The Day of New Beginnings
Separated Unto God
Ex. 8:16-23:
6 ¶ Then the LORD said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, that it may become gnats through all the land of Egypt.’"
17 They did so; and Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff, and struck the dust of the earth, and there were gnats on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became gnats through all the land of Egypt.
18 The magicians tried with their secret arts to bring forth gnats, but they could not; so there were gnats on man and beast.
19 Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God." But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the LORD had said.
20 ¶ Now the LORD said to Moses, "Rise early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh, as he comes out to the water, and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, "Let My people go, that they may serve Me.
21 "For if you do not let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of insects on you and on your servants and on your people and into your houses; and the houses of the Egyptians will be full of swarms of insects, and also the ground on which they dwell.
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."‘"
What are the spiritual ramifications of these passages? Mystically they speak of the inward work God is doing in us. Up until the plague of gnats, the magicians were able to reproduce the same signs that God worked through Moses. The magicians become a type of the religious, soul realm within us. The religious, soul realm can produce things that look just like God. As a matter of fact, it often looks more spiritual than the true moving of God. Paul, in speaking of the false apostles of his day, says this:
8 Since many boast according to the flesh, I will boast also.
19 For you, being so wise, bear with the foolish gladly.
20 For you bear with anyone if he enslaves you, if he devours you, if he takes advantage of you, if he exalts himself, if he hits you in the face.
21 To my shame I must say that we have been weak by comparison. But in whatever respect anyone else is bold (I speak in foolishness), I am just as bold myself.
Paul said the true apostles were weak by comparison. What he meant was they lacked the soulish appeal of the false. That’s because what the soul realm produces always has a way of ministering to our soul life in such a way as to gratify it. Something of the self life is always fed though the religious, soul realm. The gifts of the Holy Spirit can be manifested in the soul realm as can healing and many other things attributed to God. The religious, soul realm within us can produce to the untrained spiritual ear some of the best music and worship around. While worship from the soul realm is always designed to make us feel good, the true worship of the Spirit glorifies the Father, not our self life.
Lets look at verses 22-23 again:
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."‘"
The time comes when the realm of God is set apart from the religious, soul realm within us. This is where the cross operating in our lives comes in. It separates soul from spirit (Heb. 4:12). God said, “I will put a division between My people and your people.” There is a realm in God the soulish, religious realm cannot reproduce. It cannot reproduce the true life of Christ in a person. It cannot reproduce the nature of God in us by which we are sealed as God’s sons. The soul realm of religion can imitate God only up to a point. Later on in Exodus, there is darkness all through the land of Egypt, but there is light in Goshen, the land God set apart for His people. The land of Goshen should be our goal. It’s the realm of our spirits after God separates them from the contamination of the religious, soul realm within us.