Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Robert Howson
Tuesday, January 13, 2026
Over the years courtship and marriage have taken a wide variety of twists and turns. What is practiced today certainly may not have been what was customary in ages past. But in each case, there are certain rituals or customs which carry meaning for the individuals involved. Do we really understand the practice of levirate where a brother was required to marry his brother’s widow as described in Genesis 38:7-11? And what about buying yourself a wife as portrayed in Hosea 3:2? And can any of us relate to David’s contribution of one hundred Philistine foreskins to redeem his wife? (2 Samuel 3:14) These actions seem far away and distant to us today, yet clearly had meaning for those involved.
Let’s try a contemporary example, but one from nature rather than from the human side of things. The Lark Sparrow is a rather colorful sparrow that lives in open, dry woodlands, or, at the edge of such. It walks, rather than hops to feed on seeds and insects along the ground. That is, until courtship time. He then hops, instead of walks, toward the light in his eye. He will crouch while holding his tail at a 45 degree angle from the ground, and at just the right moment, presents her with a small twig.
Ladies today may not be impressed with such behavior, but the wise man will find himself hopping, and for some unfathomable reason, holding little twigs in his hands when the right one comes along.