Pharaoh hardened his heart because of pride, unbelief, and a refusal to submit to God’s authority. When confronted with God’s command to let Israel go, Pharaoh responded with defiance:
“Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go.” (Exodus 5:2)
This reveals Pharaoh’s arrogance and spiritual blindness. He considered himself divine and saw no reason to obey the God of the Hebrews. His pride made him resistant to God’s will, even as the plagues demons/”>demonstrated the Lord’s power.
Throughout the plagues, Pharaoh’s hardening is described in two ways: sometimes Pharaoh hardened his own heart (Exodus 8:15, 32; 9:34), and other times God hardened it (Exodus 9:12; 10:20). This does not mean Pharaoh was a puppet; rather, he persistently rejected God, and the Lord confirmed him in his rebellion as an act of judgment. Exodus 9:16 explains God’s purpose:
“But indeed for this 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.”
Pharaoh’s hard heart illustrates how sin, when unrepented, leads to deeper hardness. Each act of resistance made him more calloused, until judgment fell. This is a sobering reminder that rejecting God’s truth repeatedly can result in a seared conscience.
Pharaoh’s hardening ultimately served God’s glory. His stubbornness provided the stage for God to display His power through the plagues and the deliverance of Israel, proving that no ruler or nation can stand against the will of the Lord.
