I’ve heard portions (at least) of this said or sung at weddings, by the bride to her groom:<\/p>\n
Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee:
\nfor whither thou goest, I will go;
\nand where thou lodgest, I will lodge:
\nthy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:<\/p>\nWhere thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried:
\nthe Lord do so to me, and more also,
\nif ought but death part thee and me.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nPretty touching stuff. And meaningful. And even appropriate.<\/p>\n
But what if those words were said or sung at a wedding…by the bride…to her mother-in-law? \ud83d\ude2f After all, the above words were said by Ruth to Naomi, her mother-in-law. \ud83d\ude42 (Read Ruth 1:14-18<\/a> for yourself!)<\/p>\n
For some reason, I thought about that the other day. As I have other times, including one time when I wrote:<\/p>\n
They fit so well in a Godly marriage ceremony. Interestingly, though, these words were originally uttered more than ten years after the wedding . . . and they were not directed toward the marriage partner at all. The words and the commitment they express were spoken by the “bride” to her mother-in-law. (Imagine the stir if this were done in a contemporary wedding!)<\/p>\n