Find a godly man or woman that you can build a life and family with on the same solid foundation of Christ. Good looks will fade with time, gravity takes its toll on fleeting beauty, but faith and godly character can grow deeper as two people commit their lives to the Lord and one another.

He loved the Lord and walked in his ways. He was so devoted to serving the Lord and his people that when God asked him to make any wish, he didn’t ask for riches or long life. Instead, Solomon asked for wisdom from God to discern and lead his great people.

Yet, we all know the tragic end. What seemed like a burning love cooled into idolatry. How did Solomon go from such devotion to turning his back on the One who gave him so much?

We are told in 1 Kings 11:1, “Now King Solomon loved many foreign women.” These women were from nations the Lord had forbidden his people to intermarry because they followed other gods. The command had nothing to do with ethnicity or race, but on worship. God’s requirement regarding marriage for believers is to find someone who loves and serves the Lord.

Temptation to Fall Away

In the New Testament, the Lord tells us not to be “unequally yoked with unbelievers” (2 Cor. 6:14). While this may apply in other areas, it certainly includes the most intimate of human relationships.

When we join together with a person in marriage, we become “one flesh.” If we join together with someone who doesn’t love and serve the same God as us, then we are putting ourselves in great danger and temptation to follow their gods (or no god). Solomon was devoted to God and loved him (1 Kings 3:3), but Scripture tells us explicitly that “when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods” (11:4).

Therefore, God commands us to be equally yoked. I often hear young people excuse disobedience to this command by pointing out someone who married an unbeliever, then eventually led the unbeliever to the Lord. There are certainly stories where the Lord was gracious to those in sinful situations, but this doesn’t allow us to sin so that his grace may abound.

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