unequally yoked – Praying Pint

39.r. “The thoughts of the righteous are just; the counsels of the wicked are deceitful.”

Genesis 49:5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of violence are their swords. Let my soul come not into their council; O my glory, be not joined to their company. For in their anger they killed men, and in their willfulness they hamstrung oxen. Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce, and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.

Psalms 26:9    Do not sweep my soul away with sinners, nor my life with bloodthirsty men,

Psalms 64:2    Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the throng of evildoers,

2 Corinthians 6:14    Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?

Proverbs 1:15-16   my son, do not walk in the way with them; hold back your foot from their paths,  for their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood.

Proverbs 12:5    The thoughts of the righteous are just; the counsels of the wicked are deceitful.

Our soul is our honor; by its powers we are distinguished from, and raised above, the beasts that perish. We ought, from our hearts, to abhor all bloody and mischievous men. Cursed be their anger. (Henry)

Simeon and Levi are brothers,…. Not because they were so in a natural sense, being brethren both by father and mother’s side, for there were others so besides them; but because they were of like tempers, dispositions, and manners (f), bold, wrathful, cruel, revengeful, and deceitful, and joined together in their evil counsels and evil actions, and so are joined together in the evils predicted of them, instruments of cruelty. (Gill)

Being in agreement with someone and joining together in an act does not necessarily make that act right, good, or just. It may make us think it is, but that will never make it so. Being angered at an act of another person(s) will surely come to us at some point in our lives, whether it be an act against us, our family, our friends, our community, or our nation. For some reason, anger is a part of our nature, and rightly so. Having the ability to recognize right and wrong, good and bad, just and injustice, and have either indignation or pleasure from it seems to be within our nature. How we treat this recognition in light of our knowledge and application of God’s Word is the difference between that which brings honor and glory to Jesus Christ or not.

By faith, trust, and reliance on God and His promises we can choose to lay the burden of our hearts about wrongs, injustice, and other sinful actions of others at His feet. Why???

Beloved, never avenge yourselves but leave it to the wrath of God
Vengeance is mine; I will repay
Vengeance is mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly.’
Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all
Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will pay the man back for what he has done.
the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies.
For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.
“O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
for he avenges the blood of his children and takes vengeance on his adversaries.
I will execute great vengeance on them with wrathful rebukes. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I lay my vengeance upon them.
Since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
May the Lord judge between me and you, may the Lord avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you.
O shameless nation, before the decree takes effect —before the day passes away like chaff— before there comes upon you the burning anger of the Lord, before there comes upon you the day of the anger of the Lord.
the Lord will repay him according to his deeds
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?
the Lord is an avenger in all these things

I think it is good that we can see wrongs and feel indignation and anger. This means we have the ability to know the difference. However, some people may be angered by good. The civil war is an example of two groups of people who saw the same thing, one calling it wrong and one calling it good. When we look at abortion there are those who call killing unborn babies good and those who call it bad. The same can be said about pornography, sex trafficking, LGBTQ, looting and burning businesses in an outcry of retaliation, proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ, etc…. Let us know that it is from the heart that seeks and desires to honor and glorify Jesus Christ that a person will discern what is right, true, just, and good. Praise God that we have been given the Holy Spirit to guide and lead us unto truth in all matters. Praise God that we have been given discernment. Praise God that we have been given His promises of handling all wrongs, injustices, and cruelty. Praise God who gives us promises that allow us to lay these at His feet and know, in His Holiness and in His time they will be justly handled. Praise God we can rest and have peace when all around us are in fear and anger. Praise God and rejoice for He is God and in Him, we have hope for today and assurance for tomorrow.

37.a. “Or what fellowship has light with darkness?”

Genesis 24:2 And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh, that I may make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”

Genesis 26:34-35    When Esau was forty years old, he took Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite,  and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.

Genesis 27:46   Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I loathe my life because of the Hittite women. If Jacob marries one of the Hittite women like these, one of the women of the land, what good will my life be to me?”

Exodus 34:16    and you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters whore after their gods and make your sons whore after their gods.

Deuteronomy 7:3-4    You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons,  for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods. Then the anger of the LORD would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly.

2 Corinthians 6:14    Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?

Abraham was in such high esteem among the Canaanites, that, undoubtedly, he could have married Isaac to a daughter of one of the princes of the land. But he saw that the Canaanites were degenerating into great wickedness, and knew that they were designed for ruin; and he would not marry his son among them, lest they should be a snare to his soul. (Benson)

We all like to believe that we can be around ungodly things as much as we want and that we are strong enough to ward off the influence. But we must take seriously the words of Scripture: Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits” (1 Corinthians 15:33). It needs to come back to the simple question from Romans 12:2: Are we being conformed to this world, or are we being transformed by the renewing of your mind? (Guzik)

Our culture is much different now than in the time of Abraham. We do not choose a wife for our sons. They choose for themselves. As parents, it is very hard to watch as a son chooses to make union with a woman who is not a believer or does not give thought or service to God. Scripture is clear that such a union will more than likely bring heartache as parents observe their lives.

All is not lost, Pray for their souls. Pray continually for God’s softening of their heart and mind to the Word of God. Pray for God to bring people into their lives who love, serve, and honor Jesus Christ. Pray for God to open their heart to hear His invitation to believe in Him. Never cease to pray for them. Do not give up. God is able to do more than we ask and much more than we can imagine.

