Scripture Daily

Context No. 1962 of 4322 · Exodus

Context · Reflection

Exodus 9:1-7: in context

1Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, and tell him, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: “Let my people go, that they may serve me. 2For if you refuse to let them go, and hold them still, 3behold, the LORD’s hand is on your livestock which are in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the herds, and on the flocks with a very grievous pestilence. 4The LORD will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt; and nothing shall die of all that belongs to the children of Israel.”’” 5The LORD appointed a set time, saying, “Tomorrow the LORD shall do this thing in the land.” 6The LORD did that thing on the next day; and all the livestock of Egypt died, but of the livestock of the children of Israel, not one died. 7Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not so much as one of the livestock of the Israelites dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was stubborn, and he didn’t let the people go.

God warns Pharaoh through Moses: let my people go, or a severe plague will strike the livestock of Egypt. And God adds a promise: the LORD will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing belonging to the Israelites will die. It happens as God said: all the livestock of Egypt die, but of Israel's, not one. Pharaoh sends and finds it so; yet his heart remains stubborn, and he will not let the people go.

The phrase worth noticing is that God made a distinction between the livestock of Israel and of Egypt. In the midst of the plague, God set apart his own people, distinguishing them, so that what fell on Egypt did not fall on them. God knew who were his, and made a distinction. This reveals something that runs through Scripture: that God knows those who are his and distinguishes them. The Lord knows those who are his, Paul says; and there is a distinction, in God's sight, between those who belong to him and those who do not, between the one who serves God and the one who does not. This is worth holding with care. It does not mean that God's people are always spared every earthly trouble; Scripture is full of faithful people who suffered, and Jesus said the rain falls on the just and the unjust. God's distinction of his own is not a guarantee of earthly comfort. But it does mean this: that God knows those who are his, sets them apart in his heart, and distinguishes them; that we who belong to God are not lost in the crowd, indistinguishable, but known by name, marked as his own. In the day when God finally distinguishes between the righteous and the wicked, as the prophet says, the difference will be plain. And even now, God knows his own, has set them apart, and holds them as his. There is comfort in this. Whatever falls on the world around us, we who belong to God are known by him, distinguished, marked as his own; we are not anonymous in the mass but known and held by a God who makes a distinction. This is not a promise of exemption from every earthly hardship, but of belonging: that God knows those who are his, has set them apart, and will not lose track of his own. The LORD made a distinction between Israel and Egypt; and the God who knows those who are his still distinguishes and holds his own, whatever befalls the world around them.

Do I know that I belong to God, distinguished and set apart by him as his own, or do I feel lost in the crowd, anonymous, indistinguishable, and can I take comfort that the LORD knows those who are his, has marked them as his own, and does not lose track of his people, even as he made a distinction between Israel and Egypt?

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