Good Morning Everyone!
1st Kings chapter 11.
God said not to marry “foreign” women. That doesn't mean as Christians we aren't to marry other people from another country. When God speaks of “foreign” women, He meant women from another nation who serve false gods. Therefore, the Israelites were not to marry people who were serving false gods because their influence would turn them away from the Lord. That's exactly what happened to Solomon which resulted into a split Kindgom after his death.
We see this a lot amongst Christians today…STILL!!
II Corinthians 6:14 and Malachi 2:15-16 warns us from pursuing relationships where the other person is not of the faith.
When we ignore God's loving plea and directive, bad results occur just like with Solomon. It affects the whole family, including the kids.
We read in chapter 10 about how well everything was going with Solomon and then we get into chapter 11. How sad that Solomon’s heart was turned away from following the Lord! He had so many foreign wives and instead of them being a positive influence on him, they pulled him away from God to serve their fake gods. This really comes as no surprise. We saw in Judges how the strongest man, Samson had a problem with foreign women and now in 1 Kings how the wisest man, Samson fell into a similar trap. The consequences were devastating.
May we stay true to the Lord and never boast about any strength, wisdom or riches that we might think is our own, but always be careful to give glory to our God who is unlimited in all of these ways.
I was thinking about what we read in 1 Corinthians 1:18-31.
For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”