H914 – bāḏal – Is a Hebrew word, meaning to separate, to sever or to divide. It can also mean to separate oneself from something.
God made a divide between certain things when He created our world. He created order in this way. When He gave the law there was a clear distinction between the holy and profane. We are no longer under the law but we should still have a clear distinction in our hearts between right and wrong. We gain this wisdom by reading the Word of God and spending time with Jesus.
Leviticus 20:26 (NASB95) ‘Thus you are to be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy; and I have set you apart from the peoples to be Mine.
The ‘set you apart’ is the word bāḏal, that I want to talk about today. That same word, meaning to separate, is found in the very beginning of our Holy Bible.
Genesis 1:4 (NASB95) God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.
Genesis 1:6 (NASB95) Then God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.”
Genesis 1:14 (NASB95) Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years.
God separated different things in a way that brought order. We want to be mindful of these things, because it is the way that the Lord intended them to be. Another scripture that caught my eye, that has the same word (bāḏal – to divide) in it is in Isaiah 59.
Isaiah 59:2 (NASB95) But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.
We should be able to divide right and wrong. If we aren’t able to do that we risk being divided from God. Let not the division be between us and God, but a separation from what is corrupt and unholy. This could be why the Word of God is referred to as a sword, it cuts! It divides truth from the enemies lies.
Hebrews 4:12 (NASB95) For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, even penetrating as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
We are in a time when many are calling evil things good. So we must know the Word of God which helps us understand God’s character. That means knowing the entire Bible, not just the scriptures we like.
In the New Testament, in Matthew 14, Jesus walked on the face of the water. But in Mark 4, He also calmed the wind and the sea. I believe it was a reminder of Genesis. Jesus was there in the beginning, He’s the Word, He was there when God divided the water and land.
John 1:1-5 (NASB95) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
John is referring to Jesus as the Word in this scripture, which in Greek, is logos. John further explains in this chapter that everything came through Jesus and that He became flesh and dwelt among us. He uses Greek thought, of divine reasoning, to demonstrate that Jesus is eternal and, more importantly, that He is God. We can see the resemblance of this scripture in Genesis 1 and 2.
Genesis 1:1-2 (NASB95) In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.
So Jesus is the Word and was there in the beginning, and God divided things to create order, and we are to divide or discern between good and evil.
2 Timothy 2:15 (NASB95) Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.
The KJV says – rightly dividing the word of truth. This seems to be pretty crucial. We are to rightly discern between right and wrong, using the Word of God as our guide. But we are also to remember who God is and to understand that it is His wisdom we follow, not our own.
Job 38:8-10 (NASB95) Or who enclosed the sea with doors when, bursting forth, it went out from the womb; when I made a cloud its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band, and I placed boundaries on it and set a bolt and doors.
Not only did God make the sea, He also controls it. He can calm it and He can stir it up. He also holds it back from the shore.
In my opinion, we should ponder these deeper things. Like how in the world, the sea stays in its place. God did that. We are to use wisdom to divide the way God does in the way He desires. Not the way we want it to be but the way it was intended to be in God‘s eyes.
According to christianity.com believers are considered saints. They explain saints in this way:
In its most basic sense, a saint is a “holy one,” someone who is set apart for God’s special purposes. As a result, every follower of Jesus Christ is a saint.
1 Peter 2:9 (NASB95) But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
In Psalm 149:5-6 – It says:
Let the godly ones exult in glory; let them sing for joy on their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand.
And one scripture we probably all know is that of the armor of God which says:
Ephesians 6:17 (NASB) And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
So why do I say all this? To remind myself and anyone who will listen, to read the Bible and to seek Jesus with all our heart. We are to divide the Word and stand for what is right. We are in the end times, it’s very important that we be on the correct side with the Lord, not that of culture. We discern the correct side by knowing Jesus’ character and we know His character by knowing scripture and spending time with Him in prayer.
Jesus will at some point correct those on the wrong side but there will come a time when it’s too late. Don’t wait, get right with God today. Repent and ask for His help in whatever you are going through. Never forget the fierce love of God. He wants our obedience, not our perfection. Get in your Bibles and seek God earnestly.
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