1/23 Choose Wisely

This is Scripture for Students. I’m Steve Whitacre, president of Trinity College and a pastor at Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville. I want to help students build a daily habit for life-long Bible reading. Today is January 23, 2025 and this episode of Scripture for Students is called Choose Wisely. Grab your Bible and let’s get started.

Our readings for today are Genesis 24, Matthew 23, and Nehemiah 13. Please open your Bibles to Genesis 24.

I am recording Scripture for Students for… well, students. So, I’m guessing that if you are listening to this you are probably in high school, possibly in middle school or maybe in college. In any of those cases, have you realized that most of the major decisions you will make in your life, you will make in the next 10 years? You will decide who you’ll marry, start a family, where you will go to college, what you’ll major in, and where you’ll work. You’ll decide about where to live and where to go to church. 

Of all these decisions, one of them stands far above the others in terms of the potential to affect the course of your life. One of these decisions can bring you more joy and fulfillment than you can imagine, or can break your heart and leave you with more sorrow and heartache than you would wish on an enemy. Of course I’m talking about marriage. But since marriage is so consequential, maybe it should not surprise us that not one but two of our readings today discuss marriage. 

First, in Genesis 24, Abraham needs to find a wife for his son Isaac and he is adamant that Isaac not marry a Canaanite woman. She must be from Abraham’s tribe. Follow along with me as I read Genesis 24:1–4,

1 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years. And the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. 

2 And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh, 

3 that I may make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, 

4 but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”

So you can see how important this is to Abraham. All God’s people should have had the same impulse and followed Abraham’s example. But they didn’t. Almost a thousand years later, Nehemiah travels from Babylon to Jerusalem to supervise the repair of the city wall and the resettling of the city. He has to return to Babylon on business and when he comes back to Jerusalem months later, he is appalled to find that the Israelite people have made some really bad decisions, including marrying foreign women.

Now follow along with me as I read Nehemiah 13:23–27, 

23 In those days also I saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. 

24 And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and they could not speak the language of Judah, but only the language of each people. 

25 And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair. And I made them take an oath in the name of God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves. 

26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin on account of such women? Among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless, foreign women made even him to sin. 

27 Shall we then listen to you and do all this great evil and act treacherously against our God by marrying foreign women?”

May the Lord bless the reading and the hearing and the keeping of his Word.

How interesting that we would read both of these chapters on the same day. It amazes me how often this kind of thing happens when I read multiple chapters of the Bible each day. Isn’t it great how it proves the idea that there is one Author with a big ‘A’ who is over the whole thing? Clearly, this is important to the Lord. And it was important to Abraham and Nehemiah. 

Now: why was this so important to Abraham and Nehemiah? Good question. First, let’s stop and think for a moment about what it’s not. This isn’t about nationality or regionalism. It’s not about skin color or language. 

What is it about? It’s about religion. Abraham and Nehemiah both knew that marrying someone from a different religion could be ruinous to spiritual life. Nehemiah is very explicit about this in verse 26, “Did not Solomon king of Israel sin on account of such women? Among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless, foreign women made even him to sin.” How did these foreign wives make Solomon sin? They enticed him away from serving the Lord and led him to worship false gods instead. That’s dangerous! And Nehemiah insists, “If it could happen to Solomon, it could happen to you as well.”

Now, I am sure some of you are probably thinking, I don’t even have a drivers license yet. Why are you bringing this up to me now? Well, it’s in our Bibles, so that’s how I know the Lord wants us to think about it. And it is coming faster than you think. It’s not too early to be thinking about this—to be building convictions about what you are looking for in a husband or wife. Much later, in 2 Corinthians 7:14, the apostle Paul says, “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers.” In other words, if you are a Christian, don’t marry a non-Christian. And what do you hope to find in a husband or wife? Is godliness at the top of that list? Commitment to the church? A desire to build a family and serve the Lord and others?

And have you thought about how you will get there? What is dating? How does it work? When do you start? How will you know you’re ready? How will your parents be involved?

These are important questions. I don’t know you and I don’t know how soon you’ll need answers to these questions, but the time is coming. And it will be wise for you to give this some thought and have some preliminary answers before the time comes. If your parents are Christians, talk to them about these questions. If you can’t talk to your parents, find a pastor or a godly and mature Christian in your church—and I don’t mean a peer, but someone who is older than you and has walked through these questions and come out the other side still pleasing the Lord. 

That’s all for today. If you enjoyed this episode please share it with a friend and follow us on Apple Podcasts.

This content is sponsored by Trinity College of Louisville. We shape young men and young women for Christ and for the church. Learn more at TrinityCollegeLou.com. Until next time, keep growing!