Topical Encyclopedia
Throughout the Old Testament, the Israelites, often referred to as the Jews, are repeatedly warned against forming alliances and associations with surrounding nations. This prohibition is rooted in the covenantal relationship between God and Israel, where the Israelites are called to be a distinct and holy people, set apart for God's purposes.
Biblical FoundationThe command to avoid associations with other nations is first articulated in the Mosaic Law. In
Deuteronomy 7:1-4 , God instructs the Israelites: "When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess, and He drives out before you many nations... you must 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." This passage underscores the concern that intermingling with other nations would lead to idolatry and a departure from the worship of Yahweh.
Historical ContextThe historical books of the Old Testament provide numerous examples of the Israelites' failure to heed this command, resulting in divine condemnation. In
Judges 3:5-6 , it is recorded: "Thus the Israelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. And they took the daughters of these people in marriage, gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods." This disobedience led to cycles of oppression and deliverance, as God allowed foreign nations to subjugate Israel as a form of judgment.
Prophetic WarningsThe prophets also spoke against alliances with foreign nations.
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." Here, the reliance on foreign powers is seen as a lack of trust in God's provision and protection.
Consequences of DisobedienceThe consequences of associating with other nations are vividly illustrated in the history of Israel and Judah. The Northern Kingdom of Israel formed alliances with Assyria and other nations, leading to its eventual conquest and exile in 722 BC. Similarly, the Southern Kingdom of Judah's alliances with Egypt and Babylon contributed to its downfall and the Babylonian exile in 586 BC.
Theological ImplicationsThe prohibition against associating with other nations is not merely about ethnic purity but is deeply theological. It reflects the call for Israel to be a "kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (
Exodus 19:6). The distinctiveness of Israel was to serve as a witness to the surrounding nations of the one true God. By compromising this distinctiveness through alliances and intermarriage, the Israelites risked diluting their witness and falling into idolatry.
New Testament PerspectiveWhile the New Testament shifts the focus from ethnic Israel to the spiritual Israel, the Church, the principle of being distinct from the world remains. Believers are called to be "in the world but not of the world" (
John 17:14-16), maintaining their distinctiveness while engaging with the world around them.
In summary, the biblical narrative consistently warns the Jews against associating with other nations, emphasizing the importance of faithfulness to God and the dangers of idolatry and syncretism. This theme serves as a reminder of the call to holiness and the consequences of disobedience.
Torrey's Topical Textbook
Judges 2:1-3And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you to the land which I swore to your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.
Torrey's Topical TextbookJeremiah 2:18
And now what have you to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor? or what have you to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river?
Torrey's Topical Textbook
Library
Period iii. The Critical Period: AD 140 to AD 200
... marvellous wisdom of the Christians by associating around Palestine ... that by their
laws they condemned their gods. ... he himself who appeared among the Jews as the ...
/.../a source book for ancient church history/period iii the critical period .htm
Faustus States his Objections to the Morality of the Law and the ...
... in-law was in the habit of associating with such ... at other times He spoke openly to
the Jews, who in ... when in other places such actions are condemned by express ...
/.../faustus states his objections to.htm
On Pentecost.
... and even to suffer something as one condemned, if only ... energy, but as we may say,
substantially, associating with us ... that the tongues spake, and to Jews (if any ...
/.../cyril/lectures of s cyril of jerusalem/oration xli on pentecost.htm
The Christ of the Gospels. By Rev. Professor Schaff.
... from their outward appearance, and of associating moral worth ... ignominious death then
known among Jews and Gentiles. ... the rulers of the nation condemned him; the ...
/.../the christ of the gospels.htm
Appeal to the Christian Women of the South
... it must have been so among the Jews, because their ... shrink back from the idea of
associating with those ... The Catholics are universally condemned, for denying the ...
/.../an appeal to the christian women of the south/appeal to the christian women.htm
Paul's Departure and Crown;
... and brethren of our Lord are buffeted and condemned by the ... perisheth with the using,
and for the other is laid ... when Esther begged the life of the Jews, and the ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/pauls departure and crown.htm
Footnotes
... I have seen some of Mr. Cargill's sermons in writ, but I never saw none as he spake
them; and I have been much pressed to publish them, and other old sermons ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/binning/the works of the rev hugh binning/footnotes.htm
The Pilgrim's Progress
... In France and Flanders, where men kill each other, My Pilgrim is esteem'da friend,
a brother. ... CHRIST. But are the other righteousnesses of no use to us? ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/the pilgrims progress.htm
Resources
Why do Jews and Arabs / Muslims hate each other? | GotQuestions.orgWhy didn't all the Jews want to return to Jerusalem (Ezra 1:5-6)? | GotQuestions.orgJewish Questions - questions from Jews and about Judaism | GotQuestions.orgBible Concordance •
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