Journeyman Journal: Cut the Ties to Progress Pt. 1

Treaties and Alliances: Solomon was said to be the wisest man. His wisdom was known throughout a wide region in his day and the legacy impacted people for generations afterwards and still influences people today. For all that wisdom, however, he sowed the seeds to his own demise with his collection of wives. Those wives and concubines were not just there to satiate a voracious sexual appetite. These wives represented a treaty and an alliance with a neighbouring country. Marrying the daughter of the king next door solidified relations between the two natons. It would offer the promise of peace and possibly a mutually beneficial exchange of goods and expertise. What this also introduced, however, was an exchange of cultures and faiths. The writer of the book of Kings would highlight how Solomon would allow his heart to be turned the gods and religious rituals of the various countries and tribes he married into. As he was brought into them, so his faithfulness to Yahweh, the God of his father, David, was irreparably compromised.

The foundation of the relationship between God and the nation of Israel was a faithful covenant relationship. They were His people and He was their God. They would have no other God but Him. When the people were about to enter the land of promise, God strictly warned them that this foundation had to remain secure and they had to do what they could not to mix in with those who previously inhabited the land in case they would corrupt the relationship – they would break the covenant. Yet even as the people did in the wilderness between Egypt and the Promised Land, the people would after a while succumb to idolatry. They would betray the reationship and go making treaties and alliances with their neighbours. It would not end well.

The history of God’s relationship with the nation of Israel was one of infidelity after infidelity that eventually led to them being taken away from the Promised Land – in accordance with the terms of the covenant. Captured and taken into exile, the people spent 70 years away having to deal with living under foreign rule, foreign customs and a constant physical reminder of the repercussions of their sin. Yet even when, in His mercy, God granted a remnant the opportunity to return back to the land, they still had not learnt their lesson. As the remnant looked to rebuild the city of Jerusalem and looked for the spiritual, moral and religious infrastructure to support the physical, cultural and environmental sturcture, it emerged that leading rulers in the city had again gone against God’s specific instructions to maintain the faithful covenant relationship. Knowing clearly God’s rule forbidding marrying foreign wives, a number of the key leaders had gone about intermarrying. When Ezra, who had come to support the installation of that spiritual, moral and religious infrastructure, heard about it, he was distraught.

Looking at this thread of history what should become clear is that those who have a relationship with God should appreciate how much He values that exclusivity in the relationship. The deal is to remember who has rescued us from slavery and the one who is able to grant us the true liberty needed to not just occupy, but fully enjoy the land of eternal promise He has prepared for those who love Him. That memory should inform and guide who we ally ourselves with and what we make treaties with.

(Photo by Jackson David on Unsplash)

For His Name’s Sake

Shalom

C. L. J. Dryden