The concept of free will contradicts God hardening Pharaoh's heart. IMO, God is the fountain of free will which flows through each of us. The freedom is His. And He lives in us.
Discussion
That is an interesting thought. However reasoning on this, I think that pharaoh's decisions put him in a bad place, in that becuase he feared the hebrews were getting to be more numerous than egyptions, and he subjected them to severe slavery to keep them in check.
It occurs to me that we have the free will to accept the spirit of God, in order for it to flow through us. If we reject his kindness, will he not reject us. Letting our hearts become hardened? consider that "...you people are God's temple...if anyone destorys the temple of God, God will destroy him..." - 1 Corinthians 3:16-17
Appreciate the dialog anchorite
Agree. And paul goes on to say "I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty." - Galatians 5:10
interestingly there is a certain kind of progressivism inherent in this - that being the value of further knowing and abiding the many Laws that were given to us of all the things in creation, and conservatism - at maintaining the foundations of this knowledge and refusing to allow their corruption (demoralization and decadence)
Progressiv/conservatism's value depends entirely upon the context.