Did God take away Pharaoh’s free will when he hardened Pharaoh’s heart?

In short the answer is no (see below).

The best way to answer this question is to review the reason for the contest between God and Pharaoh and to track its development. In so doing we see that the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart occurs in stages with the final stage being that of God securing its hardness. Follow along with me:

1. God had a covenant relationship with Abraham such that he promised Abraham and his descendants (the nation of Israel) to be their God. These slaves of Pharaoh were God’s people.

2. We read in Exodus 3 that God heard the cries of his people and came to their rescue: “Then the LORD said, ‘I have surely seen the affliction of my people….And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt." (Ex. 3:7a, 9-10).

3. The Egyptians did not know the God of Israel as their god or their king, rather they considered that their king, Pharaoh, was a god, the son of the great sun god Aten or Ra (Ex. 7:10). The Egyptians worshipped many gods, Pharaoh being one of the more powerful gods among them. All the land of Egypt and its people were subject to the Pharaoh’s rule. He was the sovereign. Basically the Pharaoh was answerable to no one but all were answerable to him.

4. Enter the God of Israel on the scene to demonstrate who truly has Sovereign power and authority. “The text of Exodus declares that the confrontation between Moses and Pharaoh is actually a cosmic struggle between the true God, YHWH, and the false gods of the Egyptian religion (cf. Ex. 12:12; 15:11; 18:11).”[i] There is no other God but YHWH and all nations are subject to his rule which God is about to prove both to the nation of Israel as well as all other nations.

5, God made a promise to his people. They are in trouble and as their Sovereign LORD he will rescue them through his servant Moses. This presents a major issue for Pharaoh as his power is being challenged for all to see.

We see that efforts for diplomacy begin in Chapter 5:
>As the representative of the God of Israel Moses asks Pharaoh to let my people go that they might worship their God.
>Pharaoh basically says, “Who are you and who is your god? I obey no one. No, my slaves ain’t going nowhere.” (a bit of a paraphrase)
>In response, as with most tyrants, Pharaoh then displays his authority and power by lording it over the Israelites and abusing them even more.
>Hence the contest between these two powers, the Sovereign God of all creation and the earthly god/king of Egypt, is underway.

Notice that God makes it clear to Moses that in the end the people will be set free because of God’s mighty hand and shares (foreshadowing) how in the end He would harden Pharaoh’s heart. In the beginning God does not start by wielding his power brutally like Pharaoh was in the habit of doing. Rather God’s first display of power was non-violent and non-threatening both to the king and to his subjects. When God’s staff (snake) eats the Pharaoh’s magician’s staffs (snakes) it demonstrates clearly, that of the two, who is the most powerful. This initial challenge should have been enough right there and then to prove to Pharaoh that he was not dealing with just any god. But we read in 7:13 that Pharaoh’s heart hardened to God’s display of power. Pharaoh’s authority and power were publicly trumped and it raised his ire and defiance. At any point along the way had Pharaoh complied with God’s request, the plagues would have ceased but we see that each time relief is provided the Pharaoh hardens his own heart. Pharaoh’s digging in of his defiant heels tested God’s authority (kind of like the brat who says “You can’t make me.”) Note that in plagues 1-5 it is stated that Pharaoh’s heart is hardened on its own (vv. 7:13 and 22; 8:15, 19and 32; and 9:7). These plagues just confirm that Pharaoh’s heart was already hard toward God. It is not until the 6th plague (plague of boils) that we read that the LORD actually hardens Pharaoh’s heart. Interestingly by the 7th plague some of the Egyptian’s and official’s hearts are softening. They recognize that the God of Israel is more powerful. In response to the warnings of the forthcoming hail some of the people hurried to bring in their slaves and livestock to protect them from the hail. Pharaoh’s authority and power is crumbling right before his very eyes. All of the sudden even his own officials are questioning his resistance to submit. By the 8th plague (locusts) God asks Pharaoh, “How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me?” In a paraphrase his officials also say to him, “This is getting bad, these people aren’t worth it. Their God is powerful. Shouldn’t we let them go before all of Egypt is ruined?” That’s it!! There is no way Pharaoh is going to give in now because giving in, in his eyes, would be conceding that he was not sovereign and that the God of Israel is the only Sovereign. Also note that whenever Pharaoh asks for mercy promising to do God’s bidding his motive is purely one of self preservation. Pharaoh is deceitful. His promises mean nothing. This is the nature of a rebel no matter how hot the heat gets he/she will not give in even if it means certain ruin and destruction for himself, his kingdom or his family.

Upon reviewing this we see that God did not hardened Pharaoh’s heart from the outset but only in response to his progressive attitude of rebellion and refusal to bend a knee. The lives of God’s people were at stake but unlike Pharaoh, who cares about no one but himself, the God of Israel keeps his promises to care for his people. So given all of these events, it is important to see that God’s ultimate hardening of Pharaoh’s heart was really just a matter of giving Pharaoh over to himself. It is what will happen to all who rebel and refuse to bend a knee to God’s sovereign authority. (see Romans 1:18-32). Pharaoh exercised his free will to the bitter end and in the end his unwillingness to humble himself to God led to God solidifying the very desires of Pharaoh’s own heart, to remain a god unto himself. God said, “Your will be done” and so it was to his own ruin.

[i] Andrew Hill and John Walton, A Survey of the Old Testament, (Grand Rapids: MI, Zondervan, 2000) p. 92.