You shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them. Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son. (Deuteronomy 7:2-3)
If Israel was not to make covenant with the nations in the land, it only stands to reason that individual families should not make covenants with foreign families through marriage. This prohibition, by the way, was not some new thing God gave to them; it was an issue that had been addressed from the time that God gave a son to His servant Abraham. As the initial patriarch of the family, Abraham established the precedent that his seed should not take a wife from among the inhabitants of Canaan, thus he sent Eliezer to “Padan Aram in order to find a wife for Isaac. In turn, Isaac was grieved at the fact Esau ignored this policy and so he sent Jacob away to find a wife. The point is then, the patriarchs understood the dangers these marriages presented to the mission given to Israel.
I would argue that this principle even predates the patriarchs. We can see the negative impact upon the world in the time of Noah when the “sons of God” mingled with the “daughters of men.” It was because of these unholy unions that corruption truly began to permeate the world that was. This was in sharp contrast to Noah who “walked with God” and was “perfect in his generation.” In other words, Noah did not contaminate himself by marrying into heathenism and ungodliness and, because of his integrity, found grace in the eyes of the LORD. Thus we are reminded of the dire consequences of mingling the holy with the profane and, at the same time, the benefit of being set apart.
Our point today is in sync with the words of Paul who said that the children of light should not be “unequally yoked” with darkness. The sons of God should not mingle with the sons of Belial lest we become contaminated by their ungodliness. By the way, Paul’s admonition had nothing to do with race and culture per se but spoke to the very thing Moses warned Israel about. That is, if the sons and daughters of Israel married the sons and daughters of the land, in time, the inhabitants of the land would turn their hearts toward their beliefs and their gods. Likewise, when we are unequally yoked with unbelievers, we risk being sucked into the darkness. So then, let us heed the admonition given by Paul which says:
“Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:17-18)
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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