Exodus 8:20-24 "And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh forth to the water; and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me. Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are. And 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. And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to morrow shall this sign be. And the LORD did so; and there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants' houses, and into all the land of Egypt: the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of flies."
In spite of all the LORD had done to this point, Pharaoh continued his routine as if nothing had changed. The LORD told Moses to be there at the water when Pharaoh showed up. He was to “stand before” him or place himself in Pharaoh’s path. There was to be no misunderstanding or pretending on Pharaoh’s part that he did not see and hear Moses.
Think for a minute about how irritating it is to have a fly in the house. Most of us grab the fly swat immediately and go on the offensive. We do not want it landing on our food, we do not want to hear the buzzing it makes, and we do not want it to land on us. Now multiply that single fly into a swarm.
The word “swarm” is defined as a dense group of flying insects. The land of Egypt was thick with flies. They were in the houses, outside in the field, and landing on the people and the cattle. Living in south Geogia, we contend with swarms of gnats in the summer. You cannot carry on a conversation outside for them getting in your eyes, ears, and mouth: nothing discourages them. While we can flee into our homes to escape them, the LORD caused the flies to be everywhere in the land of Egypt.
The LORD made a powerful statement concerning the children of Israel in these passages. He called them “my people,” and He told Pharaoh that He had put a division between His people and Pharaoh’s people. Then the LORD set an appointed time for this difference to be made manifest. While all the land of Egypt was corrupted with the plague of flies, the land of Goshen saw no such swarm.
Dear ones, we are called to stand in the face of those who would dishonor God and declare His truth. This is not a command to be belligerent or haughty, but to simply be steadfast in the word of the LORD. Further, we do not need to try and be different from the world. All we need to do is follow God’s word: He has made a difference (put a division) between us and those that follow after the flesh. Instead of being concerned about showing that we are “different” from the world, let us instead labor to be faithful to our God and trust in the difference that He has made!