The Unequal Yoke
Clarence E. Lunden
Table of Contents
The Unequal Yoke
"O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged. Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels. Now for a recompense in the same, (I speak as unto my children,) be ye also enlarged. Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." 2 Cor. 6:11-18.
We find in verse eighteen that He says, "I will be a Father unto you." We know that He is a Father to every believer, but every believer is not enjoying this relationship. The reason is because of what is spoken of in the previous verses which we have read. That is, being unequally yoked with unbelievers. It might be in business; it might be in marriage; or, it might be in ecclesiastical things-an unequal yoke. I would like now to go back to the Old Testament for an illustration of this. Please turn to 2 Kings 3.
"Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years. And he wrought evil in the sight of the Lord; but not like his father, and like his mother: for he put away the image of Baal that his father had made. Nevertheless he cleaved unto the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not there from. And Mesha king of Moab was a sheepmaster, and rendered unto the king of Israel an hundred thousand lambs, and an hundred thousand rams, with the wool. But it came to pass, when Ahab was dead, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. And Icing Jehoram went out of Samaria the same time, and numbered all Israel. And he went and sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, The king of Moab hath rebelled against me: wilt thou go with me against Moab to battle? And he said, I will go up: I am as thou art, my people as thy people, and my horses as thy horses. And he said, Which way shall we go up? And he answered, The way through the wilderness of Edom. So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom: and they fetched a compass of seven days' journey: and there was no water for the host, and for the cattle that followed them. And the king of Israel said, Alas! that the Lord hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab. But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the Lord, that we may inquire of the Lord by him? And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah. And Jehoshaphat said, The word of the Lord is with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down unto him. And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay: for the Lord hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab. And Elisha said, As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee. But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him. And he said, Thus saith the Lord, Make this valley full of ditches. For thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye, and your cattle, and your beasts. And this is but a light thing in the sight of the Lord: he will deliver the Moabites also into your hand. And ye shall smite every fenced city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all wells of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones. And it came to pass in the morning, when the meat offering was offered, that, behold, there came water by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water. And when all the Moabites heard that the kings were come up to fight against them, they gathered all that were able to put on armor, and upward, and stood in the border. And they rose up early in the morning, and the sun shown upon the water, and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood: And they said, This is blood: the kings are surely slain, and they have smitten one another: now therefore, Moab, to the spoil. And when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and smote the Moabites, so that they fled before them: but they went forward smiting the Moabites, even in their country. 2 Kings 3:1-24.
We have three kings here, who are going out to fight against their enemies. Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah is among them. Now, God's Word is very clear, "let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them." (Jer. 15:19.) He belonged to Judah, to those who were God's people in the divine center that God had placed here upon the earth. Israel had seceded; they had separated from Judah. They had formed their own patterns of worship, and they were now reaping the result of their folly.
Now, we find that Jehoshaphat was a very kind-hearted man. But that wasn't the only thing: we know that he had made a false move before; there was a marriage relationship in the family that was not right. How we have to watch every little thing in our lives, because some day we may find ourselves in an impossible situation because of our folly. One of the things that we notice, not only with the Children of Israel, but also with the Christian, is that we are not to have anything to do (that is, to join up with) those who are not God's people. We are not to make an "unequal yoke." We find here that there is a very definite unequal yoke. Who were the Edomites? Why, they were the ones whose father had despised his birthright, and they had followed the pattern of their father-Jacob's brother. They were the enemies of the people of God when they came into the land. And, the Children of Israel, those who had separated from Judah and Benjamin, were walking contrary to the Word of God. They had followed Jeroboam and his idols. They had made a calf to worship.
So, because of an alliance in the family, instead of being faithful to the Lord, Jehoshaphat was drawn into this amalgamation of three nations. What a motley group—those who had nothing to do with God at all, the Edomites; and those who were pretending to be the people of God, that were not, at least as to testimony. And here was Jehoshaphat, the king of Israel, a servant of the Lord and a dear man, who was drawn into this position where he finds himself in great difficulty-there is no water. He is going to share with these kings the result of their folly. So, as is always the case, we find that the Lord, or His representative, is on hand where ever His people are. There is an old principle in the Word of God, from the time that the law was given and the people had failed: God said that, any time His people would cry unto Him from their heart, that He would deliver them. Isn't that a marvelous provision that God has made for His people? Solomon repeated it at the dedication of the temple. He reminded the people that, if they failed or went astray, and they returned to the Lord, that He would deliver them. What a God we have! What a resource we have! Would God deliver Jehoshaphat in this situation that he was now in? Yes. But, we will see how He delivers him.
Now, we find that Elisha was in the company. Elisha is a type, or little picture, of the Lord Jesus. But he is also a little picture of one who is walking with God as a man down here. He represents both. Someone recognizes that Elisha is in the company, and they call on him. He was not in the company because he wanted to join in that awful mixture-no; he was in the company because God had sent him there for a special purpose. And, he seems to be much grieved because of the situation. Notice verse 14: "And Elisha said, As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee." That is, if it were not for Jehoshaphat being in that company, there would be no use of their calling upon Elisha. Here was a man of God and the king of Judah, who was in trouble, and God was going to see to it that he was delivered.
