I have been consumed by the pages of Exodus which is the account of Moses freeing Israel from slavery and bondage over them by the hands of the Egyptians. As I see how God went to extreme lengths to make known to the world his absolute power and to move the Egyptians to see His revealed truth. I am referencing to the reality that God hardened Pharaohs heart which in turn causes the curses promised by Moses to materialize upon the Egyptian people. If we have free will and God makes it clear to Moses he will not only allow evil to take place, but apparently take part in the decision, how is that not a contradiction?
Do we really have free will under the omniscience of God presence?
John Piper addresses this as follows:
“There is a genuine inclination in God's heart to spare those who have committed treason against his kingdom. But his motivation is complex, and not every true element in it rises to the level of effective choice. In his great and mysterious heart there are kinds of longings and desires that are real… Yet not all of these longings govern God's actions. He is governed by the depth of his wisdom expressed through a plan that no ordinary human deliberation would ever conceive. There are holy and just reasons for why the affections of God's heart have the nature and intensity and proportion that they do.” What he is saying is that we cannot conceive most of what God does and we cannot figure out Gods plan as I stated in my last blog, which of course works but falls short of any real explanation, as it should. There is other popular views that progress toward a logical explanation.
Dr. Norman Geisler,
“God in His omniscience foreknew exactly how Pharaoh would respond, and He used it to accomplish His purposes. God ordained the means of Pharaoh's free but stubborn action…”
Many wise and reputable commentators propose that when the Bible says that God hardened Pharaoh's heart, what it really means is that God simply facilitated a process that Pharaoh himself initiated. After all, the Bible repeatedly also states that Pharaoh hardened his own heart, i.e. Exodus 8:15 and 32.
But to me it seems like there is more than simple permission to allow his heart to be hardened into straying from Gods Law. God Hardens the Heart. I like the explanation posed in the Pulpit commentary in reference to, God hardening Pharaohs Heart. Through the operation of the moral law placed on all humans by God at creation. These laws by which God is the author, and through which he operates in the soul, ordained hardening as the penalty of evil conduct, of resistance to truth, and all misinprovement and abuse of privilege. God in execution of his judgements, places a wicked man in situations which he knows can only have a hardening effect upon him. He does this in righteousness. God having permitted evil to exist, must thereafter of necessity permit it also to run its whole course in the way of showing itself to be what it really is, as that which aims at the defeat of the Divine purpose and the consequent dissolution of the universe. This involves hardening through a direct judgement in the soul of the individual.
Is the internal providence of God in the workings of the human mind a contradiction to free will.
I think not, The Pharoah was expressing his free will to go against Gods moral laws and holding Gods people in bondage and the Divine work done through Moses and Pharaoh was all part of Gods divine plan.
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Apologetics
Christian apologetics is a field of Christian theology that aims to present a rational basis for the Christian faith, defend the faith against objections, and expose the perceived flaws of other world views.[1] Christian apologetics have taken many forms over the centuries, starting with Paul of Tarsus, including writers such as Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas, and continuing currently with the modern Christian community, through the efforts of many authors in various Christian traditions such as C.S. Lewis. Apologists have based their defence of Christianity on historical evidence, philosophical arguments, scientific investigation, and other disciplines.
Why I created this blog page
For what reason have I created this blog site? I was moved by God , my Lord Jesus Christ whom walked among us in the flesh, creator of the Heavens and the Earth. Metaphysics (Cosmological and Oncological), Relativism, Humanism, Naturalism, Rationalism, foundations of Atheism. Secularism that exist in Modern Western civilizations and culture of today, expressly in reference to the United States has served to undermine the truth or even the debate of truth. The attempt to make religious ideals, and institutions meaningless and to serve no social significance in society today has put us at a crossroads. I wish to stand at the crossroad. The Lord wishes me to grow in knowledge. Understand revelation, prophecy and salvation. Scientific, evolutionary and metaphysical theory. The plethera of philisophicalisms. I do not have the answers, but for myself. I wish to look back on this as an experience, and see the great works that evolve from attempting to set fourth the different viewpoints. I wish to deal always in fairness and work toward accuracy. All are welcome to partake, regardless the worldview in which they posses, and use this median as a forum toward knowledge and truth. I serve the Lord and all my work is onto him. I would wish the same candor out of all those who participate. Ad hoc, dialetic, sophistry and the like will be quickly recognized and reduced to thier value. I wish not to make this a forum for redundant, mudane subject matter that produces no truth or knowledge. I will provide subject matter to logically debate unless one is presented in which to pursue .Pease Join me
Blessed are those who serve the Lord and his Kingdom.
Blessed are those who serve the Lord and his Kingdom.
2 comments:
Sorry so late I am determined to catch up, at the very least this commitment has the Bible in my hand a lot, I am thankful for that. Exodus 1o:1 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these miraculous signs of mine among them. God then says he will do this so that we may tell our children of all the signs God performed among them, and how harshly God dealt with the Eqyptians. When Moses approached Pharoah he asked him "how long will you refuse to humble yourself before me. God Hardened my heart towards Him , because I believe God uses our human circumstances to get the most out of every circumstance. The saying goes God never wastes a hurt. Pharoah may have been ready to conform to Moses request , however was he truly humbling himself to God or just making life easier on himself. Only God could know the answer. My conversion could of happened sooner in life I suppose, but God hardend my heart to get the most out of my conversion. He did it to bring Him the most glory possible. Gods timing is always perfect. In both circumstances for the Egyptians case, and the Isrealites it happened this way to bring the most glory to God possible. Hence we read this great book, and it has been the foundation of the vast majority of religious beliefs. Jew, Christian, Catholic, and even has rooted itself in much of the Muslim religion as a accurate description of the omnisciencs of out great God. Thanks Dave for the inpiration. Peace Through Grace Doug
We can see again in Exodus 14 that God Hardened Pharoahs heart, and his officials again and it lead to their demise. Even through all this God wasn't always glorified by the Isrealites either. They often cried, and moaned because of worry, and untrust. Even when God supplied miraclously they hoarded manna, against Gods wishes. Was this because God hardened their hearts? God tells them after he anniahlated the Egyptians, and turned bitter water to sweet water despite much comlaining from the Isrealites, that He would keep them from the very things he brought upon the Eqyptians if they would follow His decrees. After this point the Isrealite slipped up much,still not trusting God fully.God had much mercy on them, and even destroyed the Amalekites for them. Because through Moses trust the Isrealites gained favor, just as through Pharoahs untrust the Eqyptians suffered. God was preparing them for His commandments, and the other laws set before them. God prepared them through their untrust, and tranformed them through their leader Moses. Just as the Holy Spirit does for us today. Again God using all circumstances to bring Him the most glory, and we recieve the blessing for this work He does. Thanks be to God.
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