Exodus 8:22-23: in that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may know that I am the LORD in the midst of the land.  I will make a difference between My people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall be.

What does it mean to be saved?  What does “redemption” look like?  In the third plague, Yahweh says that He will “sever” the land of Goshen to protect Israel from swarms that swarm over the rest of Egypt.   When Yahweh says that He will make a “difference” between His people and Pharaoh’s people, He uses a word that means “redeem” or “ransom.”  Redemption is separation.

Moses learns this lesson, and uses this as a plea after the golden calf.  When Yahweh says He will not go up in the midst of Israel, Moses protests; “how shall it be known that I and Your people have found grace in Your sight if You do not go with us?  Thus we shall be severed, and I Your people, from all the people that are on the face of the earth” (Exodus 33:16).  Being cut off from the nations is evidence of Yahweh’s favor.

The division between Israel and Egypt is a sign, both to Israel and to Pharaoh.  Yahweh does many signs through Moses.  Moses’ hand turns leprous, and that is a sign, and so is the rod that turns into a serpent.  The plagues are all signs of Yahweh’s power and sovereignty over Pharaoh, so that Pharaoh will come to know Yahweh and His work.  When Yahweh redeems Israel by dividing between Israel and Egypt, He is also performing a sign.

All these signs are temporary, singular, but the last sign in Exodus is a permanent sign, the sign of the annual Passover celebration that is to be a “token upon Your hand and for the frontlets between your eyes” (Exodus 13:16).  Passover commemorates the final plague, the death of the firstborn, but it sums up all the other plagues as well, all the other signs and wonders.  Passover is also a sign of the final severance between Israel and Egypt, a severance marked by the blood on the doorposts, the final division of Israel and the nations that is Yahweh’s final act of redemption.

Here at this table, we celebrate the new covenant Passover.  Here the Lord gives us a sign of His presence and grace. Here is the sprinkled blood that marks the difference between the new Israel and old Egypt.  Here the Lord shows that He has severed us from the nations, ransomed and redeemed us by separation.