today's meditation (Nm.36) Be Equally Yoked

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word...)

(Numbers 36:1-13)  And the heads of the fathers’ households of the family of the sons of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near and spoke before Moses and before the leaders, the heads of the fathers’ households of the sons of Israel, 2 and they said, “The Lord commanded my lord to give the land by lot to the sons of Israel as an inheritance, and my lord was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters. 3 But if they marry one of the sons of the other tribes of the sons of Israel, their inheritance will be withdrawn from the inheritance of our fathers and will be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they belong; thus it will be withdrawn from our allotted inheritance. 4 When the jubilee of the sons of Israel comes, then their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they belong; so their inheritance will be withdrawn from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.”

5 Then Moses commanded the sons of Israel according to the word of the Lord, saying, “The tribe of the sons of Joseph are right in their statements. 6 This is what the Lord has commanded concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, ‘Let them marry whom they wish; only they must marry within the family of the tribe of their father.’ 7 Thus no inheritance of the sons of Israel shall be transferred from tribe to tribe, for the sons of Israel shall each hold to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. 8 Every daughter who comes into possession of an inheritance of any tribe of the sons of Israel shall be wife to one of the family of the tribe of her father, so that the sons of Israel each may possess the inheritance of his fathers. 9 Thus no inheritance shall be transferred from one tribe to another tribe, for the tribes of the sons of Israel shall each hold to his own inheritance.”

10 Just as the Lord had commanded Moses, so the daughters of Zelophehad did: 11 Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad married their uncles’ sons. 12 They married those from the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained with the tribe of the family of their father.

13 These are the commandments and the ordinances which the Lord commanded to the sons of Israel through Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

Not that this passage is saying this, but it definitely parallels the importance of not being unequally yoked (2 Corinthians 6:14).  The importance of this is NOT cultural at all.  It is all about a believer marrying another believer.  If you are a true believer, and you are putting Jesus first in your life, you want the same in a spouse!  And not just someone who says, "Oh - yeah - I believe in God (or a god, or a "higher power", or whatever other spiritualistic claim might be stated).  

If someone is a believer, you will see the fruit of the Spirit in their lives.  They will be serving and using their spiritual gifts in some facet.  They will be attending church regularly because they love Jesus and they are putting Him first in their lives.  They will be striving to live a righteous life.  Both should find all of these things in common.

Opposites attract - should be more like - one might be more of a quite person and the other person will be more "outgoing"... one person might hate to cook while the other might love to cook... one might be bad in math while the other is (hopefully) good in math... Not to put a person down for their weaknesses, but to utilize and encourage their strengths, and learn from each other... This helps to round out the teamwork.  

But only Jesus can "complete us".  Jesus is our inheritance and He protects it for us.  Jesus is our soulmate!!!  Literally!!!  If we look to our spouse for those things, they will fail and disappoint us, because none of us are perfect.  Marriage is difficult enough, so why would one look for a spouse that doesn't share the most important thing in one's life?  With this comes all the shared doctrinal stances and desires to edify and encourage each other to grow closer to God.  

My husband of 34 years has an illustration he likes to use - visualize that we are spokes on a wheel, and God is the hub and at the center of everything.  The closer we get to Jesus - the closer we get to each other!  This helps protect and nurture our efforts of living a holy life to glorify God, each looking forward to our eternal inheritance.