Some Things You Are Not To Mix Says God -- Exodus 23:18-19

“You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; nor is the fat of My feast to remain overnight until morning. You shall bring the choice first fruits of your soil into the house of the LORD your God. You are not to boil a kid in the milk of its mother.”
 

Only those who wear earplugs and blindfolds would disagree with the idea that the world is continuing to speed downhill towards a very calamitous self-destruction.  If Rome and Athens fell, why not us?  Even the small-l liberals are not happy with many things such as global warming (assuming it is true), famines, human rights, inequality, etc.  At the same time, armed with political correctness, they push for more freedom with respect to abortion, alternative lifestyles, drug use, euthanasia, and so much more that drives them further and further from the kind of world intended by its Creator, not to mention the Creator Himself. Many of our western politicians do not see the Islamic State as a serious threat to their own freedom and way of life.  Just how did we get to this point?

I believe four Factors are at play here:

1.     The fall of Adam and Eve, the originators of sin, continues to impact all of us in the human race.

2.     The Church of Jesus Christ, for the most part, has had and continues to have, great difficulty in walking in His steps, often crossing over into paths that He would not lead us to, regardless of the issue or circumstance.

3.     The Enemy of God or Satan is having a hay day now causing as much confusion among believers resulting in both total and partial apostasy.

4.     The plan and time schedule established by God for the return of Jesus Christ to earth is right on target and everything that is going on is all part of it.

All four of these factors are interwoven and known to God. Factors 1 and 2 were clearly in the domain of man to avoid – Adam did not do so back then; and we do not now.  In the absence of a strong desire not to fall into the traps of these two factors, Factor 3 is given free reign – Satan is indeed very busy and feels most successful. When all the first three factors are in play, Factor 4 is only a matter of time – but time known only to God.

In fact, God warned His people about Factor 2 in our passage above from Exodus 23.  He wanted His people to learn certain lessons, certain ways of doing things. And it was to start with some very simple things.  They were not to mix the “blood of His sacrifice” (the blood of the animal sacrificed to Him) with the leavened bread. That was a no-no. The two were not to be mixed. And the fat from the animal being sacrificed to Him was not to remain overnight. It had to be dealt with right away. It had to be burned up. Finally, God’s people were not to boil a young goat in the milk of its mother. Boil it in something else.

And at the same time, they were to bring the best first fruits of the ground to God as well.

Once again, I am convinced that I have to leave the world’s current situation to its Creator. I can only worry about getting myself right before Him, and even that, I can only do with His help and power.

So, where do WE (you and I) stand?
Do we agree the world is in a mess?
Do we accept that we as humans are a race fallen to sin?
Do we admit that oftentimes, and sometimes by preference, we, as Christians, are naturally inclined to stray from the path that God would have us walk?
Do we realize that Satan is doing all he can to destroy our relationship with God, not realizing he is just pushing us closer and closer to the time when God will say, “Enough!”?
Do we eagerly await the return of Jesus Christ?

I hope you can join me in answering “yes” to all these questions.  If so, live your life as an individual who knows what is happening, knows what we can expect to happen, realizes he/she has to remain faithful to Christ, actively fights the Enemy, and rejoices in the very certain hope of His return.

If you cannot join those of us who can say ‘yes’ to these questions, I invite you to write to me and tell me which one you have difficulty with and why.  I do not have all the answers, but I may have some that could change your mind if you’re open to it.

Next time we’ll look at what God will do to help us for His part. In the meantime, we all need to be aware of the fact that “certain things do not mix in God’s life-laboratory”.  So, watch out for personal explosions.

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