(April 2, 2016 at 2:16 pm)Mr.wizard Wrote:(April 2, 2016 at 2:05 pm)athrock Wrote: If I permit or allow someone to drive my car, and they freely choose to drive it off of a cliff, that is not the same as saying that I personally drove them off the cliff myself.But why would he need god's permission if he had free will already?
God allowed Pharaoh's heart to be hardened, but he was not the agent doing the actual hardening. Pharaoh was permitted or allowed to harden his own heart.
But I think the article says more than just this point.
We're saying the same thing.
God would have preferred that Pharaoh simply accept Moses' initial request, but it didn't play out that way. God allowed or permitted Pharaoh to harden his own heart rather than FORCING him to let the Israelites go.