But didn't they only reject God's gift because God did not draw them to him?
Joh 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
and also:
Joh 6:65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
Joh 6:66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
seems as though Jesus is specifically saying that the Father did not draw those people to Jesus. He could have chosen to draw them to him, but he did not
Those passages are entirely correct, however it seems as though you are not seeing the entire picture. God DID draw those people to Him. They were disciples and followers of Jesus. He didn't say to them to go. They left Him through their own decisions, insecurities and worries. God wishes everyone to be saved, but knows that not everyone will be.
Take the sower of seeds parable.
(NIV)
Mathew 13:
18. "Listen then to what the parable of the sower means:
19. When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path.
20. The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.
21. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.
22. The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.
23. But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."
> It is not God's work that people are damned
Pharaoh was predestined unto destruction, as was Judas. If the saved are predestined (proved true), and there are only 2 groups of people, then the damned must be predestined to go to their own place as well. God hardened Pharaoh's heart.
Exo 9:16 And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.
Exo 14:17 And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.
Exo 14:18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.
Sounds like God had it in for them from the get-go, the very same God that sent his son to die for us hardened the hearts of the Egyptians and had predestined them unto destruction. So how then can you say there is no "double predestination" when the story of Israel being led out of Egypt tells a vastly opposite story?
Neither were pre-destined, but chose not to hear God.
This is one of the places where the translations don't do accurate justice I am afraid.
In Exodus 14:17 the word "chazaq" is used. This word is more used with strength/retraint, capture, and conquering. Was God "hardening" their hearts. Yes, with the word choice I would think it is in the way one conquers a foe. By then the Egyptians had already declared themselves enemies of God.
(NIV)Exodus 8:15. But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said.
In the above passage, the word "kabad" was used, which denotes a negative troubling or being made heavy; a burden if you will.
(NIV)Exodus 4: 21. The LORD said to Moses, "When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.
Again "chazaq" is used. God is promising that their hearts will be defeated.
And as you look throughout the remaining passages about Pharaoh's heart being hardened, it will always be after he was presented with the Word of God. The hardening or conquering or however you prefer to refer to it as, did not happen BEFORE God gave His message but after, meaning that God gave him the opportunity for believe. Upon refusing, he was reaffirming his state as an enemy of God.
Or what of Esau and Jacob? Jacob he loved, Esau he hated.
Mal 1:2 I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob,
Mal 1:3 And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.
God hates sin. Esau continually showed despisement toward God with his actions and unrepentance. Also, it was common at that time to use a person's name to describe their descendants. Like Israel (Jacob). Esau's descendants stood against God, so yes, He would turn away from them.
2 Timothy 2:12. if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us;
