“Hardened Heart” vs. “Squishy Beloving Heart”
Yes there is scripture to prove there is both! I just bet you have not heard of the opposite of the “hardened heart”?
Well, before revealing the scripture, in an expository manner I need to share with you the understanding in principle, application and scripture quoting.
First, as most have been taught, that the “hardened heart” is when God does such to a person. That is truth #1. Then you probably have heard the story of Moses in which God hardened Pharoah’s heart? That is truth #2. Thirdly, Pharoah’s hardened heart came because God “so willed it and he can do as he wills”? True and false. The truth part is that he is God and can do as he wills; but, to say that applies in everything is twisting the synergy of scripture. Can God sin? Using your above argument that he can do anything makes you become an inductive opinionated false scripture discerner by using this example with the above question. God made the rules/scripture at the foundation of the universe. Before the foundation of the universe there was just God, thus the scripture/rules as well.
The point is first understanding what came first , the universe or scripture? From a man’s perspective it would be scripture. From the biblical perspective nothing came first to God. Thus, for a man to say that God predestined Adam to build an alter for his forgiveness is looking at a huge conundrum of understanding and discerning the difference between omnipotence of God, God the spirit speaking to a man thru an interpreter, man discerning first from first or absolute first infinitely.
Without 100 pages of explaining and scripture referencing understand this first: we are HUMAN LOOKING at time to a God explaining things that relate to our time and things that relate to NO TIME. Example, in the begining Genesis says, “In our image”. It takes the “entire” bible to understand Jesus is there yet is not there. We read the bible and find in the begining God the Father whom uses prophets to announce “the coming of the birth of Jesus”. Thus as a human, there is a time table in our heads to read this story in an intelligible manner. You will never get away with saying “baby Jesus was there in the begining”. Now, understanding some complicated physics, it is actually true to say baby Jesus was there. We have got to think and read scripture as the common man and not the quantom physics professor.
That point is so important to get this point: God hardened Pharoah’s heart in the common man’s world of time thinking, AFTER Phsroah did something. God did not harden his heart at the foundation of the universe. What or why did God harden his heart? Truth- Pharoah worshipped another god and was a stumbling block for many others in the same. God did not harden his heart because he told Moses, no, in letting the Isrealites go. God had the Isrealites as slaves due to their idolatry for about 400 years. Now, Moses obeys God and can use this man to finally lead the Isrealites (who represented the TRUE GOD of the universe) out of their punishment to hopefully turn and worship him again.
Pharoah, told Moses 9 times he would not let the slaves go. What Pharoah was really doing was telling Moses his god was false!
What happens to Pharoah? In the end he tells Moses his god is God, but he will not worship his god. That is as straight forward as it gets in an example of Romans 1, where the lost will come to judgement “clearly seeing and recognizing God but deciding to not choose him”!
“Hard heartedness” is not fate a person is born with; it is clearly a state in which God puts a lost man in a furnace, like a piece of pottery, whom becomes easier to be broken for the sake of asking God for forgiveness.
Then “hard heartedness” comes as a judgement against an idolater. God uses “what he wills on who he wills” such as famine or boils or other terrible circumstances to get that person to worship and honor him alone (Solid proof: Jeremiah 29:11: For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord , thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Jeremiah 29:11 KJV
http://bible.com/1/jer.29.11.KJV)!
Now is there the opposite of hard heartedness?
I bet you have never heard it or been told this amazing truth! Think about this. What is the opposite of this idolatry? Does a man possibly have this condition when born? No! That would be a lie. Thus EVERYBODY (EVERY HUMAN) must ask for forgiveness because, “all have sinned”. Due to the first Adam, everybody inherits the curse from Adam. So, with God the creator wanting Jeremiah 29:11 upon EVERYBODY, who gets that promise? If you call God a liar, you could say Pharoah because he was lost, God gave him a “hard hearted” belief and was not “chosen for Jeremiah 29:11 to apply to his life from the foundation. But, you can only say such a thing if you step outside of the common man’s premise of reading scripture on earth into the quantom physics aspect WITH GOD WHEN HE was before time itself.
Wrong!!! Pharoah can be judged for believing Satan and calling God a liar with Jeremiah 29:21 (which did apply to him on earth- as well as all the other parts that say Jesus loved him and died for him and could save him and will be sorry for not trusting him!).
Let me throw Aaron in the picture now. What was his life like during all of this? He was a priest; he served God with Moses; he worshipped God; and he help make a golden calf for the idolatry worship while Moses was talking to God. Did God have a reason to “harden” Aaron’s heart? Yes, and heck yea!
Read the story. But, judgement came just like I stated in the begining; but this time, without 10 hard warnings to break them. Heck, they just lived thru the same 10 and saw God bring them across the Red Sea. How many more did they need? God gave ALL those people a choice!!! Come to this side OR the other. And they did choose; Aaron “came back” to God. Many died because they did NOT CHOOSE God.
They were predestined to FIRST DECIDE FOR THEMSELVES who they would like to worship.
A “squishy beloving heart” is as opposite as I can think of to describe this incredible truth going on with the human sinners FINALLY recognizing their foolishness and wickedness! As a matter of fact it is described in scripture: Ezekiel 11:19,20,21 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:
That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord God .
Ezekiel 11:19-21 KJV
http://bible.com/1/ezk.11.19-21.KJV
Ezekiel is blown away much more than Moses was. The idolatry of the Isrealites had God at his “sick and tired-no longer” stage during Ezekiel’s life. God hardened the hearts of all of them and some did not escape death. Some, choose to turn around and do as those did like Aaron. They recognized thier wickedness and God’s fury to the enth degree. God is a very jealous Father. Your earthly father might be the worst human on the planet; but your creator is Jeremiah 29:11. Jesus paid the debt required for anyone to enter heaven. Jesus enters the heavenly courts and sits on the throne. All enter his court and no one will live in heaven without knowing him as their greatest father that could ever live (Jeremiah 29:11). The “hope” is the truth he gave himself for you just like he gave his life for Pharoah; but, Pharoah rejected Jesus’ love for something else ( even if you say -“nothing”; that is still something other than him).
I do not pray for a “squishy beloving heart” because I hope I first do not disappoint him to the enth degree before I simply just “keep trying to eschew evil before the look of a’ jealous God upon me ( Ezekiel 1-11).
We can accept Jesus and ask God to give us that changed heart that will please him without getting to the point of Aaron building a calf and having to ask for forgiveness. It is hard every day to eschew evil; it can never be done without a beloving heart towards Jesus. But, God can strengthen our daily walk so we can fight that super tough day like Job, Daniel and Noah ( Ezekiel 14) and be a person at least attempting to convince the lost to get on the boat. God made Noah wait about 56 years after completing the Ark to preach the gospel to all the lost ( the Ark represented the truth/scripture/ Romans1- they are all told the truth- none can deny dying as a predestined lost man)! No one can face Jesus and say he is like Noah or Abraham before he “choose” to build the Ark or “walk away from everything the world had to offer”. We are predestined to be sinners and all ask for forgiveness, but Jesus says that comes AFTER you are born the first time!
