The following advice was written for secondary school girls in the 1950’s and intended to prepare them for married life: When your husband arrives home from work eliminate all noise of washer, dryer or vacuum. Greet him with a warm smile and be glad to see him. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or suggest he lies down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him. Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soft, soothing and pleasant voice. Allow him to relax and unwind.
Although written only 70 years ago this advice seems to come from an alien world, unrecognisable from the one we live in today. But while the way in which it is expressed may have changed, the underlying principle that wives should demonstrate love for their husbands, (and vice versa) has not.
So too when we read the Bible much of what we read seems to come from an alien world. What matters is that we apply in our own lives the principles that we see. Chief among them is the advice that we put God first in our lives rather than ourselves; and what that looks like may seem very different from our forebears.