S116P5 – Difficult truths: the Roman church
Rom. 9:18-21
Therefore, God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist his will?” But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ ” Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?
Pharaoh was a man who detested the people of God because of who their God was. It was a hatred by association, and it was unchangeable. He had resolved himself to hate. When we read the story of his strong hand over the Israelites, we can be tempted to think that God molded that hand. It is the same impression that the Roman church had, and that is why Paul has engaged in this discourse. The people want to know how someone like Pharaoh, who scripture indicates had his heart hardened by God, could be held accountable for that hard heart. Their question might have been valid, but their attitude was not. Although we can reason through why Pharaoh was still culpable for his hatred, it is for us to accept even without asking for the explanation.
God made Pharaoh knowing that he would turn out the way he turned out. He allowed Pharaoh to exist and grow into the man he became, and He used that for his purposes. God hardened a heart that already was on its way to that destination. I do not believe God created Pharaoh in order to pour hatred and persecution on his people. I believe God created him even though he would become that, but Pharaoh took himself there. He did not make an evil man; He made a man He knew would choose to be evil, and He used that for his purposes. The Roman church could not grasp this, and it seems that they tried to use their flawed understanding of God’s plan for Pharaoh to exculpate themselves from their own accountability.
Pharaoh could not blame God for hardening his heart because it was Pharaoh’s desire to have a hard heart. He had no intention of turning to the God of Israel. For us, that means that we also must be accountable for the direction our hearts desire to take. We cannot blame God even if He hardens us. When He does that, it is because He has encountered a heart that has no desire for him. Those who suppress the truth by their wickedness [Rom. 1:18] will be given over to a depraved mind by God [Rom. 1:28]. He will take them there only because that is where they have resolved to go. Father, teach us to accept your will and your way, knowing You are the Almighty who only works in justice and righteousness.