Nehemiah 9:2 And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.
This generation, like all generations, hates this word separation. Having to choose friends, who you walk with isn’t politically correct. The strangers in this passage of Scripture are foreigners. The problem isn’t their ethnicity but their gods. Strangers worshipped strange gods. Strangers invited God’s people to experience their god and his worship.
They may not have been opposed to God’s people worshipping God they just wanted God’s people to be tolerant of their gods. The problem is tolerance leads to acceptance. God didn’t want His people accepting other gods. God is a jealous God. He wants all the love and worship of His people. He will not share with other gods.
So the people had to decide to love God and hate other gods. They had to choose not to walk close to and have intimate fellowship with people that worshipped other gods. If you have friends who do not love God, then you have to temper your conversation. They will mock your love for God. They will slowly try to pull you away from God.
Birds of a feather flock together. How can two walk together unless they are agreed. The Peruvians had a saying that goes something like this; tell me who your friends are and I will tell you who you are. Who are your friends? Do they love God and His Word? Do they want to worship and honor God with all that lies in them? If not it is time to separate.
Photo by Jens Lelie on Unsplash
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