Wednesday, September 20, 2017
Unequal Yoke by Peter Leithart
September 19, 2017
by pleithart
Jehoshaphat allies with Ahab of Israel by
marrying his son to Ahab’s daughter Athaliah (2 Chronicles 18:1-3). He follows
up with a religious alliance, sharing a sacrificial feast with Ahab. That leads
to a military alliance, as Jehoshaphat puts Yahweh’s hosts on the field to
fight for Ahab.
It almost kills him. Jehoshaphat
escapes from the battlefield by a hair.
You might think Jehoshaphat
would learn a lesson about alliances with Ahab, but no. He later makes an
alliance with Ahab’s son Ahaziah to carry on trade with Tarshish. The Lord is
angry and breaks up the ships on the sea (20:35-37).
The worst effects of the alliance
come after Jehoshaphat’s death. His alliance with the house of Ahab wasn’t
temporary or informal. He was in-lawed to the house of Ahab, covenanted
by marriage. And the disastrous effects of the covenant with Ahab reverberate
through several generations.
Before he dies, Jehoshaphat tries to
prevent rivalry among his sons. He gives the kingdom to his son Jehoram but
distributes gifts of gold, silver, and cities to his other sons. He hopes that
Jehoram will be content with the kingdom, and his brothers won’t vie for the
throne because they have cities and wealth of their own.
It doesn’t work. Jehoram kills his
brothers, and spends his life walking in the ways of Ahab, that is, serving
Baal and Asherah. He makes Judah “play the harlot” with other gods, and leads
Judah astray (2 Chronicles 21:1-7).
Of course Jehoram would do
that: He’s the son whom Jehoshaphat married off to the daughter of Ahab. His
wife is Athaliah, daughter of Ahab and Jezebel.
Ahaziah succeeds Jehoram after the
latter dies of a bowel disease. Ahaziah also walks in the way of Ahab,
being the son of Athaliah. Ahaziah gets killed by Jehu, who is taking vengeance
on the house of Ahab. Ahaziah is Jehoshaphat’s son, but he’s so much a son of
Ahab that he is swept up in Jehu’s purge (2 Chronicles 22:7-9).
Athaliah takes over and wipes out
all the remaining descendants of Jehoshaphat. The Davidic dynasty hangs by
a thread. Only Joash is saved, and he is an infant. The Lord gives a new birth
to the Davidic dynasty by preserving Joash alive. At the age of 7, he becomes
king.
As soon as his mentor, the priest
Jehoiada, dies, he listens to the officials of Judah and reinstalls the Asherim
and the idols. These are the officials that have served Baal-worshiping kings
for the past several generations (2 Chronicles 24:15-18).
Only in the reign of Joash’s son Amaziah
is the influence of the house of Ahab finally put to rest. And even after that,
Hezekiah and Josiah have to purge Judah of Baals and other idols.
Generation after generation of
idolatry. A near-destruction of the Davidic dynasty. The kingdom of Judah teetering
on the edge of extinction. The Davidic dynasty is wrecked and unfaithful for
generations.
Ahab’s idolatries persists
longer in Judah than in Israel. After Jehu has swept the house of Ahab away in
the north, Ahab’s descendants are still on the throne of the south.
And why? Because Jehoshaphat
“in-lawed himself to Ahab.” Jehoshaphat’s betrayal of Yahweh, and of his own
status as Davidic king, nearly destroys his own family.
“What partnership does righteousness
have with lawlessness?” Paul asks. What communion does light have with
darkness? Is there symphonia between Christ and Baal? Does the temple of
God have any room for idols?
It’s absurd. Light wants to
accommodate a bit of darkness, rather than expelling it? God leaves us a
little room for idolatry on the side? Paul poses a stark choice, as does Jesus:
You are either with Me or against Me. You either gather with Me or scatter
abroad.
It’s a stark choice that shapes our
most important relationships. Parents need to avoid such impossible alliances as
they guide their children toward marriage. Christians looking for a husband or
wife must ask themselves: Am I going to try to share a yoke with an
unbeliever? Will I try to form a communion of Christ and Baal? Will
I in-law myself to a house of Ahab?
Jehoshaphat’s experience is a
warning: By marrying an idolater, you can sow seeds that will reap a
bitter harvest for generations.
The same principles apply to the
church. Jesus calls His church to unity. He prays that His church will be one,
and we will be.
But the church cannot be unified by
idols. Jehoshaphat is again a cautionary tale: Trying to build unity on the
basis of idolatry is disastrous. A war of utter destruction against idols
seems divisive. In fact, it’s the only possible path to unity.
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