(Nehemiah 13:23-31) In those days I also saw that the Jews had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. 24 As for their children, half spoke in the language of Ashdod, and none of them knew how to speak the language of Judah, but only the language of his own people. 25 So I quarreled with them and cursed them, and struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them swear by God, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor take any of their daughters for your sons or for yourselves. 26 Did Solomon the king of Israel not sin regarding these things? Yet among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel; yet the foreign women caused even him to sin. 27 Has it not then been reported about you that you have committed all this great evil by acting unfaithfully against our God, by marrying foreign women?” 28 Even one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, became a son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite, so I chased him away from me. 29 Remember them, my God, because they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.
30 So I purified them from everything foreign, and assigned duties to the priests and the Levites, each in his work, 31 and I arranged for the delivery of wood at appointed times and for the first fruits. Remember me, my God, for good.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
Well... no where in the Bible does God direct us to manage people with quarreling, cursing, hitting, pulling hair or forcing anyone to swear in God's name! From that scene, we can see that God does not sugarcoat the facts - that no one is perfect! But we can also see how serious this matter is! It is very important that our spiritual leaders live to a higher standard of obedience, practicing what they preach. And they should be preaching and teaching God's truths accurately.
Some churches have not just watered down the gospel message, but have stopped teaching basic biblical principles altogether. And some might harp on some sins, but turn a blind eye toward others. Sins that has become "acceptable" in some churches is premarital sex and believers marrying unbelievers. Just because it is acceptable in society, does not mean that it is now suddenly within God's will.
Nehemiah uses king Solomon as an example. He was the wisest man ever to live, and began as an astute king desiring to please God. But, never mind marrying many women, he married many pagan women - and - not even he could remain steadfast. Marriage is difficult enough, therefore we should have in common the most important thing in life. For believers, it is to put God first, to serve and love Him with our whole heart, mind, body and soul, striving to live in obedience to His will, all in His strength, wisdom and love, in order to glorify Him in all that we do.
In marrying someone who isn't a believer, there will be compromises and misunderstandings. And, yes, in any human relationship, misunderstandings will happen, and compromises will have to be made. Compromises on things like: where to live, where to send the kids to school, what to eat, what color should we paint the house, how much should we spend on vacation/s... these are the normal things that require agreeable decisions. But we should never compromise in our relationship and walk with the Lord.
When God tells us something, it is never to make our lives miserable. We can be confident in trusting and obeying God, knowing that He wants the very best for us.
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