Hardness of Heart in Biblical Literature

Book excerpt: Every speaker, teacher, or preacher has on some occasion encountered an audience that was unreceptive to what he or she had to say. One response to such communication breakdowns given by both the Old Testament prophets and New Testament authors was to declare that the hearers “have hardened their hearts to the message” or that “God has hardened them.” What is this hardness-of-heart phenomenon? Who became hardened and why? Was it a result of some “deficiency” in communication? What were the consequences of such a disposition? Is there any hope for a change of perspective for those hardened? In this concise and carefully argued volume, Charles Puskas considers all the key texts relating to human obstinacy towards God in pursuit of answers to these questions.