"It's far better to avoid sin in the first place than to struggle to overcome its consequences" -Tony Evans
"Wasn't this exactly what led King Solomon of Israel into sin? I demanded." there was no king from any nation who could compare to him, and God loved him and made him king over all Israel. But even he was led into sin by his foreign wives." (Nehemiah 13:26)
About 433 B.C, after 12 years of living in Jerusalem, Nehemiah returned to Babylon. It is not clear why he returned. It is either he was called by King Artaxerxes, or he was fulfilling a commitment to return he made when sourcing for permission.
The Bible does not disclose exactly how long Nehemiah stayed in Babylon but when he returned to Jerusalem, after some time, he found that Eliashib, the priest had married Tobiah's daughter. Tobiah happens to be one of the strongest opposers of Nehemiah when he was rebuilding the city wall but he used his influence as the father-in-law of Eliashib to usurp Nehemiah's room at the Temple, which was forbidden!
Nehemiah was filled with righteous resentment at the regrettable manner the Jews were breaching God's covenant they had reaffirmed never to allow their children to marry pagans.
Let us never be discouraged in starting afresh. Nehemiah accepted to start again. He used the instance of King Solomon's mistakes to teach his people. His theme was if one of the greatest kings of Israel fell because of the influence of unbelievers, others could too.
Picking a lesson from Solomon's instance, Nehemiah's perfect teaching was that: our gifts and strength can't be of many benefits if we fail to deal with our weaknesses.
Although Solomon was a great king, his marriage to foreign women invited disaster to the whole kingdom. A tendency to sin must be recognized and dealt with swiftly, otherwise, it may overpower you and bring you down.
How we can overcome the tragedies of nature is by seeking the knowledge of God's ways. One of the strongest approaches to knowledge is reading His word written in the Holy Bible. With this, you will be able to learn from the mistakes of notable people in the Bible, David, Solomon, Ahab, Jezebel and Absalom, among others.
Prayer Today: Heavenly father, the lion of peace, I believe with all my heart that Jesus came to give me life and give it to me in full. Today, l trust Him and His finished work on the cross for my sake. Lord, I have sinned and done nasty things in my life. I turn from my sin towards Christ. Lord, thank you for sending your Son into the world to save me from my sin. Lord, cleanse me of my sin and purify me for your divine deployment. In the mighty name of Jesus, I pray, Amen.
KAC DIGEST
Albert Collins Kyeyune