Waitangi (1)

Tomorrow is Waitangi day in New Zealand. We look back to the time when a covenant or treaty was agreed between the indigenous Maori people and the British Crown. This treaty was meant to allow the two peoples to live together in harmony, but the treaty was broken.

The ninth commandment is really important.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor (Exodus 20:16).

Bearing false witness includes lying to a court, slander of character, fraud, ignoring a contract and breaking a covenant. Our failure to honour the Treaty of Waitangi was disobedience to the nineth commandment and has put our nation under a curse. Fortunately, our govenment has set up a Waitangi Tribunal to put this situation right.

For more on this issue see Treaty of Waitangi, where I explain how Joshua and Saul's experience with the Gibeonites provides principles for understanding and resolving treaties.

Ahab and Jez is relevant too.

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