The Law of Moses was explicit on the care of farm animals, particularly in regard to plowing one’s field. Never yoke an ox and a donkey together (Dt. 22:10). Because the ox is so much bigger and stronger than the donkey, the smaller and weaker animal (proportionally) was at risk to being dragged by the ox. Imagine two football linemen (i.e. Jared McCray and his friend, Joe Anderson) in a tug of war against two cross country runners (think Jonathan & Matthew Partlow). The runners aren’t weak, but we know the outcome of this tug of war. The same with yoking an ox with a donkey; the donkey doesn’t have a chance.
Paul picks up on the imagery of the unequal yoking in 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1. The principle is straight forward as the apostle links two opposing positions that people mistakenly believe can be yoked: the righteous and the wicked, those in the light and those in darkness, Christ and Satan, believers and unbelievers, and finally the temple of God and the temple of idols (v. 14-16). None of these hold anything in common and all are so diametrically opposed to each other that everyone knows the outcome. It won’t end well.
The center of the passage is verse 17, “Come out from them, and be separate.” The call to come out, from Isaiah 52, is wrapped in hope as God exhorts Israel to make a clean break from Babylon in returning to Jerusalem. Paul picks up on the exhortation for the church to make a clean break from paganism, because if they don’t, the outcome won’t end well.
What Paul says is one thing. How to apply the apostle’s words is another argument completely. Traditionally, this passage has been used, and solely used, to preach against unequally yoked marriages. What happens when a believer marries an unbeliever? It’s a good question as we’ve seen the struggle, and marriage is hard enough without adding one of faith and one without. The problem is, even though these verses can be applied to dating or engaged couples, that this passage says nothing about marriage. The words “courting” or “marriage” or even a reference to Genesis 2 never surfaces in the text.
Another option is that Paul is speaking in generalities, which certainly could include couples. Maybe he has in mind business partners. Assuming that the believer has moral integrity, will the unbeliever cut corners and short change customers giving the believer a bad name? Can someone who is dedicated to a risen Savior make business decisions with a person committed to idolatry? Beyond the business partnership, what about the local guilds? Pagan temple banquet halls were rented for both weddings and guild meetings. Being a member of the guild meant eating meals dedicated to an idol.
But the context of 2 Corinthians says nothing about couples, marriages or business ventures. Paul’s second letter to Corinth was an attempt for them to reconcile with him; the apostle was offering an olive branch to the church. The background to the letter was a group of outsiders infiltrating the church in a hostile takeover of Paul’s ministry and church leadership. They exploited a weakness in the relationship between the church and Paul, creating a chasm where a rift had been present. In derogatory terms, Paul calls this group “super apostles” (2 Cor. 11:5). They prided themselves on their “giftedness” and communication skills (10:1-2,10). They bragged about visions and prophetic experience (12:1-10). They built themselves up while tearing down Paul. They even accused Paul, not only of stealing from the church (11:8-12), but being a weak leader for the church. Paul said they were false apostles, deceptive men masquerading as angels of light (11:13-14).
Paul’s plea to avoid being unequally yoked is far more concerning than simply marriage, though its application to marriage is anything but simple. Uniting two people whose faith and world-view compete instead of complement gives anyone cause to pause. When a person of faith steps into covenant with a non-believer, someone will have to compromise. Unequally yoked relationships bring danger. But the immediate context is when two peoples of faith are unequally yoked. In this instance, one is loyal to the gospel of weakness Paul preaches and the other is loyal to a gospel of strength preached by those who have infiltrated Corinth. If the church in Corinth was going to reconcile with Paul, they had to break the yoke with these false teachers.
Just because someone name drops Jesus, or says a prayer to God, does not mean a wise partnership will be realized between two Christians. If one is going to embrace the gospel preached by Paul, a gospel where strength is expressed through weakness (12:8b) and the other rejects such a gospel, then we already know the outcome. It won’t end well.
Soli Deo Gloria!
(i.e., only God is glorified!)