God's Grace (Ex. 8:22-23)

4/1/2008 7:47 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time           Focus:  God’s grace

Bible Reading & Meditation               Reference:  Exodus 8:22-23

            Message of the verses:  “22  "But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where My people are living, so that no swarms of insects will be there, in order that you may know that I, the LORD, am in the midst of the land.  23  "I will put a division between My people and your people. Tomorrow this sign will occur.”

            God is saying to Moses and Aaron that the rest of the plagues will not occur in the land of Goshen, which is where His chosen people lived ever since the Pharaoh of Joseph’s day had given them when they first came to Egypt.  Only God could have these plagues happen in Egypt and not happen in the land of Goshen, which is exactly what happened for the next seven plagues.

            In verse 23 God is saying that He will put a division between His people, Israel, and Pharaoh’s people and that the plague will start the next day.  Division is an interesting way of translating the Hebrew word for the work actually means redemption, a ransom, or deliverance.  God is telling Pharaoh through Moses and

Aaron that the Israelites are His special people and do not belong to the world.  God chose Israel because of His love for them, and also because of an oath that He had given to Abraham.  Moses writes more about this subject in Deu. 7 where he writes:  “6  "For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.  7  "The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8  but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the LORD brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9  "Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments; 10  but repays those who hate Him to their faces, to destroy them; He will not delay with him who hates Him, He will repay him to his face. 11  "Therefore, you shall keep the commandment and the statutes and the judgments which I am commanding you today, to do them.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  There are some similar things that have happened to me as a believer in Jesus Christ, for I too have been redeemed through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, and there is a division between me and the world because of this redemption.  I am a blood bought child of God who was chosen before the foundation of the earth, purchased through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, and called by the Holy Spirit of God on the 26^th of January 1974, and for this I am so very thankful and also give praise to the Lord for, and for this I can truly worship the Lord.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To be yoked up with the Lord Jesus Christ so that I can find spiritual rest.

Memory verse for the week:                       Philippians 3:8

8.  More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ.