I’m in Las Vegas for a bachelor party for my best friend. I’m excited to have some good, old Baptist fun celebrating my friend and his coming marriage. There’s no mention of bachelor parties in the Bible, but here are what some biblical grooms’ celebrations would have looked like.
Jacob
Fiancée: Rachel
Location: Pasture
Best Man: Esau
Shenanigans: Jacob worked seven years in order to marry Rachel. After that much time he would have been ready to get down and party. Unfortunately Jacob’s grandfather, Abraham, wasn’t able to sway God from destroying Sodom. Jacob would have heard all the wild and crazy stories of bachelor parties in Sodom but would have been forced to simply hang out with his sheep. It also would have been awkward for Jacob’s alienated brother to act as best man. Not nearly as awkward, though, as getting too drunk to realize you married your fiancée’s sister instead of your fiancée.
David
Fiancée: Bathsheba
Location: Jerusalem
Best Man: Joab
Shenanigans: I was blessed with the opportunity to visit Jerusalem a few years ago. It’s a great city and would have been an awesome place for David’s bachelor party. It may have been an uncomfortable celebration, though. David’s friends, especially Joab, would have known that David was moving in a little fast on Bathsheba. Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah, had just died and David moved in like Dennis Rodman to get the rebound.
Joseph
Fiancée: Mary
Location: Bethlehem
Best Man: Jesus
Shenanigans: Joseph really didn’t have the opportunity for a proper bachelor party. He and Mary weren’t married until after Jesus was born. Any bachelor party would have involved Joseph’s newborn baby. Like Jacob, Joseph could have taken baby Jesus and hung out in the pasture with his new shepherd friends. Joseph’s and Mary’s wedding would also have involved baby Jesus. Even though he probably wasn’t able to stand on his own, there wouldn’t have been a better best man than the Son of Man.
Celebration is a part of life. God intended celebration and rest to be a part of our natural rhythm. We often celebrate the big moments like weddings and birthdays. It’s even more important, though, to find reasons to celebrate and glorify God on a daily basis.
What can you celebrate today?
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