1 King 11:1-6: “King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, ‘You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.’ Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molekthe detestable god of the Ammonites. So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done.”
The downfall of King Solomon was because his foreign wives turned his heart from following his God wholeheartedly.
Paul exhorts us not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers: 1 Cor 6:14 “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?”
King Solomon was punished for his disobedience. God tore away his kingdom. 1 King 11:9-11: “The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the Lord’s command. So the Lord said to Solomon, ‘Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates.’”
When you choose your life partner, do look for someone who is a God-fearing Christian. Do not date or marry a non-believer. You should instead choose a Christian who loves and fears the LORD. Your marriage will then be God-honouring and you will be blessed with peace and a fulfilling marriage. While it does not mean when you marry a Christian believer, your marriage will always be a bed of roses. There may be differences in character and personality. However, God promises to bless and keep the family when both husband and wife are believers. On the contrary, if you marry a non-Christian, there is a high tendency that your partner may draw you away from following your God and faith in the God of Israel, and perhaps turn you to worshipping idols. Let us take heed and obey God’s command to seek a life partner who is a God fearing-Christian.
Let us be like Abraham who sends his servant to look for God-fearing and believing wife for his son Isaac, from a far away land. It is important to start your Christian life well, and it is more important is to end your Christian life well. Let’s learn from the failure of King Solomon and not allow foreign wives or things of the world to draw us away from God. Be steadfast in your faith and walk with God. Complete your race well. God will then be pleased and will bless you greatly.