So when I saw you bowing your heads, groaning, and striking your faces, I rejoiced because I considered the fruit that would come from that sorrow. This is why today I will speak to you again about the same subject, so that those who intend to marry may take great care over the matter.
When we are about to buy houses or servants, we investigate carefully. We inquire about those who sell them and those who owned them before. In the case of a house we examine its construction; in the case of a servant we examine bodily condition and disposition of soul. How much more care—and far more than this—should we show when we are about to take a wife.
A defective house can be sold again. A servant who proves difficult can be returned to the seller. But a man who takes a wife cannot simply give her back to those who gave her in marriage. He must live with her to the end; or, if he puts her away because she proves wicked, he is convicted of adultery according to God’s laws.
Therefore, when you are about to take a wife, do not read only the civil laws. Before them, read the laws established among us. On that Day God will judge you according to these, not according to the others. Ignoring civil laws may often cost money; ignoring God’s laws brings unavoidable punishment upon the soul and that unquenchable fire.
← Work overview
§1.3 · Section 3 of 33
On What Kind of Wives Men Should Marry
Care before Entering Marriage
§1.3
~2 min
Reading progress
Reading progress is saved on this device.