2 Corinthians {6:14} "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? {6:15} What harmony is there between Messiah and Belial ? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?"
Few things are more vital to our spiritual well being as Believers than not being unequally yoked. Yet many Believers give it little regard. Yes, we live in the world, but Yeshua said, we are not of the world. By necessity we need to be in contact with unbelievers and sinners, but we are not to become like them. Yes, it is impossible for us to isolate ourselves in a world filled with unbelievers but even though we move, work and live among them, we must not be contaminated by them. Yeshua was a friend of tax collectors and He ate with sinners, yet He was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from them.So, right here lies the problem, a problem of relationships; how to be a friend of sinners and yet at the same time remain separate from sinners. By-the-way, this issue of not being unequally yoked is not only for marriages, it is actually wider reaching than that. In fact, in the passage we read marriage is not the primary issue. Unequally yoked takes in a whole spectrum of relationships and partnerships and reminds us, that as Believers our first loyalty is to the Lord and being separated unto Him is essential to us walking with Him and knowing Him in a deeper and more intimate way.
Being unequally yoked has to do with our relationships. Notice what the Scripture says, “14) Do not be yoked together with unbelievers.” So, the principle of unequal yoking affects our relationships with all unbelievers. It is about our interpersonal relationships, it is about the limits we need to place on our fellowship, friendships, partnerships and any other personal contact we have with unbelievers.
The idea of an unequal yoking comes from a farming analogy where two animals of differing kinds and strength are coupled together in order to plough a field; a practice which was forbidden in Torah. A yoke is a harness which joins two animals' side by side and obviously if a stronger more dominant animal is joined with a weaker one both animals are going to suffer. In particular the weaker animal is going to be damaged by the pull of the stronger. In the spiritual sense, unequally yoked is speaking about Believers forming a bond with unbelievers. That is what the text says; “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers.” The word unbeliever in the Greek, the language Paul used to write this scripture, means; “someone who is faithless, someone who is skeptical of the things of God, someone who is not trusting in Messiah Yeshua.” That is what is in view here, and the idea is that a Believer is not to enter into any formal arrangement, any kind of binding partnership, any covenant or contract or tie with those who are in unbelief. Why? Because the relationship according to the Word of God will be damaging to their spiritual life. You see an unequal yoke equals an unbalanced relationship.
Surely one of Satan’s greatest devices for the crippling of Believers has been "The Unequal Yoke principle." His one object is to drag Believers down from their higher road in Messiah Yeshua to the lowest levels of the world. Take heed, “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers…” but rather… “come out from among them, and be separate, says the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you”
CLICK: https://youtu.be/2B446isTqMs To view the Torah commentary on Parasha “Re'eh" by Adin (Job) Azgad and the Haftarah commentary by Naomi Mwangi.
CLICK: https://youtu.be/Red7amW3DK8 To view the Torah commentary on Parasha “Re'eh” by Rabbi Jack.
CLICK: https://youtu.be/Ao3ZantG8pE To view the YouTube video of the sermon "I Am The Light" by Rabbi Jack
CLICK: https://youtu.be/cNlnu07RDPc To view the YouTube video of the "Shabbat Service" at Etz Chaim Kenya, August 8, 2026.
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Titus 2:13 "…while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Messiah Yeshua.”
D’VAR TORAH
SHOFTIM – JUDGES
DEVARIM (DEUTERONOMY) 16.18-21.9
Deuteronomy {16:18} “Judges and officers shall you make in all your gates, which the Lord your GOD gives you, according to your tribes; and they shall judge the people with righteous judgements. {16:19} You shall not wrest justice: you shall not respect persons; neither shall you take a bribe; for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous. {16:20} That which is altogether just shall you follow, that you may live, and inherit the land which the Lord your GOD gives you. {16:21} You shall not plant an Asherah of any kind of tree beside the Altar of the Lord your GOD, which you shall make. {16:22} Neither shall you set up a pillar; which the Lord your GOD hates.”
This week’s Parasha begins with the Lord giving the commandment to always be impartial in our judgements and never accept a bribe. I think we all know all too well, and it goes without saying, that a bribe or gift can and will cloud judgement. I was extremely cautious, as a rabbi not to encourage anyone to give me large gifts, especially money. I emphasize the word large because small gifts can be expressions of appreciation and sometimes that is acceptable in an appropriate situation. However, I can see how a large gift or one given with the wrong motives could have clouded my judgement and perhaps caused me not to properly correct or discipline someone. Righteous judgements and the giving of bribes are very important subjects and I could certainly write an entire commentary on them. However, they are not what struck me as I read through this Torah Parasha. These are the verses that stood out:
Deuteronomy {16:21} “You shall not plant an Asherah of any kind of tree beside the Altar of the Lord your GOD, which you shall make. {16:22} Neither shall you set you up a pillar; which the Lord your GOD hates.”
We can see that the Lord is adamant about not setting up Asherah of any kind of tree or to set up any kinds of pillars next to His Altar of burnt offerings. An Asherah pole or pillar is a symbol of pagan worship. The pagan nations Israel was going to dispossess, especially the Canaanites, used to set up these carved trees and poles in their religious locations as part of their pagan reverence for their satanic gods. The Lord does not want His people to have anything to do with this or any other type of pagan practice. He especially does not want us to mix pagan practices with our worship of Him.
What significance does this commandment have for us today? Much I would say, because sadly, most Christian denominations mix pagan practices with the worship of the One True God. For one, they have incorporated the pagan symbol of a decorated tree (Christmas tree) and have associated it with the worship of the birth of our Messiah Yeshua. In addition, many Christian denominations have incorporated Easter eggs, a symbol of the Mesopotamian goddess of sexual love and fertility into the worship of the resurrection of Yeshua. There are even some denominations that have incorporated polytheism into their beliefs through the practice of praying to saints. Unwittingly they falsely believe that these “saints” can intercede for them with God when in truth they are praying to dead people, something practiced by Taoism.
However, Christians are not the only guilty ones. Judaism has incorporated the ancient Egyptian symbol associated with the moon goddess Tania into their belief system. The “hamsa hand” also known as the “hand of Mary and the hand of Miriam,” along with the symbol of the “all seeing eye” which are both of pagan origin, and have made them a part of Judaism to this day. Judaism has also incorporated the teaching and practicing of kabbalah: a form of Jewish mysticism that, among other abominations, teaches astral projection and reincarnation. However, kabbalah does not stop with Judaism! Even Messianic Jews have allowed kabbalah practices to creep into their teachings. As well, countless Believers keep copies of the Koran, the Book of Mormon and other books that teach abominations, in their homes and think nothing of it. Then there is the practice of keeping statues of Buddha and other satanic, pagan deity symbols in homes as decorations.
Deuteronomy {7:26} “Neither shall you bring an abomination into your house, lest you be a cursed thing like it: but you shall utterly detest it, and you shall utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.”
We cannot be double minded. We either worship God with all our soul, with all our might, with all our hearts and Him only or we pervert our worship of Him by incorporating foreign pagan practices into our worship.
Matthew {7:13} “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. {7:14} But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to salvation and only a few shall find it.”
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