There are many things that do not make sense in the Christian Bible, when it’s taken as a standalone work of literature and subjected to rational enquiry. There are stories teaching terrible morals quick fits of anger from God, often leading to mass deaths, and tons of tons of contradictions.
One story that has stood out to me recently is the story of Moses and Pharaoh, and the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. Those verses of the Bible contain some of the greatest atrocities, demonstrating God’s love for mass punishment instead of targeting those at fault. Still, the plagues are not my focus today, but something just a little bit earlier.
Now God is an omniscient and omnipotent deity, of that there is no doubt (according to Christians anyway). Now when God wanted to get his people out of slavery and sent Moses to make the petition, he could have just made Pharaoh acquiesce to the request. That would have saved a lot of lives in the long run, and I’m sure every first born in Egypt would have been grateful for that.
Absent that, God could have just let the situation play out, and let Pharaoh reach a decision on his own. But not only did he refuse to intervene favourably, he intentionally hardened Pharaoh’s heart so he would stop the exodus despite all the harm befalling his people.