Then he said, "But now, bring me a minstrel." I believe that this suggests to us the fact that Elisha felt that he was out of communion with his God, being in such a company. He was out of communion. Remember how David was a minstrel, and how he played on his harp before Saul until the wicked spirit departed from him? It makes us think of the Spirit of God assisting the believer in the circumstances in which he is found down here. "Bring me a minstrel." Elisha was out of communion because of Jehoshaphat being in that position; he didn't feel that he could meet the situation with Jehoshaphat in such a position as this. So he wanted himself to be brought back into communion.
"And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him." Now he gives the instructions for blessing. (This was for the man of God.) "And he said, Thus saith the Lord, Make this valley full of ditches." Valleys, trenches, ditches, pools, all speak of repentance in Scripture, I believe. So, when we go astray, there is a way back. But it is the conscience at work, is it not? It is the Spirit of God working on the conscience to restore our souls. It is the goodness of God that leads to repentance. So, this is the way back-"Make the valley full of ditches." The valley also speaks of repentance-taking a low place. When Israel will be restored in the last days, in the fortieth chapter of Isaiah, we find the valley mentioned; and, also, John the Baptist's ministry in type the one who would speak of repentance. And so it is here, "Make the valley full of ditches."
"For thus saith the Lord, ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; (the blessing will not come in the ordinary way that you would expect it) yet that valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye, and your cattle, and your beasts." No, the blessing will not come by the way of Judah, God's people. Isn't that sad? The blessing should have come by way of Judah; they represented God upon the earth. And, here was Jehoshaphat in a position where he could not be a blessing to the others. Have you ever found yourself in such a position through an unequal yoke? Your hands are tied; you cannot be a blessing to anyone, because you, yourself, are in a position where you are denying that you belong to the Lord Himself alone. Sad, isn't it? How much there is of it today. How we need to be exercised that we not find ourselves in a position where we are tied, and we cannot be a testimony to those around us.
Notice, "the valley shall be filled with water." This is what they needed. "That ye may drink, both ye, and your cattle, and your beasts. And this is but a light thing in the sight of the Lord: he will deliver the Moabites also into your hand." These were the instructions. But, the point is, were they going to carry them out? Faith must come in to act upon the instructions by the prophet of God. It goes on to speak of the destruction of all that which belonged to the enemy. But, notice verse 20: "And it came to pass in the morning, when the meat offering was offered, that, behold, there came water by the way of Judah."-Is that the way it is written? It should have come by way of Judah. But, no, it came by way of "Edom." Why was this? Was not this the enemies' land? How then would the water come by the way of Edom? How often this is the case-that God cannot bless us on the ground we have take in professing His Name; He has to come in, in His sovereignty, outside of it all, if He is going to bless us, because of our state. "By the way of Edom." The very land of that people who would not allow Israel to pass through as they came into their promised land. They were the enemies of God's people. The Edomite king, whom they had joined with, was in their midst. It was through that land that the water came.
But, remember, that all that night the water had been gathering in the ditches. It makes us think of a work that is done for us because of the morning and evening sacrifice. There was to be a lamb in the morning, and a lamb in the evening. This takes us back to the work of Christ-His death, and His resurrection. This is what the heart is to be taken up with if there is to be recovery from an unequal yoke. The object before our hearts has to be the One who, Himself, has gone through death and resurrection. So, it was just at that time (verse 20): "And it came to pass in the morning, when the meat offering was offered." What does the meat offering speak of? It speaks of the Lord Jesus in all of the perfection of His obedience down here as a man. His obedience, and dependence too. This is what was set before Jehoshaphat-the meat offering.
Now, we know that these are types; but wasn't this a wonderful thing to occupy Jehoshaphat with when he was in an unequal yoke? You and I cannot do anything in the way of correcting our ways ourselves. It is only as we are occupied with the One who Himself walked perfectly before God that, by the Spirit, our ways are corrected down here. How we would like to think that we can do this, or do that; but we cannot. There must be an object before the heart-a pure object-that we might walk in His steps. If we are thus occupied, the Spirit of God enables us to follow in His steps. This is what the Spirit of God sets before us in connection with an unequal yoke, if we are in it. How many today are found in an unequal yoke! They may not realize it. Anything in which we are associated with those who are of this world, who do not love the Lord Jesus-business, marriage, or in a religious way-is an unequal yoke. How do we get out of it? "Dig ditches." God will take care of the rest. It is going to come in His sovereignty; He will act in blessing for those who know better, but who have done just what Jehoshaphat did. He knew better!
So, in verse 20, "And it came to pass in the morning..." All night the water had gathered. So often in Scripture the waters speak of the death of Christ. The gathering of the waters were judgment for Him. But the very waters that spoke of judgment in the time of Noah, were the waters that carried him to safety into the new earth. So here, the valley and the ditches were filled with water. "And it came to pass in the morning, when the meat offering was offered, that, behold, there came water by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water." Now they are able to overcome their enemies, because the Lord had come in. And it is on the ground of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and the Spirit of God occupying Jehoshaphat with this-not in any efforts of his own, but by sovereign grace-that he is delivered. And that is the only way that you and I can be delivered from the pitfalls that we find in the Christian path, if we allow them.
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