Romans 9:17

From Exodus 9:16. Raised thee up] i.e. as king. St. Paul quotes Scripture to show that it was simply due to God's choice that Pharaoh, not some one else, was to be a world-wide example of God's power in punishment. It was not because of Pharaoh's nationality. The Apostle confines himself, here, to one point. It is that a Jew must admit that what God is shown, in the OT., to have done, cannot be unjust. He is not speaking, here, of eternal life or death. And he says nothing of Pharaoh's deserts or conduct, because that is not his point here. Presently he will assert (1) that those whom God has rejected have been rejected by their own fault after long forbearance; and (2) that it is God's will to have mercy upon all men.