Numbers 25:3 [NIV]
"So Israel yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor. And the Lord's anger burned against them."
Deuteronomy 22:10
"Do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together."
Psalm 106:27-29
"They yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods; they aroused the Lord's anger by their wicked deeds and a plague broke out among them."
2 Corinthians 6:14-17
"Do not be yoked together with unbelievers.
For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common?
Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?
What harmony is there between Christ and Belial [Greek: Beliar]?
Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?
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.
Therefore come out of them and be separate, says the Lord.
Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.'
And, 'I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters,' says the Lord Almighty."
What we Learn from These Scriptures
*Do not be yoked with false gods, instead of, or even along with, God Almighty.
* Sacrificing to false gods, and eating those sacrifices is fellowship with the demonic realm, not God Almighty.
* There is no blessing in fellowship with the demonic realm.
* The blessing of being part of God's Own Family Kingdom is given to those who worship the One True God, and walk in Oneness with Him. [See: John 17]
* Righteousness and wickedness are complete opposites, and therefore have nothing in common.
* Jesus spent time with sinners because they needed a Saviour, and to be taught right ways of living to achieve good outcomes. He did not become one with them in their sin. He did not agree with their sins, nor did He help them to sin.
*Being yoked causes covenant agreement, and the power of agreement is divided when there is no common ground, just like falsehood and truth cannot walk in harmony.
* There is no harmony between false gods and the One True God. They do not speak the same words, nor have the same purpose, so there will never be agreement between them.
* When someone turns a light on, darkness is automatically no longer there -- the two cannot cohabit the same space, so therefore there will never be agreement between "Light" and "Dark" forces.
* An ox and a donkey cannot plow the soil together because they are not even the same kind of animal, much less the same temperament, or personality. There is only agreement with two oxen plowing together.
* Do not even touch that which is unholy, and separate yourself from it completely, for your own benefit. Even Eve knew that, although it is not written that God said not to touch the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Touching the unholy things knowingly, and on purpose, is the same as embracing the evil that they mean to God, and this makes God very angry. Repentance and returning to God fully and completely with one's whole heart, and walking away from the devil, and his ways is the only remedy to such bad choices.
A Little History
In 1 Samuel 6, we find the account of the Philistines, the enemies of God and of Ancient Israel, who had stolen the Ark of the Covenant from them. The Philistines asked how to give it back so that they could be healed, because tumors and rats were destroying their country.
Beginning in verse 7, we read:
7 "Now then, get a new cart ready, with two cows that have calved and have never been yoked. Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up.
8 Take the Ark of the Lord and put it on the cart..."
They chose a new cart, out of respect to Israel's God, Who they knew was the One True God. They chose cows who both had calves to come back to, and therefore they knew they would have a reason to return to them. These cows were equally yoked, and would carry the Ark faithfully, of course led by God Himself to the right destination, just as He led King David's river rock to its destination in the giant's forehead.
They go on to describe in detail all they intended to do to give back the Ark of the Covenant because there was no agreement between false gods and the God of Israel, Who had made it clear it did not belong to them, and this was the reason for their suffering.
The grace God gave the Philistines who touched the Ark and realized their mistake is amazing to me. God did not kill them for touching it, as He did the Israelites who knew better, and touched it without authority.
When anyone comes against that which God has separated out unto Himself, and called holy unto Him, they become an enemy of God Himself, the God of Hosts -- the angel armies of heaven, who defend the Kingdom of God.
It is a dangerous thing for humans to become an enemy of God. Those who take others that do not belong to them, for any reason, will face the consequence of their actions, unless they repent and ask for forgiveness for their deeds. This applies to rulers of nations, kingdoms, cities, people groups and families alike.
Some people in the earth are so demonically influenced that think nothing of taking righteous people from their families and forcing them to be part of theirs, to do evil with them.
The righteous, in that case, will pray, and God can deliver them out of that circumstance. If they are not delivered, these also can pray and ask God to change the hearts of those they are now living with against their will. Everything is possible with God, for He protects those who love Him.
God took issue with people who became like those around them who did evil, and worshipped false gods, knowing the One True God, and walking away from Him on purpose.
There are many who have been taken from their families and forced to live as spouses, where there is no agreement, and no power in that marriage to affect change anyway, so the devil has chosen poorly in this case.
The Scripture "come out of them and be separate" in these cases may not be possible outside of the death of the spouse involved, in which case the righteous will immediately be in the arms of Jesus Christ, our Saviour, and Legal Advocate.
Someone who marries someone knowingly, who is of a different belief, in any area of life, will find it difficult, much less if they have different levels of faith, or different belief systems.
They do not, essentially then, speak the same "language". They will not find agreement in their conversations, and therefore may experience more difficulty in communication, hence family time can be stressful.
God doesn't want that for families. God wants us to have powerful marriages, based on agreement, and therefore powerful communities, and nations, which live well, prosper and are able to bless others around them, and thereby being a light on a hill that drives out the darkness.
If you work for those who do not believe as you do, that is different from being in continual companionship with them. To chose to be part of someone who does not believe in the One True God, is to become part of their lifestyle, and this is what God does not desire for us, for it comes with all that the demonic realm does to those who follow them.
God wants to be our Father, and be the blesser of our souls. He wants to take care of all our needs. The devil has nothing to give, and his ways are only to "steal, kill and destroy" [John 10:10].
I am not saying that if you are already married and have a family, that you need to divorce your spouse now, and move away. In this case, a person needs to ask God what to do, now that they have found out what God desires. He will help them to worship Him, even as King David said, in Psalm 23 "You have prepared a table for me even in the midst of my enemies."
When you cannot separate yourself from Your circumstance, God is still with you. He will hold your hand, and lead you on the Journey He has for you, even if you must stay where you are.
Take heart, and be encouraged in this knowing, that He loves you deeply, and knows your circumstance, and can help you through it, or even out of it, if that is what is necessary for your own safety.
In the case of some cultures, to make the decision to follow Jesus Christ on that Journey means certain death. This of course means instant transfer to your new home in Heaven, so be encouraged even in this, that His Arms await you if that is His way of removing you from your circumstance.
Being yoked with Jesus Christ, whether in evil circumstances or good, is the best way to achieve God-given outcomes.
