Human Response 160: Make no Covenants

Exodus 34:12, 14 Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee. For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

The thou shalt not commands of God are also responses of the believer to the grace and salvation of God. “Because of what I have done for you, this what you will do for me. And your life will be blessed,” says the Lord. Here the Lord is expounding to Moses the further meaning of the First Commandment. You will worship no other god. The Lord says He is a jealous God, and He loves you so much that He doesn’t want your love, affection, service, trust, and worship to be given to any other being or entity. “Worship Me only.”

This kind of divided loyalty was a problem for Israel all through Biblical history. Symbolically, this issue was posed by Elijah in simple terms: Baal or God? Jesus posed it this way: God and mammon. John posed it like this: Love God or love the world. You can’t have it both ways. Idolatry as such was not the problem; syncretism (blending or mixing) was: Sunday for God; other days for me.

Therefore, the Lord says you will respond to the Gospel by not entering into covenant relationships, obligations, or entanglements with the unbelieving world, or they will become a snare for you and little by little lead you away from pure devotion to the Lord. “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. What fellowship has light with darkness? Or Christ with Belial? Or the temple of God with idols? [2 Corinthians 6:14-16].”

We are so easily entangled with the unbelieving world that we daily need the forgiveness earned by Christ. Jesus responded purely for us.