#DailyDevotion The LORD Makes A Distinction Between His People & The World
Ex. 8:20-24 20“Get up early in the morning,” the LORD told Moses, “go before Pharaoh — he’s going out to the water. Tell him: “The LORD says: Let My people go and serve Me. 21If you will not let My people go, I will send swarms of flies on you, on your servants, your people, and your homes. The homes of the Egyptians and the land they stand on will be full of flies. 22On that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where My people live, and let no flies come there, to show you that I am the LORD in the land. 23I will distinguish between My people and yours. This sign will happen tomorrow.” 24The LORD did as He said, and swarms of flies came into Pharaoh’s palace and the homes of his servants and all over Egypt, and they were ruining the land.
Well of course Pharaoh doesn’t let God’s people go so the LORD tries again to get Pharaoh to repent. Moses threatens Pharaoh and Egypt with a plague of flies if he doesn’t let Israel go into the wilderness to worship him. However, unlike the previous plagues this plague will not fall upon the land of Goshen. Why is that important? Because that is where the Israelites settled in the time of Joseph and where they continued to live. The LORD is going to distinguish between the people of Pharaoh and his own people. And so it happened.
What significance does this have for us today? It is of great significance if we look to the book of Revelation. The plagues of Revelation are the fulfillment of the plagues of Egypt upon the world. The World is Egypt. The Devil and his beast(s), antichrist(s) and man of lawlessness (as if there is much difference between these agents of evil) and everyone who follows the way of the world, who worships mammon, happiness, health etc., are the people of Egypt, the people of misery.
What do we see in the plagues of Revelation? Some of the plague affect everyone—believers and unbelievers. Some plague though only affect those whose name is not written in the book of life, whose foreheads and hearts do not bear the name of Christ the LORD. Now you may be wondering if Christians are not separated by distance how will the LORD divide the plagues of Revelation between those that affect everyone and those that only affect those who do not belong to them. Well it’s quite simple, any of the plagues that are mundane i.e. floods, earthquakes, monetary problems, and the like, everyone experiences. There are other plagues that are spiritual in nature. These the LORD tells us in Revelation affect those who aren’t written in the Book of Life or have the LORD’s name written on them or have the mark of the beast written on them are those who experience the spiritual plagues.
Those mundane plague affect us Christians to keep us humble, mortify the flesh, repent of our sins and look to God in Christ alone for our salvation and our only hope. The LORD hopes to bring to repentance these plagues those who are not yet his through faith. He gives that opportunity to repent to all people. Revelation tells us most of these do not repent even though the LORD sent the plagues to call all of Adam’s children to repent and trust in the LORD Jesus Christ. So what are you going to do when bad times fall upon you? Are you going sit in your filth or repent lest something worse happen to you? Are you going to rejoice in your suffering because of the promise of Christ or grumble against the LORD your God?
Heavenly Father, grant the gift of repentance when we fall upon bad times so we may look to you for your great mercy and kindness in Jesus Christ our Lord. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.