Avoid Unequal Yoke
Text: 2 Kings 20:12-21
“And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of the Lord. Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house,and that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the Lord” (2 Kings 20:16,17).
The King of Babylon had heard of all the miracles performed by God for Hezekiah - 185,000 Assyrian soldiers killed in one day, the dial of Ahaz going back 10 degrees and his miraculous healing by God. History had it that the king of Babylon was looking for an alliance against the King of Assyria with the King of Israel.
Hezekiah showed all his treasures, armoury and all, as proof of his wealth, resources and power and what a worthy ally he could be. By doing this, it brought out pride and ostentation in him and a great departure from his known life of reliance on God.
Hezekiah also lost opportunity to show the heathen King the very Source of all his goodness. To gain the applause of men, he forgot to sing the praises of God.
Unequal yoke with the haters of God in business, marriage, fellowship, and so on, leads to ruin and incurs divine displeasure.
Ostentation and pride of heart is folly that will not go unpunished by God, the Source of our goodness. God, out of His love for us preserved these lessons for our learning and admonition so that we will not make the same mistakes that those people made. Beware!
Thought for today: A man’s pride shall bring him low.