The online free dictionary defines the word mingle as — to mix or bring together in combination, to be or become mixed or united, to associate or take part with others. The past tense form is mingled, which means the mixing has taken place, it has happened.
As we look at today’s Scripture, it is telling us that something does not need to be mixed with something else. Is it specifically speaking of not having hybrid animals and plants?
In Deuteronomy 22:9-11, these were practical laws to help set up everyday habits that were good for living. Planting two crops side-by-side could be detrimental to one crop. As one crop could be stronger, growing taller than the other one, which would deprive the other of vital nutrients.
Do not plant two kinds of seed in your vineyard; if you do, not only the crops you plant but also the fruit of the vineyard will be defiled. Do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together. Do not wear clothes of wool and linen woven together (Deuteronomy 22:9-11).
You would not be able to plow a field evenly if there was an ox and a donkey harnessed together. The two types of cloth would launder and wear differently, which could reduce the amount of time of the garment’s usefulness.
In Matthew 9:16-17, here the garment reflects the outward common life of a sinful person. The new cloth represents righteousness and holiness. The two pieces of cloth cannot be sewn together, which could cause something worse to happen.
The new wine was put into new goatskins because as the new wine fermented it stretched the goatskin. Putting new wine into an older goatskin could cause the older goatskin to burst.
In Matthew 13:36-40, we learn about the parables of the tares and wheat. What happens when we try to put the two together?
We cannot feast at the Lord’s table and at the table of the devil. Eating at either table means that we identify either with Christ or the devil. We cannot follow both. It is either one or the other. There can be no compromise (1 Corinthians 10:21).
Matthew 6:24 and Luke 16:13 say basically the same thing, that no servant can serve two masters. Man will either hate one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other.
This is and should be simple enough for anyone to understand. We cannot serve two masters. How is it that some Christians try to blend both lifestyles together? It does not work. We cannot be fully serving Christ when we are still tiptoeing around with the world. Heavenly values and earthly values contradict each other.
By being born again we take hold of the incorruptible seed. When it is planted it should be watered, fed, and nurtured with the Word of God, so that we are able to bear good fruit (1 Peter 1:23).
When we look at these scriptures from a spiritual point of view, we see that we cannot mix the old sinful man with the new righteous man. When we accept Christ as our personal Savior, we are to put away our old lifestyle.
God was instructing Israel to be separate from the nations surrounding it, physically and spiritually. Christians today are to sustain spiritual segregation from all sin.
The key point is for Christians to stay spiritually pure and not mix with the sin of the world.
Joel was a prophet to the country of Judah, otherwise called the Northern Kingdom. The motivation behind this book was to caution Judah of God’s approaching judgment due to their transgressions and to encourage them to turn around to God.
Why? Individuals of Judah had become prosperous and self-satisfied. Underestimating God, they had gone to conceit, excessive admiration, and sin. Joel cautions them that this sort of way of life will definitely cut down God’s judgment.
In the first 12 verses, Joel predicts a plague of locusts that was to come. What do locusts do? They eat every green thing in sight. They can devour acres of crops in a manner of minutes. Now let us look at this passage of Scripture again.
A fast was a timeframe when no food was eaten and individuals moved toward God with lowliness, distress for transgression, and pressing supplication. In the Old Testament, individuals frequently abstained during seasons of catastrophe to concentrate on God and exhibit their shift in perspective and genuine commitment (Judges 20:26; 1 Kings 21:27; Ezra 8:21; Jonah 3:5).
The “Day of the Lord” is a typical expression in the Old Testament and in the Book of Joel (2:1,11,31; 3:14). It generally alludes to some unprecedented occurrence, regardless of whether a current occasion (like a plague of locusts), a near-future event (like the annihilation of Jerusalem or the enemy nations defeat), or the last time of history when God will overcome every one of the powers of evil.
Without God, destruction is certain. The people who have not by and by acknowledged God’s adoration and pardoning will remain before him with no allure. Make certain to call upon God’s affection and leniency while we have the chance.
Now let us look at Isaiah 17:10-11. The Syrians had abandoned the God who could save them, depending rather on their idols and their own solidarity. Regardless of how effective they were, God’s judgment was certain. Regularly we rely upon the features of accomplishment (costly vehicles, past occasions, garments, homes, and so on) to give us satisfaction.
Be that as it may, God says we will procure anguish and torment in the event that we have relied upon fleeting things to give us everlasting security. In the event that we do not want a similar treatment like Damascus received or as others in the Bible, we should abandon these allurements and put our faith and trust in God.
In the Book of Amos 4:1-13, the prophet tells Israel to repent, for the people had refused to turn to God. These people were more interested in serving themselves and would not submit to God’s will.
Are individuals of the church today comparably corrupt if they are living like the people in these passages of Scripture? Has the spiritual seed that we are called to plant become rotten? Have we become the rotten seed? What will God have to do with the people of today to cause them to get their hearts directly in line with God?
What should befall Christians that will cause them to start to be as Christ wants them to be? Is it safe to say that we have become a church of casual Christianity? Is it safe to say that we are cardboard cutout Christians? What will it take to reconnect with God?
For further reading:
What Does it Mean to Have Faith Like a Mustard Seed?
Are Karma and 'Reap What You Sow' the Same Thing?
Do Actions Really Speak Louder Than Words?
What Is the Parable of the Sower? Bible Meaning and Text
What Are the Fruits of the Spirit?
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