College students are very interested in dating and
Christian college students are always interested in what the Bible says about
it. There are not many passages that speak directly to the act of securing
a wife, but Judges 21 includes very clear directions. Here's the story:
the Benjamite tribe was nearly wiped out and the 600 men remaining did not have
wives. In order to get wives they were told to go to the annual festival
in Shiloh, hide in the grapevines and when the women came out to dance, grab one
and run!
With a 20/20 male-female split at IBEX this semester, we
couldn't resist trying this out. The guys hid in the surrounding bush, the
girls came out to dance, and then the guys swooped down on them and carried them
off!
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| Here the girls begin the festive dance;
notice the guys hiding in the back. |
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Before the signal was even sounded, Philip and Pat had
girls over their shoulders and they were heading for the hills. |
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| Both Preston and Allison seem pretty
happy with their situation; in the back Josh B. raises his fist in
victory after snatching Charissa. |
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John Dix came up with his wife (and who dared interfere in
that one!) while Chet grabbed Ruth and Becky was taken with (or by) John
S. |
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| Pat carries Sarah and Jake holds Kim over his
shoulders like a trophy. |
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Nate got one of 'em (hard to tell from this angle :-)) and
seminary student Brian rejoices with his catch of Stacey. |
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From the journal of one of the girls. Her final
comment reflects the fact that with a few extra girls on the trip and
one guy missing, there just weren't quite enough guys to go around. |
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"The first charade of the
day was by far one of the most humiliating, shocking and yet enlightening
exercises that we have undergone yet in our IBEX experience. I felt
exactly like a slab of meat sitting on the butcher's shelf ready to be
seized and devoured. Leo was merciful and for the first time in my
life I was thankful for the company that bigamy provides."
-Julie |
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| Actually the day consisted of much that was
both serious and sober. Here we stood on the feet of Mts. Gerizim
and Ebal and recited the blessings and the curses. |
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Below Mt. Ebal, this group proclaimed the
curses of not following the covenant. With a leader like John Dix,
you can bet these guys sounded loud! |
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Becky, Leo and Brian pose near the entrance column of the
Baal-berith temple in Shechem. |
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| The day's itinerary: 1) overview of Khirbet el-Maqatir and et-Tell, two
candidates for biblical Ai; 2) Shiloh, where the tabernacle was for 300 years;
3) Mt. Gerizim, location of the newly discovered Samaritan temple; 4) Samaria,
capital of King Ahab and the northern kingdom for most of its existence; 5) the
ancient tell of Shechem, at the base of Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Ebal; 6) Jacob's
Well, where Jesus stopped to offer eternal life to the Samaritan woman. |
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