In many parts of the world, including our last home, young men must PAY for their brides. In those cultures, the sons of the family are responsible for taking care of their parents in the parents' old age. The bride assumes responsibility for the groom's parents also, so the bride's parents are left without a caretaker. To compensate for their loss, the groom "pays" a bride price. In Botswana it was common to pay 10 cows (the traditional unit of exchange) for a bride. In most of Botswana, and the rest of the world, that custom endures.
It sounds a bit strange to us Westerners, and I am certain that many American women would be highly offended that their could ever be a price set on their worth. But it is an honored, and honorable, practice in large sections of the world populace, even today.
The most interesting aspect of this is the Christian application. It never dawned on me until this morning.
The "bride price" idea is illustrated in Jacob's 14 years of labor for Rachael. It is even better illustrated in Christ's bride price for his bride, The Church.
Think about it.
It sounds a bit strange to us Westerners, and I am certain that many American women would be highly offended that their could ever be a price set on their worth. But it is an honored, and honorable, practice in large sections of the world populace, even today.
The most interesting aspect of this is the Christian application. It never dawned on me until this morning.
The "bride price" idea is illustrated in Jacob's 14 years of labor for Rachael. It is even better illustrated in Christ's bride price for his bride, The Church.
Think about it.
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