¹⁷ For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth.” ¹⁸ So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.

God’s promises do not depend on the human will, whether that is Jacob or Esau or any other person. If it did, then the Creator, the Sovereign of the universe, could not be sovereign after all, for He could not control the outcome of human history. We could not trust prophecy or promises. On the other hand, if we concede that God controls the macro-flow of history, we must concede the particulars as well. There must be a solution to the God-man tension in the outplay of creation other than to deny His sovereignty or human’s culpability through the exercise of human will.

As we have stated before, the issue is complex and beyond the scope of this writing. But we must insist, as Paul does here, that the beginning point, the anchor, is in God and His doings. Paul does not emphasize at this juncture the role of human will in God’s plan, but only God’s purposes. This is not new; it goes back to at least the Exodus. Pharaoh of Egypt 10 times intentionally defied God’s clear instruction through Moses, “Let my people go!” Yet God fulfilled His promise and brought His people out of Egypt (Ex 3:10-14). As Sovereign of the universe, He “raised …up” Pharaoh, and did so with a purpose. God, as quoted from Exodus 33:19, concludes that it is precisely His prerogative to show mercy or harden a person. And He does so without any hint of human merit or denigration, but completely and solely according to “whom He desires.”

We find it difficult to see this otherwise than the obvious interpretation. This does not negate Pharaoh’s culpability (moral responsibility), though it stretches our ability to fully understand. Sovereignty is essential to God’s nature as Creator, and however it works out ultimately, we cannot deny it. His purposes are greater than our human will, yet His purposes do not neutralize or undermine our will. We are reminded of this in Genesis 50:40, where God’s will and human will both exist, undiminished and undiluted, but with God’s will superseding the human. Our difficulty might be akin to a child frustrated that he cannot understand the wisdom of not crossing the road without his parent’s permission and presence. We cannot understand this dilemma of God’s sovereignty and our volitional choices without our heavenly Father’s superior wisdom and presence.

Lord, help me confidently hold Your hand as I step out into theological traffic.