"But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your
God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you..." (Deuteronomy 28:15).
God's desire for Israel to be a model nation carried with it grave responsibilities.
God had no intention of allowing Israel-the nation He created to
be the world's model of righteousness-to escape the consequences
of abandoning His ways and sinking to the level of the surrounding nations.
Before they entered the Promised Land, God had specifically warned the
Israelites to make no alliances with any nations worshipping false gods: "You
shall make no covenant with them, nor with their gods ... lest
they make you sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will
surely be a snare to you" (Exodus 23:32-33).
For the same reasons, He told them not to intermarry with the surrounding
nations: "Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your
daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son. For they will
turn your sons away from following Me, to serve other gods; so the anger
of the LORD will be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly" (Deuteronomy 7:3-4).
Solomon ignored both commands. First he made a treaty with the Pharaoh
of Egypt that he sealed by accepting Pharaoh's daughter in marriage (1 Kings 3:1). Also, "there was peace between Hiram [king of Tyre] and Solomon,
and the two of them made a treaty together" (1 Kings 5:12).
