Exodus 9:13-16

And the Lord said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth. For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth. 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.

This is one of those passages that makes a man slow down and realize he is standing on holy ground. The Lord tells Pharaoh plainly that he has been raised up for this very purpose, that God might show His power in him and that His name might be declared throughout all the earth. That is a staggering statement. Pharaoh was not outside the sovereign hand of God. He was part of a far bigger purpose than he ever imagined.

That truth humbles us because it reminds us that God is not reacting, adjusting, or scrambling to keep up with men. He is never forced into a corner. He is never trying to salvage a situation. He is God. He rules. He reigns. He raises up, and He brings down. Even the proudest king on earth is still under His hand.

That is exactly where Paul goes in Romans 9. When people begin to argue with the ways of God, Paul does not try to shrink God down to a size we can comfortably manage. He reminds us that the potter has authority over the clay. The creature is in no position to put the Creator in the witness stand. We are simply not wise enough, big enough, or pure enough to sit in judgment over the purposes of God.

And that is where the fear of the Lord begins to come back into view. We are living in a time when many people want a God they can explain fully, reduce neatly, and fit into categories that feel safe to them. But the God of Scripture will not fit into our little boxes. He is loving beyond words, but He is also awesome beyond description. He is tender, and He is terrible in majesty. He is near to the brokenhearted, and yet high above all nations. He welcomes us as children, and still He remains the sovereign Lord of heaven and earth.

You cannot read your Bible honestly without feeling both sides of that. You see His kindness, His patience, His mercy, His gentleness in Christ. But you also see moments that make you stop and tremble. Abraham is told to offer Isaac in Genesis 22:2. Uzziah is struck when he steps into a place God never gave him in 2 Chronicles 26:16-21. Again and again Scripture reminds us that the Lord is not to be handled casually. He is not common. He is not small.

That is not meant to push us away from Him. It is meant to bring us before Him rightly. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom because it brings us out of our arrogance. It teaches us that God is God and we are not. It teaches us to bow before what we cannot fully trace. It teaches us to trust even when we cannot explain.

And then comes the wonder of it all. The One who raised up Pharaoh to display His power is the same God who has made Himself known to us in Jesus Christ. The One who sits in unapproachable majesty is the One who has brought us near by His Son. That should leave us amazed. Not casual. Not flippant. Amazed.

There are times to lift our hands in love before Him. There are times to speak of His goodness with deep gratitude. And there are also times when the only fitting response is silence, a bowed head, and a heart overwhelmed by who He is.

Pharaoh was raised up so God’s power could be seen in judgment. We have been shown mercy so that same power might be seen in salvation. Both declare His name. Both reveal that there is none like Him in all the earth.