<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Hymn: Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah.<\/p>\n
Text: Genesis 24:34-67<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Payment of Bride Price is a customary requirement for marriage, which some call \u2018native Law and Custom\u2019 ceremony. The Christian is therefore usually confronted with certain issues that border on aspects of tradition and customs which are not in consonance with the Word of God.\u00a0 In such situations, he may be faced with making a choice between the tradition of the land and his Christian convictions.\u00a0 In the Word of God we find some guidelines on what should be our attitude as Christians as regards tradition.<\/p>\n
It should be state here that there are some aspects of tradition which do not run contrary to the Word of God. There are also some which are in conflict with the Word of God.\u00a0 In situations where there are conflicts between the tradition and the conviction of Christian then he must choose to obey God rather than the traditions of men, Acts 5:29.\u00a0 The Christian must realize that the Word of God is superior to the tradition of men and therefore should be fully adhered to.<\/p>\n
In this study, we shall be examining the payment of bride price ceremony during the process of marriage and what it involves form the Christian perspective.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u2018Native law and custom\u2019 as it relates to marriage has to do with the traditional aspect of marriage involving the families of the intending couple, where both families meet, bride price is paid and the woman is formally handed over to the family of the man. This is not complete until the agreed demands by the family of the woman are met.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In the course of the ceremony, it is customary for the man to be given a long list of items he needs to present to the family of the woman. There should be reconciliation between both families about the content of the list of items, long before the day of this ceremony.\u00a0 It is expected that the intending couple would have been in prayers, and exhibited the Christian attributes\/character before their respective families.\u00a0 This will greatly impact on the ease of reconciliation.<\/p>\n
Some of the issues that would need to be reconciled before the ceremony are:<\/p>\n
–Presentation of Alcoholic drinks and Tobacco, John 2:3-10; Habakkuk 2:15:<\/span> What we know is not acceptable to God, we must avoid. It will be very easy to handle if the people involved have before then taken a stand on this matter and their families have known their stand on it long before the issue comes up.<\/p>\n –High bride price\/long list of items to purchase, Philippians 4:5:<\/span> We can see form the Scriptures that it is biblical to present items in the process of requesting the hand of woman in marriage, Genesis 24:53.\u00a0 However, any Christian seeking the hand of a bride from a family should prayerfully prepare to meet the demands of the family, agree (before the day of the ceremony) within the tenets of our Christian faith.\u00a0 The Christian, whose daughter\u2019s hand is being sought in marriage, should realize that demands should be moderate and tailored towards pleasing the LORD.\u00a0 It should be realized that the daughters are not being sold and also after the marriage ceremony the man becomes a part of his wife\u2019s family.<\/p>\n –Demand for pregnancy before marriage, Hebrews 13:4:<\/span> Children are blessings from God to be the married.\u00a0 \u2018Lo, Children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward\u2019, Psalm 127:3.\u00a0 Some families may insist that the woman must be pregnant before they go ahead to pay the bride price.\u00a0 This is very wrong and is contrary to the Scriptures.\u00a0 We are told in Hebrews 13:4 that \u201cmarriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral\u201d (NIV).\u00a0 Couples should enter into marriage by faith trusting in the ability of God to bless them with children at the time He has set for them.\u00a0 Pregnancy before marriage should not be considered at all among Christians.\u00a0 \u201cBut fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints\u201d, Ephesians 5:3.<\/p>\n –Swearing at ancestral shrine, Matthew 5:34-36:<\/span> A Christian must never go to any ancestral shrine to swear, whatever the circumstance or situation.\u00a0 As Christians, we should not swear at all by anything whatsoever.\u00a0 \u201cBut I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God\u2019s throne; Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool\u2026\u201d, Matthew 5:34-36.\u00a0 Apart from the fact that God forbids the Christian swearing, going to ancestral shrine is a very serious case of idolatry.\u00a0 A Christian must not participate in any form of idol worship.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n An intending couple who cannot afford an elaborate \u2018native law and custom\u2019 ceremony should not be discouraged by that and it should not be a hindrance to their getting married. Our advice in the given situation will be that the intending couple should prayerfully meet the woman\u2019s family to reduce the items on the list to the barest minimum that is acceptable.\u00a0 Once this is achieved and the family involved in the matter is satisfied, the party and entertainment may be overlooked or reduced to the barest minimum.<\/p>\n In many instances, there have been cases where the native law and custom ceremony were done behind closed doors with mostly only the members of the intending couple\u2019s families in attendance. The success of a marriage or the joy is not based on how elaborate the ceremony has been.\u00a0 Neither is it based on great of a crowd attended nor yet on how much food and drinks were provided for entertainment, the band or musicians that were invited to come and perform at the ceremony.\u00a0 As Christians, we must learn to be content with what we have and what we can afford.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The church certainly has a role to play in the \u2018native law and custom\u2019 ceremony. Its role is to come to witness the ceremony and also to ensure that everything is done to the glory of God.\u00a0 The ceremony must be brought before God and His presence acknowledged.\u00a0 It is very important that the people involved must have declared their stand as Christians before this time.\u00a0 Therefore the church will have to play the role of representing God and also counseling in all that will be done to ensure that God\u2019s name is glorified at the ceremony.\u00a0 It is usually customary for the church to be officially represented in such an occasion.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The first institution established by God was marriage.\u00a0 Therefore marriage is God\u2019s idea.\u00a0 This implies that God is the Author of marriage.\u00a0 The intending couple should not start relating as husband and wife until they have come to the presence of God for His blessings by the ministers of God.\u00a0 This is very important and necessary for the couple.\u00a0 God is the Author and Finisher of our faith.\u00a0 We must hand all over to Him if we must make a success of this life long journey of marriage.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Christian does not live in isolation. He lives in a society where the traditions and culture may run at variance with his convictions and belief. The Christian must bear in mind that he is the light and must not partake in the unfruitful works of darkness.\u00a0 It should be noted that as believers our fist obligation is to God.\u00a0 We must therefore endeavor to please God in all situations and at all times.\u00a0 Any aspect of our tradition\/culture that is ungodly should not be accepted or practiced by the believer.\u00a0 In as much as the Christians are encouraged to accept those aspects of our tradition\/culture concerning marriage that are not contrary to the Word of God, we must endeavor to keep God\u2019s standard in all we do, bearing in mind that both in the preparation of and throughout the marriage, we are expected to live our lives to the glory of God.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1 Corinthians 10:31 \u2013 \u201cWhether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Christian Marriage Part 2, Payment of Bride Price Central Thought: Uphold God\u2019s principles and standards in marriage. Hymn: Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah. Text: Genesis 24:34-67 Payment of Bride Price is a customary requirement for marriage, which some call \u2018native Law and Custom\u2019 ceremony. The Christian is therefore usually […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sundayschool"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1082"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1082\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1083,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1082\/revisions\/1083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
What advice would you have for an intending couple who cannot afford an elaborate \u2018native law and custom\u2019 ceremony?<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
\n
Does the church have any role to play in the \u2018native law and custom\u2019 ceremony?<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
\n
Discuss if the intending Couple can start relating as husband and wife after the \u2018native and law and custom\u2019 ceremony?<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Daily Living Application:<\/h3>\n
Memory Verse:<\/h3>\n