Against the Lord...

"No other gods before Me" (Ex. 20.31) 
... comes at the beginning of the commandments.

"Hallowed be Thy Name" (Mt.6.9)
... comes at the start of the Lord's prayer.

But at the beginning of the psalms comes the phrase, "against the Lord" (Ps. 2.2)
- it speaks of earth's counsel and earth's purpose.

Things come into focus as we judge everything from the standpoint of its meaning for the Kingdom of God.

Isaiah speaks of those who "please themselves with the children of strangers."
(2.16), or as another translation has it, who "covenant with strangers."

One thing was to welcome the stranger who chose to come to Israel - like Ruth, who left her world with its rules of conduct, and its gods, and declared her unalterable commitment to the people and the God she chose ... "There will I be buried." (Ruth 1.17)
     Another thing was to accept the stranger and his values with him,      
          causing God's people to cease to be a separate people. (1K. 8.53)

The story is repeated among us:
Now, woe to the one who does not consider strange values to have the same standing as his own - 
no matter how abhorrent, perverse and destructive those values may be in the sight of God.

We live in a world where nothing has more value than anything else,
and where to believe otherwise is considered a mortal sin.

We live in a day of so much confusion,
and so much mixture,
where beliefs decided by ungodly men are thrust upon us without our permission.

While the "church" is tragically following the example of the world, 
we need to learn again that God is still a God of separation.
     God's people are still to be a people separated from the values of the world,
          no matter what the earthly crowd may exalt as right,
               and no matter what the earthly crowd may condemn as wrong.
Friendship with the world is still enmity with God.  

Separation is at the beginning of the road that leads to God.
One of God's first works was to separate the light from the darkness.
There could be no mixture or else there would be no real light.

Let me say that again: There could be no mixture or else there would be no real light.

So too in the spiritual realm - 
"God is Light. and in Him there is no darkness at all." (1Jn. 1.5)

The values of the Kingdom of God are our values, 
     not the opinions of a darkened world, 
          nor the ideas of a church which has mixed the Light with darkness. 


The road to God is a walking in the Light, 
     and a separating oneself from darkness,
           whenever and however it shows itself.

This is God's path before us, "like a shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." (Pr. 4.18)