For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.” Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.
You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?” But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?”
Rom 9:17-20
God’s explanation of Pharaoh’s rise to power is one of the many examples of the Lord’s predetermined purposes being fulfilled in the earth. The king of Egypt didn’t claim the throne by his own skill and intellect. The text is clear. God put Him in power! This truth should not surprise us because when Pilate said he had the power to save Jesus or condemn Him, our Lord quickly replied, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above.” (Joh 19:11) Why does Rom 13:1 say we should submit to governmental authorities? “For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.” The Lord is in charge, not man!
Not only does God take credit for putting Pharaoh in power, but God takes credit for Pharaoh not letting the children of Israel go immediately. That’s why v. 18 of our text says, “Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.” God hardened Pharaoh’s heart! Listen to God’s word to Moses BEFORE he ever went back to Egypt to ask Pharaoh for Israel’s freedom:
And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in your hand. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Israel is My son, My firstborn. So I say to you, let My son go that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed I will kill your son, your firstborn.” ’”
(Exo 4:21-23)
You see, before Moses went back to Egypt, God had determined to deliver Israel in a miraculous way so that the whole world would hear of the greatness of Israel’s God! By the time they made it to Jericho, Rahab said her city had heard of Israel’s great deliverance and they knew that “the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.” (Jos 2:10-11) God would see to it that Egypt experienced the fullness of his judgment. Even when Pharaoh was ready to release Israel (Exo 10:16), we read, “But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go.” (Exo 10:20)
With God so involved in the details of this life, Paul knew well that some would ask, “Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?” (Rom 9:19) How can God judge man for sin if God is ultimately in control and fulfilling His purposes in the earth? I love Paul’s response: “But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why have you made me like this?'” (v. 20) He doesn’t even answer the question! He simply says, “God is God, and you are not–you have no right to question Him!” And that is exactly the point. How can we comprehend His secret purposes when we are so simple compared to Him? He declares, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isa 55:9)
Here’s what we should know. Good is good. He is holy and righteous. He never sins or makes mistakes. As was the record of Christ in Mar 7:37, “He has done all things well.” We need to learn as Nebuchadnezzar did that, “His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, ‘What have You done?'” No matter how chaotic things may appear at times, God is FULLY in control! I pray this truth will comfort your heart this day, dear Christian. Remember that glorious message of Isa 52:7: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!‘”
Jamie