Passage Read: Nehemiah 12 - Esther 2
Meditation Verses: Nehemiah 13:25-27
Thought
Nehemiah makes a great point here: Solomon was loved by God, made king and blessed beyond any other king. Yet none of that protected him from the danger of marrying unbelieving wives. His wisdom couldn't overcome the influence of his foreign wives. His favor with God couldn't protect him from the influence of wives who worshiped foreign gods. If Solomon who was so favored and blessed by God could not withstand the influence of foreign wives, who are any of us to think we could? Now that the Holy Spirit dwells in those who believe, Paul is willing to advise those who are already married to unbelievers to remain with their spouses, but he still teaches that believers should not be bound together in any way with unbelievers. Both Peter and Paul warn that there is no guarantee that a believer can lead an unbelieving spouse to faith in Christ. More likely and more often, there will be much grief, if the believer truly loves Christ.
Application
It is foolish and arrogant to think that we today are somehow better than those long ago. Paul reminds us that all things written in the past were written to teach us, say that we wouldn't make the same mistakes. It's not just marrying unbelievers or partnering with them in any other endeavor, but it is thinking in regard to any command, that I can succeed where others have failed, that I can succeed even though I ignore or violate God's clear instruction. I would be a fool to think I was wiser than God, stronger than He knows me to be. I can't succeed where God warns me not to go, so I shouldn't even think to ignore His commands, as if they don't apply to me.