Bible Devotions for Living

Marrying an unbeliever can greatly damage your devotion to God. Just look at King Solomon as an example.

Solomon started his reign as a godly king. He sought the Lord and God blessed him with tremendous wisdom, riches, and power (1 Ki chpts 3-10). He had such a close relationship with God that he heard from God. In one of his conversations with God, the Almighty reminded him that God’s people should not marry unbelievers, but look what Solomon did instead … and the result:

King Solomon loved many foreign women … ² from the nations that the Lord had told the Israelites about, “Do not intermarry with them … because they will turn you away from Me to their gods.” Solomon was deeply attached to these women and loved them. ³ He had 700 wives … and they turned his heart away from the Lord … to follow other gods. He was not completely devoted to Yahweh his God … ⁵ Solomon followed Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Milcom, the detestable idol of the Ammonites. ⁶ Solomon did what was evil in the Lord’s sight … he did not completely follow Yahweh. ⁷ At that time, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, the detestable idol of Moab, and for Milcom, the detestable idol of the Ammonites, on the hill across from Jerusalem. ⁸ He did the same for all his foreign wives … ⁹ The Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from Yahweh … who had appeared to him twice. ¹⁰ He had commanded him about this, so that he would not follow other gods, but Solomon did not do what the Lord had commanded. ¹¹ Then the Lord said to Solomon, “Since you have done this and did not keep My covenant and My statutes, which I commanded you, I will tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. (1 Ki 11:1-11)

Solomon married unbelievers even though warned not to. Those pagan women led him away from God to worship idols and false gods. Solomon even went as far as helping others worship idols too. Scripture is clear that he loved these women. His love for them was what gave them (and the devil) a stronghold in his life to draw him away to other gods. The consequences of his idolatry were God’s anger and a broken relationship with God (1 Ki 11:9), God raising adversaries against him (1 Ki 11:23-28), and God stripping 10 of the tribes of Israel from his kingdom (1 Ki 11:26-36). Notice that there is no mention in Scripture that Solomon ever turned back to God or things got better. The damage to his life was permanent.

God says not to marry unbelievers. Avoid being drawn away from God by marrying an unbeliever.

¹⁴ Do not be mismatched with unbelievers. For what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? (2 Cor 6:14)

“When the Lord your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, and clears away many nations before you … You shall make no covenant with them and show no mercy to them. ³ You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, ⁴ for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods.” (Dt 7:1-4)

You cannot have a true close relationship and partner with a non-believer since their core beliefs and values are different than yours … as different as light and dark, righteousness and lawlessness. Worse yet, the unbelieving spouse will water down your faith and draw you away from God. Don’t deceive yourself to think you can handle it. Solomon was the wisest man in the world, saw God twice, and was reminded not to marry foreign women but he did it anyway and was drawn away from God. His wisdom didn’t matter, it didn’t stop him from disobeying God, and it didn’t stop him from worshipping idols. His love for the women and desire to please them was stronger than his love for God and desire to please Him. He was completely dulled spiritually and mentally by his attachment to them. If that can happen to the wisest man who ever lived (except for Jesus), do you really think you can marry an unbeliever and remain completely faithful to God?

Do not marry an unbeliever because they will influence you away from God.

Think about it

Is marrying a non-believer worth the risk of your relationship with God?

Are you deceived into believing that you will never been drawn away by a non-believing spouse?

¹¹ Be very careful, therefore, to love the Lord your God. ¹² For if you turn back and cling to the remnant of these nations remaining among you and make marriages with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, ¹³ know for certain that … they shall be a snare and a trap for you … (Jsh 23:11-13)