Exodus 8:22 .. I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth.
The land of Goshen was the Israel’s portion during their sojourn in Egypt after Joseph brought his family into the country when he became Prime Minister. After the Pharaoh who worked with Joseph had passed away and successive Pharaohs came into the picture, Israel ended up in slavery instead of being assimilated as citizens into the larger Egyptian society.
The manner in which God protected them was fascinating as we read the account of how He brought them out of bondage through Moses. The Hebrew word translated as “set apart” here is the word “palaw” which is sometimes also translated as “marvellous”. “Palaw” is used 7 times in the Old Testament and of which, 4 instances are found in Exodus.
In essence, this setting apart is to deliberately distinguish between how God will show His goodness and favour on one party as opposed to another. To make this bias clear, one party will be blessed and another may well have none. This is the Goshen divide.
And here is our spiritual takeaway: even in the midst of the Egypts that we find ourselves in – recessions, downturns, pestilence, crises, etc., God’s Goshens – His open heaven for our lives, means that we will see miracles, breakthroughs, abundance, protection and everything marvellous poured out.
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