Exodus 8:22, 2322And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth. 23And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to morrow shall this sign be. (Exodus 8:22‑23); Galatians 6:14-1814But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. 15For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. 16And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God. 17From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. 18Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. <<Unto the Galatians written from Rome.>> (Galatians 6:14‑18)
In Exodus 8 speaking to Pharaoh, God says that He "will put a division between My people and thy people." There is nothing so precious to God as His people, because they are brought to Him through Christ. God's searching eye finds satisfaction in His own people seen in Christ. Have you ever thought of God finding satisfaction in you? It is in His own people that the Lord has His portion. Pharaoh is typical of the prince of this world, and God says to him, "I will put a division [or a redemption] between My people and thy people." The cross of Christ is the basis of this division.
The world lies guilty of crucifying Christ. If God has marked me out as separate to Himself, it is the cross that has done it. What a joy it is to be on the redemption side of the cross! "As many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them." Are we walking according to this rule?
"I bear in my body the marks [brands] of the Lord Jesus." Paul, as it were, says, "I have paid too great a price to bother with anything less than the Lord Jesus." How Paul had suffered for loyalty to Christ! We know how he was beaten, scourged, scarred. What a sight his back must have been! One time when he had been stoned, he was left at the roadside as though dead. Think of the shipwrecks he was in! If we could get before our souls that scene of Calvary as the measure of the cost of our redemption, what an effect it would have on us! He was willing to go into darkness for us, that we might ever be in the light.
Paul goes on to say, "None of these things move me." Not because I am a strong Christian, but because I have had a picture of the cross of Christ, and there was the end of these things. God has put a division between me and the world. Do we bear the marks of the Lord Jesus, not physically so much these days, but morally? It is a rejected Savior I must follow. The cross is the secret of deliverance from the world. You are spoiled for the world, and the world is spoiled for you. The cross of Christ will make the waters of this world bitter for you. How blessed to say, like Paul, I am through with the world. Lay hold on what is really life, and learn the joy, not the hardship, of living for Christ.