Nehemiah's Religious Reforms - Nehemiah 13:4-11, 13:15-31; Dedication of the Wall - Nehemiah 12:27-47, 13:12-14, 13:1-3
One thousand wives. It sounds good but think about it. It didn't work for Solomon.
I rebuked them and called curses down on them. I beat some of the men and pulled out their hair. I made them take an oath in God's name and said: "You are not to give your daughters in marriage to their sons, nor are you to take their daughters in marriage for your sons or for yourselves. Was not because of marriages like these that Solomon king of Israel sinned? Among the many nations there was no king like him. He was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel, but even he was led into sin by foreign women." Nehemiah 13:25-26
Wow. Nehemiah really makes a violent demonstration that marrying out of the faith carries serious implications. And, of course, we know it does. Life tells us that even if we don't read scripture.
I've always wondered whether Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, will be in heaven because of his sin? Forget all the jokes about how smart Solomon really was if he married 1,000 women. Wisdom and knowledge isn't what guarantees us heaven in the first place, though among our brand of Christianity it stands in high regard. It's grace that gets us home.
Lord knows.
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