ask yourself what sort of person Esau was. Esau was not someone who appreciated spiritual things. He sold his birthright for a bowl of soup! Dont you think that this is the reason why God chose Jacob? God can see what each of us individually will become and this is an example of him using his foreknowledge to decide a matter. God decided to give Jacob the blessing because he could see that Jacob would grow to become a spiritual person who would have faith in God. Esau would not be like that. God has conditions, Esau did not meet those conditions... it was completely fair.
1. A person's actions is
not always the cause of God's favor or disfavor. It can also be the effect. That is evident from Rom 9:15-16:
Rom 9:15-16 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
The grammatical structure of these verses clearly indicate it is God--not the person-- who is sometimes the cause of a person's actions and very clearly states He can suspend free will!
The account of Pharaoh shows that God does not wipe out the wicked. Why? So he can demonstrate his own righteousness and power. Thats what the account of Pharaoh means. It doesnt mean that God caused Pharaoh to defy him.... it means that God allowed Pharaoh to exist even though he was defiant. And the purpose in doing that was to show Israel and the world Gods own power.
2. The scriptures tell a different story, Pegg:
Rom 9:18-19 So you see, God chooses to show mercy to some, and He chooses to harden the hearts of others so they refuse to listen.
The Greek term "hardens" is in the present active tense/voice. The active voice indicates the subject, in this case God, as the one performing the action--showing mercy, hardening the heart. The present tense tells us God did it then and still does it today. The fact God may at times suspend free will so people refuse to listen is made even more plain in the next verse:
19 Well then, you might say, "Why does God blame people for not responding? Haven't they simply done what He makes them do?"
Paul then indignantly responds:
Rom 9:20 No, don't say that. Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the One who created it, "Why have you made me like this?"
Using today's syntax, we could accurately translate this as: "How dare you, a mere human, question what God can or cannot do to you." Paul says nothing of God "allowing" bad things to happen. It cannot be any clearer, Pegg. God sometimes "makes" people do bad things.
God could have destroyed Pharaoh immediately.... but instead, he allows Pharaoh to remain and to continue in his defiant stance. The result is an event that mankind never forgot....and here we are over 3,000 years later still tallking about it.
3. It seems you are attempting to create an inconsistency by implying that the hardening of Pharaoh's heart and allowing him to live are
not mutually exclusive, when the scriptures indicate both conditions did co-exist.
the idea of predestination is not in harmony with Gods love, nor with the scriptures. To the 'chosen' christians, this warning came: Revelation 2:5*“‘Therefore remember from what you have fallen, and repent and do the former deeds. If you do not, I am coming to you, and I will remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent"
If the christians being addressed here were predestined, why are they being told to repent and change their current way? Here we see they had already been chosen, but if they didnt repent, they would have their blessing removed from them. That is not pre-destination! '
And what about King Solomon. He was chosen by God for the kingship .... but toward the end of his life he became unfaithful! Why would God choose him and then send Solomon down the direction of unfaithfulness? And what of King David when he sinned with Bathsheba... Did God orchestrate that act of adultery and murder after choosing David for the kingship???
That is what the idea of pre-destination would have you believe. Basically, every act of disobedience and murder and every other vile crime committed by every individual was orchestrated by God himself. Do you honestly believe that?
4. You misunderstand. Not every sinful action by God's people is orchestrated by God. His chosen will mostly have a choice to do good or evil when tested. If obedient, they will be blessed. If disobedient, will suffer punishment. But my point is there are times where God may, for His own sovereign reasons, also suspend His people's free will:
Isa 63:17 O LORD, why have You made us stray from Your ways, And hardened our heart from Your fear? Return for Your servants' sake, The tribes of Your inheritance.
In this instance, God
made His people stray from His ways and
hardened their hearts. These two verbs are in the Hiphil stem which implies a causative effect from the subject (Jehovah). In other words, Jehovah--not the people--is the cause of the hardening and straying! I suspect He did so in order to later exhibit His compassion and mercy and perhaps to instill in them the lesson of absence (of God's presence) makes the heart grow fonder. In contrast, He caused unbelieving Pharaoh's defiance for the purpose of showing His power and wrath to His people and the world. This is consistent with Rom 9:22-23:
Rom 9:22-23 In the same way, even though God has the right to show His anger and His power, He is very patient with those on whom His anger falls, who are destined for destruction. 23 He does this to make the riches of His glory shine even brighter on those to whom He shows mercy, who were prepared in advance for glory.
