Pharaoh and felicity

I used to be confused by this.

Exodus 7:1-5

"Then the LORD said to Moses, "See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country. But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt, he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites. And the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it."

I didn't get why God would harden someone's heart. 

It just didn't coincide with what I know about His nature.

Even though, I know there's so much that I don't know yet, but still....

Anyway, I got my answer recently. 

R.C. Sproul said that no man is utterly free of restraints, except for the single most powerful man at that time. In this case, Pharaoh was that man, and he had the greatest opportunity for good or evil, because he had the least restrictions blocking the desires of his heart.

God didn't place evil in Pharaoh's heart. He simply removed His grace, and when that happened, everything that was evil in Pharaoh came up to the surface and revealed itself. Hence, the hardening of his heart towards Moses and the Children of Israel. 

It's a scary thing when God removes His grace. 

I had an interesting conversation with a fren on this topic recently, and we talked about passing the point of no repentance - another thing which always gets me. How Esau was rejected; because he still only wanted to inherit the blessing, and his heart was not on the Bless-er. 

Hebrews 12:17

"For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears."

Then, R.C. Sproul said this:

"God put up with Pharaoh not because He was happy with Pharaoh and wanted to put His blessing on Pharaoh. God put up with Pharaoh so that God could show mercy upon those whom He would show mercy. There’s a sense in which even the wickedness of the wicked is redeemed by God to be a blessing to the righteous. The wickedness of the reprobate, through the amazing power of a sovereign providence, is brought to bear to enhance the blessedness of the elect. That’s why all things work together for good to those who love the Lord; that God is even able to bring good out of the wickedness of your enemies to be to your everlasting benefit, and your everlasting glory, and your everlasting felicity."

God can use all things, and everyone for the good of those who lurf Him.

And I lurf this word "felicity".

It means intense happiness.

God will use all things and make them work together for your intense happiness.