“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 it 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.”
In the movie “Back to the Future” Marty McFly seems to be caught with wrong crowd. This forces Doc and him to go back in time to fix the mess. One scene in the movie is when he is at a stop light and gets proposed to a drag race. At first he says no but after being called “chicken” he succumbs to the pressure and proceeds to drag race.
The wrong crowd can get you into bad situations just like the hanging out with the right crowd can help you avoid some bad things. Marty did not drag race in that scene because he was a wiser person after understanding that the wrong crowd is bad news and to avoid the temptations coming from that side.
In these verses, Nehemiah recalls his anger when he came back and found out that some of the men of Judah had indeed married foreign women. He writes about Solomon who in Ecclesiastes 12:13 says, “Fear God and keep his commandment, for this is the duty of all mankind,” Here Solomon declares that after all he has done in his life, including marrying foreign women, the only lesson we should take away is to fear God and keep His commandments because everything else falls short. Foreign women, in this case, represent a connection with someone or something that may pull you away from good decisions. Good decisions that are healthy for your life instead of quick fixes and momentary pleasures. One bad decision may not destroy your life, but they add up over time and you may find yourself out in left field totally unaware of how far you have strayed.
God is waiting for you to turn to Him. It does not matter how far out you may have strayed, God is waiting for you with open arms. Just like in the parable of the prodigal son, the father saw his son while he was far off and ran to him. God is looking for you! As the father saw the son from afar, so God will open up the grace and peace he brings and pour it out on you. All you have to do is decide to turn to him. Your acquaintances can be deadly in your life and even bring you to places you never expected to go. Today, choose to follow God in all that you do and ask yourself if the people closest to you are Godly friends or foreign women bent on turning you away from God.
Let It Go 
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