Human Response 500: Marry Pagan Women

2Chronicles 8:11, 15 And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city f David unto the house that he had built for her: for he said, My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places are holy, where unto the ark of the Lord hath come….And they departed not from the commandment of the king unto the priests and Levites concerning any natter, or concerning the treasures.

Although Solomon carefully followed God’s instructions for building the Temple and offering sacrifices, he paid no attention to what God had said about marrying pagan women. In fact, he married 700 wives and had 300 concubines, many of which were foreign girls, pagan idolaters. Here he marries the daughter of Pharaoh, of Egypt, the symbol of the world opposed to God.

This was his first step away from the Lord, which brought about the downfall of the kingdom after his death. No matter how good or obedient we are in most areas of life, one unsurrendered sin can bring a downfall. We honestly want to surrender everything to the Lord who gave up everything to purchase us for Himself. Jesus is Lord of all. His love is total, unconditional, and unlimited. We respond 100% to such love. We desire to guard carefully every area of our life, especially our relationships, and we try not to give sin any foothold.

But we fail. Therefore, daily repentance and turning and returning becomes a way of life. We won’t totally get rid of all sin, but can always live in the state of forgiveness. Repentance reminds us of the sins that still plague us.