“Even a hardened heart can serve God's plan of salvation”
No matter how clear God’s message may be, some people seem determined to continue on their own path. In his dissertation, theologian Daniel Knoll examined this phenomenon, which the Bible often describes with powerful metaphors such as a “hard heart” or “deaf ears.” He discovered that this stubborn resistance—known as “obduracy”—may not only be a human choice, but sometimes also plays a role in God’s own plan. What does that mean for our faith, our responsibility, and our view of God? During the 40th edition of ETF Leuven’s annual doctoral week earlier this month, Knoll successfully defended his dissertation entitled: “Hard Hearts and Blind Eyes. The Concept of Corporate and Individual Obduracy in Canonical Perspective.”
Not only as a theologian, but also as a pastor, minister, friend, and father, he was constantly confronted with the question of why some people continually reject the message of the Bible. “This, after all, is what obduracy is: a persistent rejection of God’s will,” says Knoll. That is where his interest in this subject began. He himself had phases in his life when he clearly knew God’s will but was reluctant to live by it consistently. “In that sense, I didn’t just examine the texts ‘from the outside’. Yet time and again, I experienced God’s amazing grace.”
Knoll studied more than 120 passages from the Old and New Testaments and another 70 from early Jewish texts. He discovered that early Jewish texts tended to avoid the idea that God could harden people’s hearts. “The idea that God might even pursue a good purpose in doing so may not have fit into their image of God; they were primarily concerned with securing God’s justice,” Knoll says. “The New Testament, on the other hand, with its higher and broader conception of God, even explains the hardening of Israel theologically.”
Situations in which hardening by God Himself is part of His plan of salvation can be found in various stories. Knoll: “God used the hardening of Pharaoh in the Old Testament to miraculously bring about the exodus. He used the hardening of the Canaanites to make the conquest of the land possible.” We also find this in the New Testament. “There, the hardening of Israel first led to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and later to the mission among the Gentiles. Time and again, we see that God hardens not only to judge, but ultimately also to save,” says Knoll.
The Bible warns believers against stubbornness. Knoll: “We all have a tendency to prefer our own ways over God’s ways. That is why the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews, for example, warns New Testament believers against self-hardening, as in the case of Israel in the Old Testament (Heb 3:8, 10, 12; 4:7). But believers are now in a different phase of salvation history. Through Christ’s death on the cross, which ushered in the new covenant, God brings about a change of heart (Heb 8:10; 10:16-17), making believers both willing and able to take these warnings to heart in a way that was not possible under the old covenant. Therefore, we must all heed the warnings not to harden our hearts—as a means by which God promotes our faithfulness.”
The most important message from Knoll’s research to the church today is that the concept of hardening is not just a dark theological problem. Knoll: “At first glance, it seems that way. But in light of the entire history of salvation, the message of the gospel shines all the brighter against this dark backdrop. I discovered that even such an act as grave as divine hardening ultimately serves God’s redemptive plan; that where people are corporately hardened, this does not predetermine the destiny of every individual; and that God’s consistent aim is to overcome human obduracy. Thus, we have every reason to face obduracy in our lives, families, churches and society with steadfast hope in God.”
Knoll hopes that his research will encourage not only in-depth study of individual passages, but also more comprehensive approaches that consider the Bible as a whole. “So that the church gets valid answers drawn from all of Scripture,” he says. “For the practice of faith, I hope we take seriously the danger of hardening ourselves against God, while also sharing hope that he can direct even persistent rebellion toward his good purposes – helping pastors and congregations both to warn clearly and to encourage trust in God’s transforming grace.”
About ETF Leuven
The Evangelical Theological Faculty (ETF) in Leuven is an academic institution offering education in theology and religious studies at three levels: bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate (PhD). The ETF Leuven has a Protestant-Evangelical identity, is interdenominational and has a strong international character, combining high-quality academic work with a focus on community building and spirituality.
