we sin because we are born of Adam. In Pharaoh's case, God put him on the spot, Pharaoh bristled, and so he really hardened his own heart.
No Reply Against the Creator
Les reads Paul's potter question as meaning Pharaoh had no right to demand an explanation because he of his own volition rejected God's offer to let Israel go.
God's Fairness to Humanity
Les answers the charge that God wasn't fair by pointing out that God had dealt with the whole human race for 2,000 years. They rebelled, and in His foreknowledge more time would not change them.
Exodus 9:12: And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had spoken unto Moses.
This is the record of the event that raises the fairness question.
Romans 9:18: Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
Paul states the principle of God's sovereign mercy and hardening.
Romans 9:19: Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
This is the objection Paul puts in the reader's mouth about God's fairness.
Romans 9:20: Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
Paul reminds the questioner that the creature has no standing to accuse the Creator.
Romans 9:21: Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
The potter and clay image shows God's right to do what He wills with His creation.
Romans 1:21: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
This shows the pattern of heart-darkening that follows mankind's willful rejection of God.
Romans 1:28: And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
This is the judicial giving over that Les sees as parallel to Pharaoh's hardening.
The Bible says yes. Exodus 9:12 says the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and Romans 9:18 says God hardens whom He will. Les clarifies that this hardening was God's judicial response to Pharaoh's own repeated refusals. God put Pharaoh on the spot; Pharaoh bristled and said no, and through that process his heart became hardened.
In Romans 9, Paul connects Pharaoh to God's sovereign purpose and says God shows mercy as He chooses. Les says Pharaoh still acted from his own will, repeatedly saying no to releasing Israel. Pharaoh could not claim that God made him what he was, because he had rejected God's offer by his own volition.
Les answers that man chooses freely. Pharaoh said no on his own; God's hardening followed. Romans 9 also reminds the questioner that the creature cannot reply against the Creator. The hardening is not God overriding a willing heart, but the just consequence of a heart that has already chosen rebellion.
Watch the Teaching: God vs. Satan's Magicians: Why Aaron's Rod Swallowed Theirs