Insight on the News
The young Brazilian woman and her fiancé had just finished furnishing their new home. The invitations had been sent out, and everything seemed in order for their wedding, just three days away. Anticipating her new life, the bride had quit her job. Then, without any notice, the groom broke the engagement. Stunned and disappointed, the rejected bride sought legal recourse. Her lawyer argued that the ‘marriage engagement is a preliminary contract, and if broken unjustifiably, the innocent party should be compensated for any damages suffered.’ The court agreed and ordered the man to give to his ex-fiancée ‘a dowry equal to a legally preset salary and to pay court costs and lawyers’ fees.’ Commenting on the decision, lawyer Nereu Mello, wrote in the São Paulo newspaper Jornal da Lapa: “The marriage engagement is a very serious contract and breaking it is not viewed with indifference before the Law.”
This concept of the seriousness of the marriage engagement is not new. Under the Mosaic Law an engaged woman who committed fornication received the same punishment as did an adulterous married woman. She was thus treated differently from the single woman who fornicated. (Deuteronomy 22:23, 24, 28, 29) Back then the engagement was viewed as binding—as if the couple were already married. (Matthew 1:19) Christians today also recognize engagement as a serious step. They do not view it lightly.—Compare Matthew 5:37.
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