*NOW* you will see

At the very end of parashat Shemot was this pasuk and Rashi:

And the Lord said to Moses, "Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh, for with a mighty hand he will send them out, and with a mighty hand he will drive them out of his land."		א. וַיֹּאמֶר ה אֶל משֶׁה עַתָּה תִרְאֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶעֱשֶׂה לְפַרְעֹה כִּי בְיָד חֲזָקָה יְשַׁלְּחֵם וּבְיָד חֲזָקָה יְגָרְשֵׁם מֵאַרְצוֹ:
Now you will see, etc.: You have questioned My ways [of running the world, which is] unlike Abraham, to whom I said, “For in Isaac will be called your seed” (Gen. 21:12), and afterwards I said to him, “Bring him up there for a burnt offering” (Gen. 22:2), yet he did not question Me. Therefore, now you will see. What is done to Pharaoh you will see, but not what is done to the kings of the seven nations when I bring them [the children of Israel] into the land [of Israel]. — [from Sanh. 111a]		עתה תראה וגו': הרהרת על מדותי, לא כאברהם שאמרתי לו (בראשית כא יב) כי ביצחק יקרא לך זרע, ואחר כך אמרתי לו (שם כב ב) העלהו לעולה, ולא הרהר אחרי, לפיכך עתה תראה. העשוי לפרעה תראה, ולא העשוי למלכי שבעה אומות, כשאביאם לארץ:

The emphasis is thus put on the word עַתָּה, NOW. The midrash, as found in Sanhedrin 111a, relates to the context of לָמָה הֲרֵעֹתָה לָעָם הַזֶּה לָמָּה זֶּה שְׁלַחְתָּנִי, which was a negative thing to act, as well as to the following context in the beginning of Vaera, interpreting what Hashem's response of וָאֵרָא אֶל אַבְרָהָם אֶל יִצְחָק וְאֶל יַעֲקֹב בְּאֵל שַׁדָּי וּשְׁמִי ה לֹא נוֹדַעְתִּי לָהֶם. Thus:

And for this Moses was punished,²³  as it is said, For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people,' neither hast thou delivered thy people at all.²⁴  Thereupon the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, 'Alas for those who are gone and no more to be found! For how many times did I reveal Myself to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by the name of El Shaddai,²⁵  and they did not question my character,²⁶  nor say to Me, What is Thy name? I said to Abraham, Arise, walk through the land in the length of it, and in the breadth of it,' for I will give it unto thee:²⁷  yet when he sought a place to bury Sarah, he did not find one, but had to purchase it for four hundred silver shekels; and still he did not question My character. I said to Isaac, Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee:²⁸  yet his servants sought water to drink, and did not find it without its being disputed, as it is said, And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac's herdmen saying, The water is our's;²⁹  still he did not question My character. I said to Jacob, The land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed:³⁰  yet he sought a place to pitch his tent and did not find one until he purchased it for an hundred kesitah;³¹  nevertheless he did not question My character; nor did they say to me, What is Thy name?³²  And now thou sayest to Me, Neither hast thou delivered thy people at all. [Therefore] Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh:³³  thou shalt behold the war against Pharaoh, but not the war against the thirty one kings.'³⁴

Thus, take עַתָּה as now as opposed to later. He will be involved in the first step but not the later step. Which is perhaps surprising because didn't he lose out the change of entering Israel when he struck the rock? There are answers.

But I think that there is more to this reinterpretation than just the word עַתָּה. Where do we get the war against the 31 kings? Let us examine the pasuk again:

And the Lord said to Moses, "Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh, for with a mighty hand he will send them out, and with a mighty hand he will drive them out of his land."

א. וַיֹּאמֶר ה אֶל משֶׁה עַתָּה תִרְאֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶעֱשֶׂה לְפַרְעֹה כִּי בְיָד חֲזָקָה יְשַׁלְּחֵם וּבְיָד חֲזָקָה יְגָרְשֵׁם מֵאַרְצוֹ:

Instead of taking the actor in the second half of the pasuk to be Pharaoh, take the actor to be Hashem, who often acts with a יָד חֲזָקָה. Thus, עַתָּה תִרְאֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶעֱשֶׂה לְפַרְעֹה, only now will you see what I do, to Pharaoh. כִּי בְיָד חֲזָקָה יְשַׁלְּחֵם, for with a mighty hand will He send them out [of Egypt], וּבְיָד חֲזָקָה יְגָרְשֵׁם מֵאַרְצוֹ, and with a mighty hand will He drive them [the 31 kings] out of His land [Israel].

Of course, Rashi renders the rest of the pasuk in a different manner.