Definition:
Judicial hardening refers to the divine act by which God hardens the hearts of individuals or groups, rendering them resistant to His will and truth. This concept is often understood as a form of judgment upon those who have persistently rejected God, leading to a further state of spiritual insensitivity and rebellion.

Biblical Instances:

1. Pharaoh's Heart (Exodus 4-14):
One of the most prominent examples of judicial hardening is found in the narrative of the Exodus. God tells Moses, "But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go" (Exodus 4:21). Throughout the plagues, Pharaoh's heart is repeatedly hardened, both by his own actions and by God's intervention (Exodus 7:3, 9:12, 10:1, 11:10). This hardening serves to demonstrate God's power and to fulfill His purposes in delivering Israel.

2. Israel's Rejection (Isaiah 6:9-10; John 12:37-40):
The prophet Isaiah is commissioned to deliver a message that will result in the hardening of Israel's heart: "Make the heart of this people calloused; deafen their ears and close their eyes" (Isaiah 6:10). This theme is echoed in the New Testament, where John cites Isaiah to explain why many did not believe in Jesus despite His miracles: "He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts" (John 12:40).

3. Gentile Nations (Romans 1:18-32):
In Romans, Paul describes a process of judicial hardening among the Gentiles who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. God "gave them over to a depraved mind" (Romans 1:28) as a consequence of their idolatry and immorality. This passage illustrates how persistent rejection of God leads to further spiritual degradation.

4. Israel's Partial Hardening (Romans 11:7-10, 25):
Paul speaks of a partial hardening that has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that could not see and ears that could not hear" (Romans 11:8). This hardening is not total or final but serves a redemptive purpose in God's plan for both Jews and Gentiles.

Theological Implications:

· Sovereignty of God: Judicial hardening underscores the sovereignty of God in salvation and judgment. It affirms that God has the authority to harden hearts as a response to human sinfulness and rebellion.

· Human Responsibility: While God is sovereign in the act of hardening, individuals are still held responsible for their rejection of God. The hardening is often a response to persistent unbelief and disobedience.

· Purpose in Judgment: Judicial hardening serves a greater purpose in God's redemptive plan. It can lead to the demonstration of God's power and glory, as seen in the Exodus, or to the inclusion of the Gentiles, as in the case of Israel's partial hardening.

· Hope for Restoration: Despite the severity of judicial hardening, Scripture holds out hope for repentance and restoration. The hardening is not necessarily permanent, and God's mercy remains available to those who turn to Him in faith.

Conclusion:
Judicial hardening is a complex and sobering biblical doctrine that highlights the interplay between divine sovereignty and human responsibility. It serves as a warning against persistent unbelief and a reminder of God's ultimate authority over the hearts of men.Judicial Hardening

JUDICIAL HARDENING

See HARDEN.

The Sovereignty of God in Reprobation
... The most common view is that the Apostle is speaking of nothing more than judicial
hardening, ie, a forsaking by God because these subjects of His displeasure ...
/.../pink/the sovereignty of god/chapter five the sovereignty of.htm

Book 2 Footnotes
... [25] Of this judicial hardening the hearts and blinding the eyes of wicked men,
or infatuating them, as a just punishment for their other willful sins, to ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/book 2 footnotes.htm

Book 5 Footnotes
... counsel of Ahithophel, and directly infatuated wicked Absalom to reject it, [which
infatuation is what the Scripture styles the judicial hardening the hearts ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/book 5 footnotes.htm

Rom. I. 18
... mentions famines and pestilences as things in which it "often takes place." Paul
evidently means that God's wrath is manifest in the judicial hardening of the ...
/.../chrysostom/homilies on acts and romans/homily iii rom i 18.htm

New Teaching in Parables' - the Parables to the People by the Lake ...
... teaching vouchsafed to them and the Parables spoken to the people, that the designed
effect of the latter was judicial: to complete that hardening which, in ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter xxiii new teaching in.htm

The Eternity and Unchangeableness of God.
... If that be not the fruit and end of knowledge, that knowledge shall be worse to
thee than ignorance, for it both brings on judicial hardening here, and will be ...
/.../binning/the works of the rev hugh binning/lecture viii the eternity and.htm

The Barren Fig-Tree;
... but this seems to go beyond it; that speaks but of the reprobate in general, but
this of such and such in particular; that speaks of their hardening but in the ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/the barren fig-tree.htm

Rom. xi. 7
... Those who thought to establish their own righteousness have failed, and this failure
corresponds to that judicial hardening with which God through Moses and ...
/.../chrysostom/homilies on acts and romans/homily xix rom xi 7.htm

The Fourth Day in Passion-Week - Jesus in his Last Sabbatic Rest ...
... blessing become most of curse, and the judgment of hardening fulfills itself ... this
indicates that it was an informal meeting, consultative rather than judicial. ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter viii the fourth day.htm

God's Exhaustive Knowledge of Man. [*Continued]
... Year after year accumulates that hardening mass of carnal-mindedness, and distaste
for ... know thyself until beyond the grave, and then feel God's judicial wrath? ...
/.../shedd/sermons to the natural man/gods exhaustive knowledge of man 2.htm

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