25.l. “Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

2 Corinthians 6:14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?

Nehemiah 13:23-26   In those days also I saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.  And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and they could not speak the language of Judah, but only the language of each people.  And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair. And I made them take an oath in the name of God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.  Did not Solomon king of Israel sin on account of such women? Among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless, foreign women made even him to sin.

Psalms 106:35     but they mixed with the nations and learned to do as they did.

Proverbs 22:24  Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man,

1 Corinthians 15:33    Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”

1 Corinthians 10:21    You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.

James 4:4     You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

Proverbs 29:27   An unjust man is an abomination to the righteous, but one whose way is straight is an abomination to the wicked.

Ephesians 5: 6  Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.  Therefore do not become partners with them;  for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light  (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true),  and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.  Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.

Paul is speaking to the overly broad affections of the Corinthian Christians. They had joined themselves to unbelievers.

Unequally yoked – How can we do this? Certainly by marrying an unbeliever, which is the most common way this principle is applied. “A very wise and very holy man was given his judgment on this point: ‘A man who is truly pious, marrying with an unconverted woman, will either draw back to perdition, or have a cross during life.’ The same may be said of a pious woman marrying an unconverted man. Such persons cannot say this petition of the Lord’s prayer, Lead us not into temptation. They plunge into it of their own accord.” (Clarke)

However, Paul means much more here than only marrying an unbeliever. It really applies to any environment where we let the world influence our thinking. When we are being conformed to this world and are not being transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2), we join together with unbelievers in an ungodly way.

This speaks especially to the issue of influence. Paul is not suggesting that Christians never associate with unbelievers (he makes this clear in 1 Corinthians 5:9-13). The principle is that we are to be in the world, but not of the world, like a ship should be in the water, but water shouldn’t be in the ship. If the world is influencing us, it is clear we are unequally yoked together with unbelievers. And this unequal yoke, or ungodly influence, may come through a book, a movie, a television show, a magazine, or even through worldly Christian friends. Most Christians are far too indiscriminate about the things they allow to influence their minds and lives. We all like to believe that we can be around ungodly things as much as we want and that we are strong enough to ward off the influence. But we must take seriously the words of Scripture: Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits” (1 Corinthians 15:33). It needs to come back to the simple question from Romans 12:2: Are we being conformed to this world, or are we being transformed by the renewing of your mind?

159. Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

1 Kings 18:20 So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word.

Matthew 6:24     “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.

Romans 6:16-22    But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.

1 Corinthians 10:21-22    You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.  Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?

2 Corinthians 6:14-16   Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?

Revelation 3:15-16    “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot!  So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.

Psalms 100:3    Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Matthew 22:1 And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’ But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.

“But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Tabletalk Magazine; God is not interested in halfhearted commitment. He will either have our hearts in their entirety, or He will have nothing to do with us at all. Ultimately, God only demands one thing—our full commitment to Him. We were made for our Creator, and He will not share us with another. He will not have us as His if we try to divide our ultimate allegiance between Him and anything else. In Elijah’s day, many in Israel tried to serve God and someone else on the side. We are ever tempted to do the same. Let us remember the One for whom we were made that we might realize that we can be satisfied in Him alone.

No one can serve two masters. Satan disguises it very well in our culture to the point we don’t even know we are doing it. It soon gets to a point where we cling to our sin and try to cling to Jesus too. We can not have it both ways. 1John 2:15–17: “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

The truth is that we can not buy into both realms because we will certainly be devoted to one over the other. That is the problem, isn’t it? We want both and want to have the Lord’s blessings to do it. That is not going to happen. Why does scripture tell us to keep our eyes on Jesus, heaven, eternity and not on things of this world that pull us down paths away from God? Don’t try to keep one foot in the world and one in Christian faith. We deceive ourselves into thinking we can have both. We end up lukewarm, inefficient, blind, deaf, stiff-necked, fruitless, faithless, and forsaking the sacrifice/torture Jesus gave to us on the cross so that we can live abundant and fruitful lives in and through Him.

What fellowship has light with darkness

Genesis 24:1 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years. And the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh, that I may make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”

Nehemiah 13:25    And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair. And I made them take an oath in the name of God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.

Exodus 34:16    and you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters whore after their gods and make your sons whore after their gods.

Deuteronomy 7:3-4     You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons,  for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods. Then the anger of the LORD would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly.

2 Corinthians 6:14-17    Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?

Matthew Henry writes about marriage of Isaac;

Marriage is to be undertaken with much care and with reference to the will of God, and with prayer for his direction and blessing. When God is not consulted and regarded His blessing cannot be expected. It is natural for parents to be concerned about the welfare of their children’s souls and that their walk this side of eternity is on the path of God’s purpose. Note that Abraham remembers what God had wonderfully brought him out of the land of his birth, by the call of his grace; and therefore does not doubt He will prosper what he has placed in his care – His son Isaac.

It is also true that if we think we can partner or bond with things of this world and liberal culture and it not have an affect on our commitment to God is foolish. When His word is void in our daily lives there will be no guiding light to direct all of the decisions big and small. When the world culture is the major influence in your values it is impossible to discern what is honorable and in obedience to God’s plan and purposes.

Aim to humbly honor, serve, follow, glorify and obey Him surely our decisions will be inline with His word and the quiet whispers of His leading.