the Third Week after Easter
Daily Devotionals
Our Daily Homily - Volume 2
Nehemiah 9:2—The seed of Israel separated themselves.
This is the beginning of the true life. Turn to the story of creation, and you learn, first, that God divided the light from the darkness; next, the waters of the clouds from those on the earth; and next, the seas from the land. It was only thus that He could effect His purpose of substituting kosmos for chaos. So, in the development of the inner life, there must be separation and judgment; the discrimination of the false from the true, the evil from the good. "Separate Me... for the work whereunto I have called them."
When God put His hand to man’s highest culture, He separated Shem from his brethren; Terah’s house from other kindred clans; and Abraham from his people. What weight this gave to those solemn words, "I am the Lord your God, which have separated you from other people. And ye shall be holy unto Me; for I the Lord am holy, and have severed you from other people that ye should be Mine" (Leviticus 20:24; Leviticus 20:26). It was not that God had no care for the great world; but that He desired to concentrate His attention on a few, that when they had fully caught His thought they might pass it on to mankind.
This accounts for the cry of the Holy Ghost through the Apostle, "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, and touch not the unclean thing." We must be separate in our practices, cleansing ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit; in our pursuits, going with Christ without the camp; in our pleasures; and in our alliances. "Follow the Christ—the King! Live pure! Speak true! Right wrong! Follow the King! Else, wherefore born!"
