The point of our verse today is that the Israelite nation was different. They were the only nation that had The Almighty God living with them. The One True God who was and is totally pure, who could not look on sin. He is still the same today. Praise God.
The verse today refers to the Christian family. This is forever growing as people across the world accept Jesus as Saviour and are accepted into the family of God. That family that Father God is calling as a group set apart for Him, so that others will see and believe.
Once the earth was beginning to be filled with different people groups, God did another major separation. Separating His people, the Jewish nation of Israel for Himself. God had always wanted a special group of people who would show the rest of the world that He is real, and approachable.
Here we have a separation of woman from man, but with a plan for a re-union. In our modern world many attitudes to marriage are changing. Biblical standards do not change. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. It is the duty of His church to uphold the Truth.
Years ago I was privileged to visit the point in South Africa where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet. Not Cape of Good Hope as many believe, but further East round the coast, the very small cape Agulhas. These two oceans meet, but are still distinctly separate. It is fascinating!
If our first thought is to obey the first commandment, it can be very difficult to be joined successfully and permanently with someone else who does not have the same priority. If your priority is God and that of your partner is elsewhere, this can lead to friction.
The symbolism of light and darkness are carried all the way through the Bible. And it is never once suggested that they cohabit. There is always a suggestion of separation. This very first act that God performed on the earth is symbolic of the way we should live.
An abrupt ending to the story leaves us with an unanswered question, and one which was probably there in the unrecorded discussion God and Jonah had at the beginning of this whole episode. God had been seriously concerned about the people and the animals in that great city of Nineveh.
What a ridiculous response Jonah gave to The Lord. I am angry enough to die! He really sounds like a spoilt child. There was obviously no thought in his response, and what did he think would happen if he died? I believe God was laughing to Himself and playing games.
Nothing God seemed to do had any long term effect on Jonah who was still entrenched in the world of self pity. He seems to have forgotten the amazing answer to prayer that he had after his time in the stomach of the whale. When he was spewed out unharmed!
EN 
FR