You Are Different
The Lord is about to bring the final judgment upon Egypt in Exodus 11, causing the death of every firstborn son in Egypt, and the firstborn of animals as well. The Lord told Moses to have the Israelites kill a lamb and place the blood of that lamb upon the sides and tops of the doorframes of their houses, and when the death angel passed through the land he would pass over their houses and their firstborn sons would not die. Thus the name for the feast the Israelites were to celebrate every year in remembrance of that day: Passover.
The Lord said there would be wailing throughout Egypt such as there had never been when families realized their firstborn son had died. The Lord said he would make a distinction between Egypt and Israel and as a sign, not a dog would bark at any man or animal. That would truly be a miracle. It doesn't take much to make a dog bark. The slightest little noise can set them off. With all the wailing that was going on in Egypt, it would have been enough to make them bark all night.
This isn't the first time the Lord made a distinction between the Egyptians and Israelites. In Ex. 8:22 when the plague of flies was upon the land, the Lord said he would deal differently with the Israelites who were living in the land of Goshen. No swarms of flies were there because he made a distinction between his people and the Egyptians.
The word "distinction" means something which is shown to be different. Mal. 3:16-18 uses this same word. This talks about those who fear the Lord. The Lord has a scroll of remembrance written whenever we talk with each other about the Lord and he says "they will be mine in the day when I make up my treasured possession." "And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not."
That distinction begins when we give our lives to the Lord. 2 Cor. 5:17 says that when we are in Christ old things pass away and all things become new. Different from the way things used to be. Titus 2:14 Amplified Bible. He "gave himself on our behalf that he might redeem us (purchase our freedom) from all iniquity and purify for himself a people to be peculiarly his own, a people who are eager and enthusiastic about living a life that is good and filled with beneficial deeds." We are peculiarly his own; the treasured possession mentioned in Mal. 3:17.
As his people, with this distinction upon us, he expects that we will live differently. What he allows in those that don't know him, he will not allow in us. A good example of this is in 2 Sam. 6. The Ark of God had been captured by the Philistines (1 Sam. 6). So many plagues came upon them that they decided to send it back to Israel so they built a new cart, put the ark on it and sent it back to Israel. It was in the home of one of the Israelites for many years. When David became king he desired to bring the ark back to Jerusalem. So what did he do? Build a new cart and put the ark on it. But that was not the way the Lord had prescribed the ark to be transported. It was to be carried on the shoulders of the priests with the staves (poles) that ran through rings on each side of it. No one was to touch the ark. Of course David's plan met with disaster. They came to a bumpy spot and Uzzah, who was with those bringing the ark back, reached out to stabilize the ark and the Lord struck him dead. What God allowed the Philistines to do, he would not allow his people to do.
The same is true today. You are set apart, you are distinct, you are different. You are his treasured possession. As such he requires you to live a different life than those who do not know him; enthusiastic about living a life that is good and filled with beneficial deeds. A life that produces the fruit of the spirit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. There is no law against these things!! The world even welcomes them.
Go out today and be different!!
Tomorrows Bible Reading - Exodus 12, Luke 15, Job 30, 1 Corinthians 16
God is good all the time,
Naomi Brinkman
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