i have such mixed feelings and opinions on the topic of god "hardening" people and their hearts, and what that really means. question 3 asks if god hardens righteous people. my first thought has always been that this has something to do with god manipulating the mind or choice a person has, but does that mean god has taken away the individuals free will at that point? at first i really didnt like the idea of that perspective, but maybe he has. maybe he actually did descend a spirit upon pharoah or the Israelites during the example with elijah. a spirit that didnt allow them to see, or hear, or feel god. maybe at that point god no longer gave them a choice, he had just had enough. there are examples of him striking people dead for only one lie. why couldnt he just make the decision that this person no longer gets a choice, im done with them.
does god harden righteous people? this chapter (11) gives an example where he reserved a group of 7000 that must have been pretty righteous to be chosen, but he hardened king saul a few times i think. and he was a righteous man. for a while anyway.
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the sun comes up...it radiates heat...it softens the wax while it hardens the clay...what is the difference? the plan of God...it softens some hearts while it hardens others...what is the difference?
ReplyDeletebecause the sun doesnt change. the sun doesnt say "im going to decide to melt some things and harden others. god does. my only point was that at first, the attitude that god would never do something like toy wi a persons free will would be out of character for him. but now im thinking that is putting limitations on god where they dont necessarily belong.
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