Arranged Marriage

Sue’s Views
Marriages in the Bible days were very different to today. As with many cultures still ….. they were often arranged by two families. There are two examples in the book of Genesis. Abraham sent his servant to find his son Isaac a wife. His conditions were that she must be from among his people. The servant ….. feeling the tremendous burden of responsibility ….. prayed and asked God to make his journey successful. He looked for a girl who would be generous and welcoming to strangers ….. and one who would be willing to leave her family and home to be with her future husband. In other words she needed to be not only beautiful on the outside but a woman of beauty and good character on the inside. Their marriage was successful! Years later ….. they told their son, Jacob, to find a wife among their people as well. We probably don’t like the idea of our parents deciding who we will marry ….. but parents can play a huge part. First they can pray for their future son or daughter in law. Second ….. they can teach their children the kind of qualities to look for in a spouse. Then they can provide the right environment for their children to meet people of similar beliefs. As my Dad used to say ….. ‘Do it once and do it right!’