Exodus 9:16

To shew. God proceeds to explain His reason for not having already destroyed Pharaoh, whose obstinacy had long since called for such punishment. The reason here presented is twofold: (1) that Pharaoh might experience and so come to recognize the might of the true God and repeatedly be compelled to give glory to Jehovah; (2) that the name of God might be declared throughout all the earth. This was completely fulfilled, and Pharaoh was forced to admit not only the superior might of God but His righteousness as well (see v. 27). The mighty events preceding and accompanying the Exodus became world famous. In keeping with their custom not to record adverse events, the Egyptians left no trace of the Exodus experience on their monuments. But they could not prevent the spread of the story of these mighty events to other nations (see Ex. 15:14; Joshua 2:10; etc.). And today, though more than three millenniums have passed since these “marvellous things” happened “in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan” (Ps. 78:12), the story is still read in more than a thousand languages, in every country of the world, proclaimed by countless thousands of preachers, and still believed by millions of Jews and Christians. Could any prophecy be more literally fulfilled than this one spoken to the king of Egypt?

The future tense used by the KJV in rendering Ex. 9:15, 16 (see on v. 15) has led to a misunderstanding of the character of God and the nature of His dealings with men. It is made to appear that God has predestined Pharaoh to pursue his policy of resisting God, in order that God might benefit by his hardness of heart. It is inferred, furthermore, that God either brought him into existence or set him upon the throne of Egypt for this very purpose and doomed him to act in defiance of the divine will. Such an inference is at variance with many plain statements of Scripture which affirm that God does not predetermine the fate of any individual nor does He compel the human will (see Joshua 24:15; Isa. 55:1; John 1:12; John 3:16; John 7:37; Rev. 22:17; etc.). The thought of the original Hebrew of vs. 15 and 16 is more appropriately expressed thus: “By now I could have put forth my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth; but for this purpose have I let you live, to show you my power, so that my name may be declared throughout all the earth” (RSV; see Ed 174-178, 238,304).