2 Chronicles 25:7–8: “But a man of God came to [King Amaziah], saying, ‘O king, do not let the army of Israel go with you, for the LORD is not with Israel—not with any of the children of Ephraim. But if you go, be gone! Be strong in battle! Even so, God shall make you fall before the enemy; for God has power to help and to overthrow.'”

October 12th, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

This man of God, an unnamed prophet, warned King Amaziah not to form an alliance with the king of Israel to fight together against the Edomites, because God was not with Israel due to their continued idol worship. In fact, God told him that if he used Israel to help him, they would be defeated. However, if they relied on God alone, He would give them victory. God was telling them not to be unequally yoked with their fellow tribesmen in the north who were not walking with God. The New Testament also warns against this: “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness” (2 Cor. 6:14)?

The danger of being unequally yoked is the influence and control it can have on us. We must guard against being so connected with unbelievers that we might be either influenced, or worse, controlled, by the unbeliever. This Old Testament story illustrates the danger of joining forces with the world and expecting God to honor it. Of course this doesn’t mean we retreat into hiding, avoiding all contact with unbelievers. If we did that, how could we go into all the world and preach the gospel? We believe God wants us to be constantly building quality relationships with unbelievers, not for business partnerships, close personal relationships, or marriage relationships, but so that we might share His love with them.

“LORD, we want to be influenced and controlled by You today. Lead us and influence us to good, we ask in Jesus’ name.”