Marrying Well

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On to today's post:

Please pick another sin. I'm talking to the Christians who are considering marrying a non-believer because they are convinced they can "save them" or they can "work it out" or it "won't be that bad because we love each other so much." Please, pick another sin to commit. I beg you.

Why? Because every instance of a believer married to a non-believer that I've seen was met with the disastrous effects of light having no fellowship with darkness (see 2 Corinthians 6:14). 

Jehoram was a forgettable king and his son Ahaziah was even worse. But what was the root of all these issues? Jehoram married the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel:

2 Chronicles 22:2–3 (ESV) Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah, the granddaughter of Omri. 3 He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother was his counselor in doing wickedly.

The scripture makes patently clear this unholy union was the problem in the next verse:

2 Chronicles 22:4 (ESV) He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, as the house of Ahab had done. For after the death of his father they were his counselors, to his undoing.

One of the reasons young people ignore the command to marry within the faith is because they are too young to see the generational effect of such a decision. Here, we are given hard evidence that it's not just the couple that will struggle, it's their offspring. And when it comes to mixed marriages, I see more often than not, the child takes on the skepticism of the unbeliever. That was the case with Ahaziah. 

He sided with Ahab's son Joram in an immoral war. He was wounded and traveled to visit Joram to his own demise as he was met by Jehu who searched him out and put him to death. His mother would eventually rule the kingdom and wipe out almost all the royal family to ensure her reign. But the damage was already done to Ahaziah. 

You may be tempted to think in the narrative of Judah's descent that all hope is lost. But it is not. There was a righteous woman in the house who spared a son for God's purposes to be fulfilled:

2 Chronicles 22:11 (ESV) But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were about to be put to death, and she put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Thus Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram and wife of Jehoiada the priest, because she was a sister of Ahaziah, hid him from Athaliah, so that she did not put him to death.

You have to love Jehoshabeath's courage but you should also notice what the Chronicler tells you about her life: She married a strong believer. Her husband is Jehoiada the priest. And you should read 2 Kings 11 to find out what lengths Jehoiada went to overthrow and assassinate the wicked queen mother Athaliah. He may have single-handedly saved the nation. 

This chapter could not be more clear regarding the most important decision a person will make outside of following Christ: the decision on who (or if) to marry. It's huge. Whoever they are will shape you in ways you don't yet realize and your kids will also be tremendously influenced. 

So I repeat to any who would listen to me here: pick another sin. Marriage is THAT important. You have to think long-term and not just about your immediate happiness or even fear of loneliness. God will provide. I do not mean to suggest marrying a believer guarantees a holy household and believing children, but the chances are far greater and more importantly, you are walking in obedience. That is what matters most.