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Wedding Rings
What
does the Bible say about wedding rings? What do they symbolize?
There
is not much evidence, if any, that suggests wedding rings have any religious
significance.
The
Bible is also silent about them. Nevertheless, many feel a ring symbolizes a
never-ending circle of eternal love.
The
use of a ring in a wedding most likely came from an old Roman custom that
predates Christianity.
At a
time when arranged marriages were quite common, this token was likely a pledge
to fulfill the marriage contract.
Though
they had doubts about their use, Christians in the Roman Empire tolerated
wedding rings given in a betrothal ceremony.
In
the first century, it was common for those who were financially well off, both
Jews and Gentiles, to wear several rings (wedding, etc.) on their fingers as a
sign of their wealth and status in society.
The
book of James warns that those who wear such jewelry in church should not be favored
and respected more than those who do not (James
2:1-4).
The
Bible does not mention any rings or other tokens of love used in marriage
ceremonies.
It
does, however, have much to say about courtship and offers couples a clear
admonition on how to treat each other (Ephesians
5:22-25, 28).
Jesus
underscored the importance of marriage as a lifelong commitment by referring
back to God's institution of the marriage covenant (Matthew 19:4-6).
Traditions
One European marriage tradition
involves engraving a mate's name and the marriage date on the inside surface of
wedding rings.
In the Old Testament, it was a
tradition that the bride stood on the groom's right hand side (Psalm 45:9).
The
right hand was thought a place of honor. Modern wedding tradition, however,
places the bride on the groom's LEFT side as they both face the person who
officiates the ceremony. Why did the switch occur?
It
seems this placement grew out of the Middle Ages, when grooms (who many times
had to defend their brides during the ceremony) needed to have their right hand
free during the wedding ceremony in order to grab their swords.
Why do people wear wedding rings on the
next to last finger of the left hand?
This
tradition came out of the ancient Roman belief that this finger was the only
one that contained a vein that led directly to a person's heart.
Jewish
tradition places a simple ring (no stones or inscriptions) on the bride's first
finger of her right hand.
You might also like:
What’s A Promise Ring?
CLICK HERE . . . to view . . .
https://puricare.blogspot.com/2020/10/whats-promise-ring-concept-of-ring-to.html
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