Brothers and Sisters in the Lord:
It is often said that girls, from the age of 13 or so, start to plan their marriage. They plan the ceremony, the guests, the cake, the food, the flowers, the doves they will release, the location, the dress, and the dance. Almost always, the last thing they think about and the least time invested in getting, is the bridegroom. But getting the right bridegroom is the one thing on which they should invest most of their time! You see, rain (or Covid) can come a ruin the outdoor wedding. You might be sick on your wedding day. You might have one drunk relative who ruins everything. The food might spoil and people might get sick. Furthermore, that wedding you planned for 10 years is over in a very short time. The guests, cake, food, flowers, doves, ceremony, dress, and dance will be gone and it will be only you and your husband. He will be there for his lifetime. If you marry poorly, it is a life of misery for you. But worse, it is a robbing your children of a good home. And worst of all, you are robbing God of his glory and honor. So hear about this today as this was the problem Nehemiah had to face in Judah.
Our headings are:
1. Nehemiah recognized that marriages were messed-up in Judah
2. Nehemiah reminded Judah of the dangers of mixed-marriages
3. Nehemiah removed obstacles to good marriages in Judah
Our goals are:
That you will pursue faithful families (and support them if you don't have one), so children can be raised with the goal of continuing Christ's kingdom, so praises will go up to him. |
