GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 10:8
Mixtures and Compounds
A man was using his chainsaw when it began to sputter, slow, and then stop. He pulled the start cord, but it would not move. Puzzled, he checked the fuel tank and let the engine cool. When he tried to pull the start cord again, it would not move. He looked at the gasoline container; then it dawned on him—he had filled the chainsaw tank with regular gasoline rather than using the fuel from the fuel mixture container sitting beside it in a nearly identical can. Without the correct oil additive, the chainsaw engine lacked adequate lubrication. The engine bearings seized, ruining the chainsaw.
In English, there are two key terms: “mixture” and “compound.” A “mixture” is a combination of two or more substances, such as trail mix, salad, or saltwater. The substances do not bond and can be easily separated. The other word is “compound,” a substance formed when two or more elements chemically bond, taking on properties different from those of the individual elements. As in the story above, the oil added to the gasoline took on properties different from its individual components; it became a compound, not a mixture.
When Jesus was describing marriage as Yahweh intended it for the Pharisees, he said, “And the two will be one flesh, so that they are no longer two but one flesh.” (Mark 10:8) In modern parlance, Jesus described marriage as an essential change—not a mixture, but a compound: inseparable, indistinguishable, an entirely new entity—“one flesh.”
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