“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.” – Romans 9:17-18
Paul reaches back to Exodus 9:16 to remind us that even Pharaoh, the enemy of God’s people, was part of God’s sovereign plan. Pharaoh wasn’t a random villain—he was a chosen instrument through whom God would display His power. The plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, and the deliverance of Israel were all orchestrated to magnify God’s name. When Israel celebrated redemption, they looked back to Passover, the moment God rescued them from Egypt. And through Pharaoh’s resistance, God’s glory was revealed, His name was celebrated across nations, and His people sang, “The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation” (Exodus 15:2).
But Paul doesn’t stop there. In Romans 9:18, he adds, “Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.” This verse brings us face-to-face with the mystery of divine sovereignty. Why did Pharaoh resist? Because God hardened his heart. Yet Exodus also tells us Pharaoh hardened his own heart. Like railroad tracks running side by side, God’s sovereignty and human responsibility stretch across Scripture. Judas saw the same miracles as the other disciples, yet chose betrayal. Moses and Pharaoh both witnessed God’s power—one bowed in worship, the other stiffened in pride. God’s mercy and judgment are not random; they are purposeful, flowing from His perfect will. As Ephesians 1:5 says, “Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.”
So what do we do with this? We worship. We don’t accuse God of injustice—we thank Him for mercy. Jesus said, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you” (John 15:16). If you’ve been drawn to Christ, it’s not because you earned it—it’s because God was gracious. That truth should humble us and fill us with gratitude. Like Rahab in Joshua 2, who heard of God’s power and believed, we respond by trusting in the One who redeems. God is not unrighteous. He is just, merciful, and sovereign. And if He chose to show you grace, then rejoice—you’ve been raised up for His glory. Let your life declare His name in all the earth.
“Has God’s plan gone awry? No indeed, says Paul. The present condition of Israel reproduces a pattern of divine action and human response which has been unfolded often enough in the past. Some have always opened their hearts to God’s revelation, while others have hardened theirs; and by the variety of their response they have shown whether or not they were among those on whom God had set His sovereign choice.” – F.F. Bruce
surrendered devotions 