Throughout the history of Israel, the people of God have been repeatedly warned against forming alliances and engaging in society with nations and peoples who are considered enemies of God. These alliances often led to spiritual compromise, idolatry, and divine judgment. The Bible provides numerous accounts and teachings that highlight the dangers and consequences of such associations.

Biblical Warnings and Prohibitions

The Mosaic Law explicitly warned the Israelites against forming alliances with the surrounding nations. In Exodus 23:32-33 , God commands, "You shall make no covenant with them or with their gods. They must not remain in your land, lest they cause you to sin against Me; for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you." This directive underscores the spiritual peril of associating with those who do not worship the God of Israel.

Similarly, Deuteronomy 7:2-4 instructs, "And when the LORD your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must devote them to complete destruction. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy. Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, for they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods, and the anger of the LORD will burn against you and will swiftly destroy you."

Historical Examples of Alliances

Despite these clear warnings, Israel frequently entered into alliances with foreign nations, often with disastrous results. One notable example is King Solomon, whose marriages to foreign women led him to idolatry. 1 Kings 11:1-4 recounts, "King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh—women of Moab, Ammon, Edom, and Sidon, as well as Hittite women. They were from the nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, 'You must not intermarry with them, for surely they will turn your hearts after their gods.' Yet Solomon clung to these women in love. He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines—and his wives turned his heart away."

Another significant instance is King Ahab's alliance with Jezebel, a Phoenician princess. This union led to the introduction of Baal worship in Israel, as described in 1 Kings 16:31-33 : "And as if following the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat were not enough, he married Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and then proceeded to serve and worship Baal. First, Ahab set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he had built in Samaria. Then he set up an Asherah pole. Ahab did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel before him."

Prophetic Condemnation

The prophets of Israel consistently condemned alliances with foreign powers. Isaiah 30:1-2 declares, "Woe to the obstinate children, declares the LORD, who carry out a plan that is not Mine, forming an alliance, but against My will, heaping up sin upon sin. They set out to go down to Egypt without consulting Me, to seek help from Pharaoh’s protection and take refuge in Egypt’s shade."

Jeremiah also warned against reliance on foreign alliances, emphasizing trust in God alone. In Jeremiah 2:18 , the prophet asks, "Now what will you gain by traveling along the road to Egypt to drink the waters of the Nile? What will you gain by traveling along the road to Assyria to drink the waters of the Euphrates?"

Spiritual Implications

The spiritual implications of alliances with the enemies of God are profound. Such alliances often led Israel into idolatry, moral decay, and ultimately, divine judgment. The New Testament echoes these warnings, urging believers to remain separate from worldly influences. 2 Corinthians 6:14-15 advises, "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?"

The history of Israel serves as a cautionary tale for all who seek to follow God, emphasizing the importance of faithfulness and the dangers of compromising alliances.Ezekiel 44:7
In that you have brought into my sanctuary strangers, uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to pollute it, even my house, when you offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant because of all your abominations.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

The Divided Kingdom.
... This shatters the alliance between the two nations and causes a ... (7) The different
enemies with which ... The sins of cruelty and injustice in society and government ...
/.../tidwell/the bible period by period/chapter xiii the divided kingdom.htm

Robert Hall -- Marks of Love to God
... God: whereas, in proving the bitter enemies of Christ ... Do you shun their society with
aversion and secret ... descending, in token of an alliance established between ...
/.../kleiser/the worlds great sermons volume 3/robert hall marks of.htm

Josiah, a Pattern for the Ignorant.
... been engaged in repressing and punishing God's enemies"this had ... Judah; Josiah, bound
perhaps by an alliance to the ... raising us to the unseen society of Saints ...
/.../newman/parochial and plain sermons vol viii/sermon vii josiah a pattern.htm

Covenanting a Duty.
... men, as worthy members of civil society, the servants ... the nature of the statute
forbidding alliance with the ... treaties, of whatever kind with the enemies of God ...
/.../cunningham/the ordinance of covenanting/chapter iii covenanting a duty.htm

'This Cup'
... have you thereby been brought into living alliance with the ... ever move the world or
purify society, except the ... it be in the presence of our enemies, where there ...
//christianbookshelf.org/maclaren/expositions of holy scripture b/this cup.htm

The Reign of David.
... He also made an alliance with Hiram, the king ... Primitive society followed the course
of nature in condemning ... times David showed kindness to his enemies, II Sam.9 ...
/.../tidwell/the bible period by period/chapter xi the reign of.htm

Evidences Internal and Experimental.
... would be greatly strengthened by an alliance with the ... the difference between the
state of society here at ... destroyed by inward any more than by outward enemies. ...
/.../barrows/companion to the bible/chapter xii evidences internal and.htm

Covenant Duties.
... her interests, are the strongest that society can put ... denunciations and warnings
addressed to his enemies; he urges ... civil power; that seek the alliance of any ...
/.../cunningham/the ordinance of covenanting/chapter iv covenant duties.htm

Massillon -- the Small Number of the Elect
... the ordinances, and broken the alliance which should ... Repasts"those innocent ties
of society"degenerate into ... which God afflicts you, the enemies He raised ...
/.../kleiser/the worlds great sermons volume 3/massillon the small number.htm

The Israelites
... of the Israelitish territory was cleared of its enemies. ... Alliance with the neighbouring
kingdom of Phoenicia brought ... of the Royal Asiatic Society, July 1897. ...
/.../sayce/early israel and the surrounding nations/chapter i the israelites.htm

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Alliance: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

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