“So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: As surely as I live, I will punish him for breaking my covenant and disregarding the solemn oath he made in my name. [Ezekiel 17.19]
This is a tasty little nugget of information tucked into today's OYCB reading.
Aside from the sin of idolatry committed by trusting in other nations, God makes it a point that agreements made in His name, are not to be taken lightly. Today's story of two eagles, as much a sidenote as it seems, reveals a depth of God's character that is consistent elsewhere in the Bible.
I find myself considering my own undecided faith ventures. I wonder how many times I have attempted to "faith" my way through something, only to change up mid-course.
But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. [James 1.6]
Divided loyalty is bad. Again, idolatry is bad, but as we see in today's reading and the story of the two eagles, divided loyalty seems to be revealed as a flaw within a flaw.
Although situational ethics may be understandable to us in our modern culture, a commitment is a commitment in God's eyes. For God's people to trust in Babylon was bad, but, for God's people to flit from Babylon to Egypt was even worse.
This has great potential for confusion, but if we allow ourselves the see and hear, we will learn an important lesson about ourselves and our commitments.
Father, as vague as it seems my thoughts are here today, help me to meditate this day on the decisions I make - and especially those I make in Your name or in honor of You - to stay true to those decisions come what may.
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