When riding upon a bicycle built for two, both aboard better have the same direction of travel in mind. In God’s design of the human body, He gave us two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, two arms, two legs, two hands and two feet. If any of those pairs work against each other, no work gets done. Can we inhale through one nostril while exhaling through the other? What happens when one foot steps forward and the other backward? Without the agility of a cheerleader, who can do the splits, something is going to break!
24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.
Mark 3:24-26
As two is the first number that can be divided, it points to division. Even the second day of creation demonstrates division:
6 Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” 7 Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.
Genesis 1:6-8
The second book of the Bible also demonstrates division. With Egypt emblematic of the world, God separated the children of Israel from the world when He removed them from Egypt. The word “separated” denotes that Christians are set apart, which is the meaning of the word “holy.” We are holy because He is holy (1 Peter 1:16)!
Additionally, the second of God’s 10 Commandments deals with division, as in Exodus 20:4, the Lord spoke of His own jealousy, requiring His followers to follow Him instead of idols created by their own hands. Certainly, Jesus echoed those same sentiments when He said in Matthew 12:30 that anyone who is not for Him is against Him. Somehow, we forget that not following God is just as much of a choice as following Him! Along those lines, the choice to follow God is to pursue good and the choice not to follow God is to pursue evil. That sounds like a pretty expansive division! The eternal destinies of heaven or hell accompany that decision, with quite a division between the two.
By studying biblical pairs, we can see that two is the number of division. Obviously, Cain and Abel suffered so ostensibly from division that the first murder occurred. Because the Lord respected Abel’s sacrifice of a firstborn lamb, and did not respect Cain’s sacrifice of the fruit of the ground, Cain became jealous of his brother. Rather than trying to figure out how to better please the Lord, Cain chose to perform an act that could not have displeased the Lord any more, when he killed his brother. Brotherly jealousy also occurred between Esau and Jacob, the sons of Isaac. For a taste of lentil stew, the older Esau sold his birthright to Jacob. Yet those two fought for superiority when still in Rebekah’s womb:
24 So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. 25 And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau’s heel; so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.
Genesis 25:24-26
God chose the younger brother, Jacob, who became Israel, and through his offspring came the 12 tribes of the Jewish people. Similarly, God chose Isaac, rather than Ishmael, Abraham’s oldest son. We still can see the ramifications of that division today, with the Jewish bloodline of Isaac and the Arab bloodline of Ishmael. Enmity exists between those two just as strongly as it did in biblical times. The division that occurred between all of these siblings offers a representative sample of what can occur between any two people, regardless of blood, friendship or commitment. When two people walk individually, they carry their own history, perception and desire.
Two only can be unified by God’s hand. Though Adam walked with God in fellowship through the Garden of Eden, surrounded by all the animals he had named, God still understood Adam’s need for a helper. The Lord created Eve by taking a rib from Adam’s own body:
21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 22 Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.
23 And Adam said:
“This is now bone of my bones
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called Woman,
Because she was taken out of Man.”
24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
Genesis 2:21-24
With the covenant of marriage, God demonstrated that by making the two into one, there would be no division. Sadly, half of Christian marriages end in divorce, mostly due to the fact that God and God’s law do not retain primary importance in the life of the believer. Even Christians can forget that they lost their rights when purchased by the blood of Jesus! As the brides of Christ, we follow that same example in our relationship with Jesus. We are one in the Spirit, as He lives in us and we are in Him! That oneness demonstrates a lack of division, as Christ removed the dividing line with His life, death and resurrection. To walk in that oneness is to follow His laws, for He chose us! Divisiveness in the body of Christ is far-reaching. Why should any of us be against someone the Lord has chosen for His kingdom? Put it to rest by handing it to the Prince of Peace! Lay that divisiveness at the foot of the cross.
12 For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body— whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. 14 For in fact the body is not one member but many.
1 Corinthians 12:12-14
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