All this produces the inevitable charge "that's not fair". Remember this was written some two thousand years ago, people had the same reactions then as we have now.
See how Paul replies. He quotes Exodus 33:19. The only "fair" action on God's part would be to condemn us all to hell , for that is the judgement that we all deserve. When God forgives someone He is having mercy on them. Everyone else still gets what they deserve. And our reaction still puts us in the position of judge. Only God has the right to be judge. The root of rebellion is thinking that we should decide what is right and what is wrong, it goes back to the Garden of Eden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We need to get it into our heads and into our hearts that God is God, that is the starting point. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
Then, as far as our modern thinking goes, Paul makes things even worse! For he declares that God raised Pharaoh up for the very purpose of displaying His power. God has mercy on whom He has mercy and hardens the heart of whom He wants to harden.
We will leave it there for today, and come back to this tomorrow. In the meantime, let us meditate upon this truth, instead of rebelling against it, and let the Holy Spirit give us insight, instead of relying purely on human wisdom. When we put the fear of the Lord first our minds will become truly incisive.
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