No Mixing

I found another article that( unknowingly) explains my point about why there cannot be a united World religion. Here it is:

Do Not Mix from Following the Ancient Paths

"I’ve got a few things I wanted to write about and I’m unsure if it’ll end up in separate messages (this being my third today already) or if I can successfully put them all together into one message. We’ll see. But be patient with me - if it doesn’t make sense to you, know that inside my virus infested head it makes perfect sense. If I need to, I’ll come back later and fix it. LOL Just let me know.

Do Not Mix

Leviticus 19 is called the “Holiness Chapter” because it tells us how to be holy, how to be set apart from the world, how to be ‘other than’ everyone else. HaShem is the source of holiness and He is the One Who defines what holiness is. He does some of that in Leviticus 19.

Leviticus 19:19
Observe my regulations. Don’t let your livestock mate with those of another kind, don’t sow your field with two different kinds of grain, and don’t wear a garment of cloth made with two different kinds of thread.

The below Deuteronomy passage is found in the section of Scripture that is translated “When you go out” which is a set of instructions for how we are to live out our lives, being separate and holy for HaShem. What does it look like to live a life of holiness?

Deuteronomy 22:9-11
You are not to sow two kinds of seed between your rows of vines; if you do, both the two harvested crops and the yield from the vines must be forefited. You are not to plow with an ox and a donkey together. You are not to wear clothing woven with two kinds of thread, wool and linen together.

Well, let’s start with things like not yoking together an ox and a donkey. What does that mean? Well, simply put it means not to put an ox and a donkey together under the same yoke - they are different and cannot work together. You can plow with both kinds of animals, but one is better for the job and together it simply doesn’t work. That doesn’t sound too hard, does it?

Not mating together two different kinds of livestock seems rather simple too. Who would think to try to mate together a cow and a horse? Certainly not the cow or the horse! But sheep and goats - some say that’s been done naturally and in the lab as well. What do you get but a “geep”. Not only is it completely useless but they don’t live long. But what about a horse and a donkey - a mule? But they are the same kind of animal, the same genus, Equus.

We’re also told not to sow different kinds of seed together. Now I don’t know about you, but I have done that myself. I read one year that if you plant your bean plants with your corn that the beans will grow up the corn and you won’t need a trellis for your beans. I tried it, it wasn’t very good. But I don’t think that was the point that HaShem was making. This suggestion was in a book because some people had found that corn and beans were good companion plants and grew well together. For me, it was a bad scenario. I had very few beans and my corn didn’t grow much at all. Was HaShem using it as an object lesson, an illustration for me to later realize? Could be. But still, He said not to sow different kinds of seed together. That doesn’t seem like a hard thing to do. In my garden now I have my plants in their rows by their kind and things grow well, I am pleased. And yes, I do keep my tomatoes near my corn but away from my peppers.

What about not wearing clothing of mixed threads, specifically wool and linen? Yet the priestly garment was made with mixed wool and linen. It is taught that we’re not to mix ours in order to make the priestly garments more holy and unique. But what difference does that make today? Do you think there’s something to this not mixing stuff? It seems that HaShem doesn’t like us to mix things and He gives us specific things we’re not to mix but we’re not told specifically why. Could it be that there’s something to be learned here and maybe it’s to be learned by obeying it first and the understanding comes later? Well, let’s follow this idea for a few minutes.

I think the point is as much about not mixing things than it is about keeping certain items separate from others. One major point is that we are to keep things pure. We are to distinguish between what is holy and what is common, what is righteous and what is unrighteous and we are not to mix the two. (can you think of a particular passage in 2 Corinthians 6 that talks about unequally yoking things together - light and darkness, righteousness and unrighteousness, believer and unbeliever? I would venture a guess that Shaul had holiness in mind when he wrote to the believers in Corinth.)

HaShem was also specific about not mixing the pagan forms of worship into the worship of Himself. He was very clear in Deuteronomy 18 and 20, among other places where He specifically says that He hates the worship of other gods and does not want it applied to our worship of Him, it is an abomonation.

I don’t know about you but for me, this really hit me hard this past month or two. We have done our best as a family not to mix things, espically things that we are specifically told not to mix. We’ve gone through our clothes and rid ourselves of fabrics that are not 100% materials (100% cotton, 100% polyester, etc) and we’ve done so for the same reason we don’t eat pork and shellfish. Everything we as believers do is to be a reminder of how we are to live - we are to test everything and see if it is for our good or not, see if it meets His approval or not. Don’t mix things. Our clothes are to be a reminder that we don’t mix unholy things with holy things. Yet again, another practical object lesson directly from our Father. The little things matter, like growing beans and corn together or wearing a cotton-poly blend. But they matter most when we get the bigger picture - these are object lessons for how we are to live out our lives as holy children of the King. If we keep Him in mind as we are shopping or planting or raising our animals then we are more likely to keep Him in mind when we are making other decisions as well. He must be a part of all that we do and we must come to the place where we are willing to obey even if we don’t fully understand.

Well, now I feel like I’ve rambled for hours and I sure hope it makes sense. My brain is foggy and my bed is calling for me. I do have more, things about being under a covering and how holy things are always covered in Scripture and how that related to attonement and head coverings. But my brain is emptying fast so that will have to wait for another day.

Blessings everyone and Shabbat Shalom! May your rest be sweet and your spirit be renewed in Him!"