Why does God stage major conflicts?

The story of Moses seems to be one that every Christian knows (and it's even been remade into a new movie). What I recall about Exodus, before reading the book, is that Pharaoh oppressed the people of Israel, and Moses led the people of Israel to freedom from slavery, parting a sea along the way.

While the punishment of death meted out to the Egyptions for enslaving Israel seems just, I am unsure why God had staged the series of events leading up to Pharaoh's fatal pursuit of Israel. Specifically, I wonder about the parts that say the Lord had hardened Pharaoh's heart.

  • And the Lord said to Moses, "When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go." (Exodus 4:21)
  • But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had spoken to Moses. (Exodus 9:12)
  • Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them, and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, that you may know I am the Lord." (Exodus 10:1-2)
  • But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go. (Exodus 10:20)
  • But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go. (Exodus 10:27)
  • Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, and the Lord hardened Pharoh's heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go out of his land. (Exodus 11:10)
  • And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel while the people of Israel were going out defiantly. (Exodus 14:8)


The question in my mind is: If the Lord could harden Pharaoh's heart, why did the Lord not soften Pharaoh's heart instead? Is this because the Egyptians were not the chosen people in the Old Testament? This is also not the only staged conflict, as the Lord does the same to Sihon the king of Heshbon many years later (Deuteronomy 2:30).

Perhaps, conceptually, this story is no different than the story of Noah, where the Lord wiped out all life on Earth save for Noah's small family and the animals in the ark. Everything is possible for the Lord, and His master plan is not for us to know. But I am still left wondering: What is the difference between belief generated through staged events, vs. belief that the Lord can directly instill in our hearts?

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