Compare Joshua 11:20 with Pharaoh's hardening in Exodus. What similarities exist? Key Passages • Joshua 11:20 – “For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts to engage Israel in battle, so that they would be completely destroyed and would receive no mercy, but be annihilated, as the LORD had commanded Moses.” • Exodus 7:3 – “But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply My signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, Pharaoh will not listen to you.” (cf. Exodus 9:12; 10:1; 11:10; 14:4, 8) Shared Themes and Parallels • Divine Initiative – In both accounts the hardening is explicitly attributed to the LORD. – God is not responding passively; He is actively carrying out a predetermined purpose (Isaiah 46:10). • Judicial Hardening – The hardening serves as judgment on persistent rebellion—Canaanites filled up centuries of iniquity (Genesis 15:16), and Pharaoh obstinately oppressed Israel (Exodus 1–5). – Hardening is God’s righteous response to entrenched sin, not the origin of it (Romans 1:24-28). • Fulfillment of Covenant Promises – Canaanite resistance leads to their removal, making room for Israel’s promised inheritance (Deuteronomy 7:1-2). – Pharaoh’s resistance leads to Israel’s deliverance, fulfilling God’s word to Abraham (Genesis 15:13-14; Exodus 12:40-42). • Display of God’s Glory – In Joshua 11 hardening sets the stage for total victory, magnifying the LORD as the true Warrior-King (Joshua 10:42; 24:11-12). – In Exodus 7–14 hardening magnifies God through signs and plagues so “that My name may be proclaimed in all the earth” (Exodus 9:16; Romans 9:17). • Human Responsibility Maintained – Canaanite kings chose battle; Pharaoh repeatedly “hardened his heart” first (Exodus 8:15, 32; 9:34). – Scripture presents both divine hardening and human self-hardening side by side, revealing two perspectives on the same reality (Philippians 2:12-13). • Ultimate Separation of Righteous and Wicked – God’s hardening delineates His people from His enemies, preserving a line for Messiah (Joshua 23:9-10; Exodus 19:4-6). – The pattern foreshadows final judgment when hearts fixed against God meet righteous wrath (Revelation 16:9-11). Core Similarities Summarized • Same Actor: the LORD hardens. • Same Goal: advance His redemptive plan. • Same Means: handing rebels over to their own stubbornness. • Same Outcome: deliverance for His people, judgment for His foes, glory for His name (Romans 9:18, 22-24). Living Implications • Trust God’s sovereignty even when opposition rises; He is never thwarted (Psalm 33:10-11). • Recognize the peril of resisting revealed truth—persistent unbelief leads to a harder heart (Hebrews 3:7-13). • Marvel that mercy, not hardening, has come to all who believe in Christ (Ephesians 2:4-7). |
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