Good Morning.

“And in that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the land. I will make a difference between My people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall be.” (Exodus 8:22-23)

As I said yesterday, the fact that God set apart the land of Goshen and spared the Hebrews from the plagues was an indication to Pharaoh and the people of Egypt that their gods were not gods at all. They were marked for judgment and, in some cases, destruction. For the Hebrews, the division set between them and Egypt meant they were marked for deliverance and redemption. 

From the very beginning of Creation, God separated things that were intended to be mutually exclusive. For instance, He separated light from the darkness; with a distinction between them, they each functioned in their specific purpose. Ironically, when these two  mingle together, it is a time of day that we call “evening.” In Hebrew the word is erev (and is essentially the same word (arov) that is rendered in Exodus 8 as “swarms of flies” — the fourth plague. 

The point is that God has always intended that His people are to be distinguished from the world. We are to be light to those in darkness and not be entangled in mixing and mingling with the world. The arov affected those who were in darkness, so to speak; not those who were called to be light. Thus, His people are designated for redemption and are made prominent in the world that they might be an example to the world. 

This is how it was in the beginning and it is how it will be in the end of days. According to the prophet Amos, the Creator has determined to sift His people “among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth” (Amos 9:9). In other words, there is soon coming a day when He will set a distinction between His people and those of the world that, as a light, we might shine. Get ready!

Blessings and Shalom,  

Bill  

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