Exodus 8.20-32


In our text God makes a distinction. We see it in verse 23. ‘Thus I will put
a division between My people and your people.’ There is a difference between
Israel and Egypt, and it is a difference that God has established. It’s
important for you to understand what this is about. This is a truth that
doesn’t just apply to Israel of old. It also applies to you. Your God still
makes a distinction. Today, there is a difference between the Church and the
rest of the world. Grasping what that means will affect how you live in this
world. So, let’s see what the Spirit has to teach us from this so that we
all may be encouraged and guided into greater faithfulness as disciples.

Let’s start with this. God has made a distinction between Israel and Egypt.
That’s nice, but what difference does it really make? Consider this. God
calls Israel ‘My people’. That is His way of saying that they are special to
Him. That is a notion, however, that many have been offended by and have
condemned. There is this idea that pops up from time to time and continues
to be popular in our day. It claims that God loves all, equally and the
same. No one is in any special category. That is a lie. It is true that God
loves all, and we must uphold that thought because it’s in the Scriptures.
But we need to make clear that He doesn’t love all equally. He loves His
people in a different way. His people are in a separate category. They are
special to Him and so they are specially loved by Him. You, the Church, are
special to God. You are specially loved. This isn’t really all that hard to
grasp and nor is it really offensive. I love you all. It is my earnest
desire to see you all flourish as people. I am doing my best as your pastor
to see that happen. But my love for you cannot compare to my love for my
children. My love for them will always trump my love for you. My love for
them is a special love. Now, I doubt that any of you are offended by that.
It is a fact that you readily accept. In the same way, God loves all, and
yet there is a special love for His Church – you.

There is a passage in Zechariah that illustrates this. ‘For thus said Yahweh
of hosts, after His glory sent me to the nations who plundered you, for he
who touches you touches the apple of His eye…’ [Zech. 2:8] Ever get poked in
the eye? Your hand rushes to cover the eye. You quickly turn away and
probably bend over in pain. You may even utter a cry. There is dramatic
response when that happens. When anyone touches God’s people, it’s like
someone poked God in the eye; not that it hurts and God lets out a yelp.
Rather, there is a dramatic response. Maybe like judging the offending
nation with plagues. When someone touches God’s people, we see what it means
that we are loved. The people of God are different from Egypt and all the
other nations. That means we are special, we are loved and we are protected.
And, actually, that is what the book of Exodus is all about. Israel is
special, loved and protected. It was something that Israel had to understand
and enjoy.

Let’s move on. We’ve seen that because God has made this distinction, we are
special, loved, and protected. Sadly, there are many within the Church who
do not understand what this means. They hear that they are loved by God but,
then, they come to conclusions that they really shouldn’t. The expectation
of too many is that because God loves them their life will be all good.
There may be bad things that happen to unbelievers, but when it comes to us,
life will move along quite smoothly, thank you. Now, this isn’t usually
stated in back and white, but it does show itself in different ways. It
shows in people’s prayers. It also shows when life hits a serious bump in
the road. There is this surprise mixed with a bit of confusion. ‘Why is this
happening?!?’ The hidden assumption shows itself. ‘Life isn’t supposed to be
this hard – not for people loved by God.’ And that is often followed by a
measure of doubt. Everyone knows that life won’t be perfect, but too many
Christians make the assumption that because we are loved, life won’t ever
get all that hard. But consider our text. God declares that He is making a
distinction. When does that come into play? In the fourth plague. What does
that say about the first three plagues? Israel endured those along with
Egypt. Israel had to deal with digging for water, all those frogs as well as
the lice. Israel is not being punished for anything in the first three
plagues, but it still has to endure them. Being special, loved and protected
doesn’t mean that we are exempt from the hardships and even the judgments
that come upon the world around us. Though innocent, we are included in many
of them. There are different reasons why God includes us. For one thing, you
can learn a great deal when life hits a serious bump in the road. God is not
like an overprotective mother who shields her child from all the threats of
danger. He wisely exposes His people to the realities of this fallen world.
But He is always there so that the difficulties are kept within limits. So,
you are special, loved and yes, protected. But life is still going to hurt.
We need to continue to develop our understanding of God’s ways when it comes
to things like this so that we will be prepared to obey His will when it
includes enduring the struggles of this world.

Now, we’re ready for the next step. God has a particular goal for us in
making this distinction. Listen again to our text. ‘Thus says Yahweh, "Let
My people go, that they may serve me."’ [20] Israel is special to God. They
are identified as ‘My people’. But they are such for a specific purpose:
that they might become servants of their God. This is a fundamental
difference between Israel and Egypt, between the Church and the world. We
are the servants of the Most High God. They are not. We are special, loved
and protected so that we might be able to fulfill that purpose. God has
blessed us by this distinction but the point is not that we become pampered
couch potatoes. He has blessed us that we might serve Him and, in this way,
flourish. Blessing always leads to mission.

All of this, of course, brings us to Jesus. At His baptism, the Father
speaks. ‘This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.’ The Father
declares that there is a distinction. Jesus is special, loved and protected.
And why does the Father say this? Jesus is about to begin His ministry. This
is the beginning of a new phase of Jesus’ service to the Father. Jesus is
now sent to Israel and the nations. This will be a time of conflict and
pain. Jesus now becomes ‘the Suffering Servant of God’. His goal? That God’s
renown would be displayed and highlighted before the world. Or to use the
language of Exodus, Jesus has come that the world may know, ‘I am Yahweh,
and there is no god like Me!’ As part of His service to God, He enlisted
others. ‘Come, follow Me!’ He has called you to be a part of this mission,
and your presence here is evidence that you have heard His call and have
responded. But understand what is involved. You are included in a different
category from the rest of the world. You are the people of God. You are the
apple of His eye. As such, you are special. Do you feel special? You should.
That’s what it means to be the Church. We are those whom God loves in a
special way. Do you believe that? You are loved. One of the deepest desires
of the human soul is to be loved. We have the hardest time with that. We
tell ourselves, ‘Who could love someone as unlovable as I am? Who could love
me when I do the stupid things that I do? Am I loved? Really loved?’ And
yet, what does that Gospel say? Jesus loves you. And He does that knowing
better than you do how awful you really are. He loves you, sins and all. Do
you believe that? You are protected. You are being kept safe. That doesn’t
mean that there will be no pain. You know that already. But it does mean
that you will arrive at your true home. You will be protected as you walk
through the valley of the shadow of death. You will be kept safe for heaven.
That is sure. Do you believe that?

But remember the goal of God’s distinction. You are in this category so that
you might be a servant of God. You are following Jesus, and are being sent
into the world as a servant. And your purpose is clear: that God’s renown
might be displayed and highlighted before a watching world, a world that
longs to be loved, and a world that hates the only Person who will always
sincerely love. Developing as a servant of God takes time, like growing up.
And just as there are transition points as a child grows into an adult,
there are transition points in becoming a fully developed servant. That’s
true of individuals, and it is true of churches. I am not a prophet nor the
son of a prophet, but it seems to me that Faith Reformed Church is at
another transition point in our development in serving our God. It seems to
me that it’s time to take another step into the world around us so that God’
s renown might be displayed and highlighted a bit more, with the fruit that
many may be drawn to Christ. I’m not sure what that will look like, but I
know that it will include things like hardship, sacrifice, risk. But that is
not all that it will include. It will also include a deeper experience of
what it means that we are the people of God, that we are special, loved and
protected. I have been praying about what this might mean for us, and I ask
that you join me so that we might serve our God better.