That one term of covenant

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This is a series of reflections that I sent to my fiancee from my own Bible readings. I have posted them in this blog so that it is easier to keep track for future reflections. 
15 “Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land; for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices. 16 And when you choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will lead your sons to do the same  Ex 34:15–16.

This was part of the covenant terms that God gave to Israel as they were camping at Mount Sinai and as Moses went up to the mountain the second time to receive the terms of the covenant. God did not want His people to ally themselves with the neighbouring countries and tribes as they were to remain holy and pure as God's nation. The yoke with people who will be bad influence to God's people is clearly shunned upon.

But this does not preclude us from associating with people who do not apparently worship God. The Scripture warns us about getting into an intimate relationship, such as treaty in the case of the Israelites, but in the overall context, God's people are still being expected to influence the nations around them, and they are supposed to be the example of righteous living. If there is no association, there is probably no witness or influence at all.

As I was reflecting with Chin Heng, the guy I met yesterday, I realised that this was something that I missed a lot from my days in MOH. My current place makes me interact with Christians all day long and this is not a bad thing by itself. But the Hope DNA is ultimately still within me and I still yearn to be a in a place where I can interact with pre-believers and influence them towards Christ in my workplace. Perhaps this is why God is prompting me to take on this exploration journey also.

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