18th June 2021
SEXUAL IMMORALITY
Wrongful Payment Of Brideprice
David Abankwah
(SERIES: Day 14)
¹⁶If a man entices a virgin who is not betrothed, and lies with her, he shall surely pay the bride-price for her to be his wife. ¹⁷If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money according to the BRIDE-PRICE of virgins.
-Exodus 22:16-17 | NKJV
Another area of sexual immorality is wrongful payment of brideprice. Many married people are still engaging in sexual immorality but they are unaware. This is because the right person to have received the bride-price was not the one they presented to. When you read Exodus 22:17, the right person who is mandated by God to receive the bride-price is the Father of the daughter you are going to marry as a man. Why? This is because God has made man the head of the family and God respects heads or leaders so much that, before He can come into the marriage, He needs to make sure the right or the biological father is the one who have received the brideprice.
For God to be a witness of a certain marriage, it does not come easy like that. The rightful process must be followed otherwise you will not know you are still living in fornication for the rest of your life. In many churches, this is not preached so the men often present the bride-price to any representative who is not even mandated by the father to receive it. You can’t present the bride-price to the mother of the woman you are going to marry, even though she is also a parent. You can’t present the bride-price to any other person from the mother’s family line of the lady you are about to marry. Make sure the one you are paying the dowry to, is the right father of the lady.
If the father of the lady is dead, a representative like the head of the father’s family must be present to receive it or any other person from the father’s side. If all of such people are dead, the king of the town, or any head or the ambassador of the country the lady comes from (if she has different nationality) can receive it. Now, there are certain ladies who don’t
even tell their fathers they are marrying because they have bitterness against their fathers because of their irresponsibility or whatever reason it may be, when they were young. In that case, they choose any other person to receive the bride-price for them. Such marriage, God does not recognise it. It is still fornication!
Why don’t you want your biological father to be present at your wedding even though he is alive? You can’t say he didn’t take care of you. If he is even physically challenged, he is still your father. If he is even unwilling to be present, he can delegate someone to represent him. If the father accepts the dowry and he wants to share it with his wife, it’s over to him. Some mothers are so covetous that, they always demand their share of the dowry the father receives. Many marriages are breaking down just because the bride-price went into the wrong hands. Mothers, tell your children where their biological fathers are and show them where such a father hails from so they can know.
•| Prayer Diary |•
¹Lord Jesus, deliver me from any deceit that will land my bride-price into the wrong hands (singles). ²Lift up prayers onto the Lord to help you become aware whether the person you paid the bridewealth to was the right one or not so you can make amends (married ones) in the name of Jesus Christ.
Quote
“A man staying with a woman he has not paid her bride-price is a thief and all thieves will not have eternal life”
One-Year Bible Reading Plan
Psalms Chapters 73-77
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© 2021 David Abankwah
David Abankwah 