Do Not Be Yoked Together

Tuesday Devotional: Today’s devotional is from 2 Corinthians 6:14-18. A common scripture used a lot to keep believers and unbelievers apart; but what does this really mean? There is MUCH more meaning that we will dig into…

LISTEN TO TODAY’S READING

SCRIPTURES FOR TODAY: 2 CORINTHIANS 6:14-18

Warning Against Idolatry

Verse 14: Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? 

Verse 15: What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? 

Verse 16: What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

Verse 17: Therefore, “Come out from them and be separate,
says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”

Verse 18: And, “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”

THOUGHTS & RELEVANCE FOR TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL

Verse 14: We continue with Paul and the division of the people in Corinth. The people were being enticed by false doctrine and were trying to mix the false doctrine with the truth. Paul used an analogy of the yoke; which in their time was a device for joining together a pair of draft animals, especially oxen, usually consisting of a crosspiece with two bow-shaped pieces, each enclosing the head of an animal. When they were equally yolked they could work smoothly and strong together.

When there was an “unequally yoked” team it meant there was one stronger ox and one weaker, or one taller and one shorter. The weaker or shorter ox would walk more slowly than the taller, stronger one, causing the load to go around in circles. When oxen are unequally yoked, they cannot perform the task set before them. Instead of working together, they are at odds with one another.

So, to be relevant today that could mean be careful of false doctrine and trying to mix truth with what is false. When you mix (yolk, join, or link) the truth with the false, we could be going around in circles or down the wrong path. Mixing it also makes us weaker instead of having all the truth with all the power. This is used within the singles world a lot about us not marrying someone that isn’t a believer. I can understand where this thought comes from and how it can apply, but Paul is specifically talking about mixing true and false doctrine and not people. But the oxen are joined together, whereas, if you look at a marriage you could see therefor, when people are unequally yoked, they would not be able to perform the task set before them. Instead of working together, they could be at odds with one another.

He continuous saying what do righteousness and wickedness have in common, where he is letting the people know, now that you have Christ you are different. You will see things and think things differently then someone that doesn’t know Christ. What fellowship can light have with darkness, gives us a bit of warning that if we are with people that think differently than us we could get enticed into doing things that we used to do. We could get caught up snares, temptations, distresses, sorrows and with this false doctrine have false gods.

Verse 15: In this passage Paul is asking a rhetorical question to get the people of Corinth to think. Christ and Belial or on two opposite spectrum’s; Belial is having to do with evil and having no relationship with God. In some instances, it directly refers to the devil (the enemy) as Belial. So, he’s asking the question to make them think, now that you are different what do you have in common with someone that doesn’t have a relationship with Christ? He is trying to show them that there is a spiritual separation between a believer and non-believer and a big difference on how each one will think and act. For today’s relevance, it gives us an opportunity to think also. It’s not saying that we spend absolutely no time with a believer, but beware because our thinking is different there sometimes might not be agreement. Just be mindful of how much and where you spend your time.

Verse 16: In this passage Paul again is making a thinking statement. He is showing the people that they are a living temple where God lives. An idol is an inanimate object that doesn’t have any form of life. So how could there be any form of agreement or a relationship between the two. Nothing could appear more abominable to a Jew than an idol in the temple of God: here, then, could be no agreement; the worship of the two is wholly incompatible. An idolater never worships the true God; a Christian never worships an idol. If ye join in idolatrous rites, it is impossible that you would be a believer.

In the second part of this passage it’s showing that God intends to make the heart of every believer His home. He will be a constant companion to us, He will not ever leave us, wherever we go God will be with us. Because God is within us, we cannot have any other gods. There will be a relationship between God and humans.

Verse 17–18: This first part is calling us to be different, think different, and act different. When people look at us today, we should “be different”, than a non-believer. There should be a line of separation of our actions and avoid from getting involved with “things” of the world and going down the wrong path of lies, sexual immorality, greed, or lust. It goes right into warning them again not to have any false gods or be deceived by untruths; God will protect us if we do our part to avoid going down wrong paths. Here God is saying again I will be with you and you with me, there will be a close relationship with no other gods, stay with the truth, and don’t be with unbelievers that may cause you to stumble.

DAILY DEVOTIONALS

DAILY DEVOTIONALS are biblical based mini studies to encourage you, help you grow on your journey, and to inspire you to share with others!

• Sunday: Video teachings with a variety of teachers, bishops, and pastors.
• Monday: Hearing from God Each Morning (365 Daily Devotional) Joyce Meyer
• Tuesday: Study of a book in the bible along with scripture readings (II Corinthians)
• Wednesday: Jesus Calling; Enjoying Peace in His Presence (365 Daily Devotional) Sarah Young
• Thursday: Becoming A Vessel God Can use; Donna Partow
• Friday: Our Daily Bread; that tiny little monthly booklet that reaches people around the world with the life-changing wisdom of the bible
• Saturday: Created For Excellence; 12 Keys to Godly Success, Kevin Baerg