7032. 'And I will harden his heart, and he will not send the people away' means obstinacy and so a failure to set free as yet. This is clear from the meaning of 'hardening' as obstinacy, and from the meaning of 'heart' is that a new perception is meant, as the will, dealt with in 2930, 3888, so that the words used here mean an obstinate determination that springs from the will, and therefore from a delight in doing what is evil since what is present in the will is that in which one takes delight, and that in which one takes delight springs from the love one has; and from the meaning of 'not sending the people away' as an obstinate unwillingness to set free, thus a failure to set free as yet. It says here and in places further on that Jehovah hardened Pharaoh's heart. Such wording is based on appearances and on the general idea about the Divine, that all things are brought about by Him. But this should be understood in exactly the same kind of way as the attribution to Jehovah or the Lord of evil, anger, fury, devastation, and many other things like these should be, 2447, 6071, 6991, 6997.
[2] As regards the obstinacy of those who are steeped in falsities and the resulting evils and in evils and the resulting falsities, it should be recognized that the nature of it is such that it defies description. They never leave off, unless they are deterred by harsh punishments and the fears these create; exhortations and threats have no effect whatever. The reason for this is that for them the delight of life consists in doing evil, a delight which they acquired while they lived in the world, chiefly because they loved solely themselves, not their neighbour, and so did not have any Christian charity. Because people like this do not allow themselves to be led by the Lord, their actions are motivated by their own selfish will, which is evil owing to heredity and also to the actual life they lead. And people whose actions are motivated by their own selfish will do what is evil from a love of evil, since what comes from the will comes from love. From love springs the delight they feel in doing evil, and in the measure that this delight reigns in them obstinacy reigns in them.
[3] It is not evident in the world that this is so, but that is because in the world they are restrained by self-love and love of the world, for they are afraid they would suffer loss of reputation, consequently of monetary gain and of position if they were to do evil openly. Laws and fear for their lives also serve to keep them in check. But if those restraints did not exist they would quickly seek to ruin all who are not favourably disposed towards them, plunder everyone's resources, and ruthlessly kill anyone. This is what the person is like inwardly, that is, as to his spirit, though he may not seem in the world to be like that, as may be seen perfectly clearly from those who are in the next life. Those who have been like that in the world have external things taken away from them and are left to [the desires of] their own will, thus to their own loves; and when they have been left to these nothing gives them greater delight than doing what is evil. They also do it with such obstinate determination that they never leave off, unless, as has been stated, they suffer punishments, after which they sink into hell. All this shows what a person is like who has no charity towards the neighbour, also that everyone's life awaits him, not his external life as a citizen which could be seen in the world, but his spiritual life, which was internal and unseen in the world.
This page is part of 
© 2000-2001 The Academy of the New Church