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Why does God blind those ?

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dogcombat:
Josh,

I think I know where mrsnacks is coming from.  We read in Exodus, the following

And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go. (4:21)

In Chapter 7 The Lord says to Moses

2 Thou shalt speak all that I command thee: and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he send the children of Israel out of his land.

 3 And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.

 4 But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine armies, and my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments.

13 And he[The Lord] hardened Pharaoh's heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.

 14 And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh's heart is hardened, he refuseth to let the people go.

Chapter 8

15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.

32 And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go.

Chapter 9

12 And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had spoken unto Moses.

34 And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants.

 35 And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go; as the LORD had spoken by Moses.

Finally In Chapter 10

1 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh: for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I might shew these my signs before him:
 
2 And that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son's son, what things I have wrought in Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them; that ye may know how that I am the LORD.

What these verses tell us is that while, yes Pharoh did choose in some of them to harden his heart.  He was caused to make this choice by the Lord hardening his heart to begin with.  The reason?  That He "might shew these, my signs before him."

We know that God works all things according to the counsel of His will.  He is the potter we are the clay.  In Romans 9:11 we find out more:

11(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)

This explains verse 13

13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

And then

15 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.

 17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.

 18Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
 
20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?

 21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

 22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:

 23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,

 24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

 25 As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.

I won't pretend to understand the counsel of our Lord's will.  However, I can rest in the understanding that "God works together all things for the good of those who love God"  (Romans 8:26)

Ches

josh:
Ches,

Great post... it caused me to do some searching this morning and I came across these passages:


Exodus 4:10-12
10: But Moses said to the LORD, "Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either heretofore or since thou hast spoken to thy servant; but I am slow of speech and of tongue."
11: Then the LORD said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him dumb, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?
12: Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak."

John 12:35-43
35: Jesus said to them, "The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, lest the darkness overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes.
36: While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light." When Jesus had said this, he departed and hid himself from them.
37: Though he had done so many signs before them, yet they did not believe in him;
38: it was that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: "Lord, who has believed our report, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?"
39: Therefore they could not believe. For Isaiah again said,
40: "He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they should see with their eyes and perceive with their heart, and turn for me to heal them."
41: Isaiah said this because he saw his glory and spoke of him.
42: Nevertheless many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, lest they should be put out of the synagogue:
43: for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

Matthew 13:10-17
10: Then the disciples came and said to him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?"
11: And he answered them, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.
12: For to him who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
13: This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
14: With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah which says: `You shall indeed hear but never understand, and you shall indeed see but never perceive.
15: For this people's heart has grown dull, and their ears are heavy of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should perceive with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn for me to heal them.'
16: But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.
17: Truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

Isaiah 6:5-10
5: And I said: "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!"
6: Then flew one of the seraphim to me, having in his hand a burning coal which he had taken with tongs from the altar.
7: And he touched my mouth, and said: "Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin forgiven."
8: And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."
9: And he said, "Go, and say to this people: `Hear and hear, but do not understand; see and see, but do not perceive.'
10: Make the heart of this people fat, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed."

I whole heartedly agree, ches... "we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him" and "all things after the counsel of His will."

I have learned much from this thread, and I continually encouraged by this forum as I learn and grow. Thanks.

God's Peace.
Josh

ps. Mr. Snacks... do you feel as though your originial question has been answered?

dogcombat:
Josh,

I've learned a lot too.  Those verses you just posted show that while He has blinded us for a time, He is the light that reveals Himself to us..in HIS time. 

The question I posted in another thread comes to mind.  "How can you be a light (John 12), if you don't comprehend being in darkness (walking in the flesh)?"

God be with you
Ches

DWIGHT:
Thanks Josh,

Mrsnacks, I think we as human beings, look at spiritual things with physical eyes and the two cannot match.  We see dark as dark, and light as light.  The scriptures speak of spiritual things as shadows and veils, and parables, all of which are intended to reveal to His elect the deep things of God,(the kingdom of heaven if you will).  These things are intended to be hidden from the called of this world, but to us they are revealed by His Spirit, for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.  If we are not in the Spirit (His Word), they will never be revealed to us, they will remain a shadow, a veil, or a parable.

We do not see the way God sees. Listen to this verse, "Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee." Ps. 139:12. See what I mean?  We see only darkness or light, but to God there is no difference.  That's because God is Spirit, therefore, when we are in His Spirit there can never be any darkness even though to our flesh there appears darkness.

You asked why God blinds some and not others...."Romans 9:23
And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory....that's why.

In Him,

Dwight

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