JEWISH MARRIAGE CUSTOMS: Part 1

.

The following is the first of 16 installments covering the Jewish Marriage Customs. I pray that it blesses you all. God bless each and every one of you.

Ever since God banished Adam and Eve away from the Tree of Life, mankind has been in a fallen state. However, for man to become the Bride of Christ, he had to be in a sinless state. The Bible says what fellowship does righteousness have with unrighteousness [1]? Because of man’s fallen nature, becoming the Bride of Christ was impossible. Therefore, God’s plan required that mankind needed forgiveness before he could become the glorious Bride of Christ [2].

Four-thousand years later…destiny called, and we find Christ and His disciples in the upper room taking communion at the Last Supper. This moment in history was predestined and Jesus knew He was about to die and had been warning the disciples of His impending death. This upset the disciples, greatly.

To comfort His remaining disciples [3], Jesus gave them a promise analogous to Jewish marriage customs of the day. This promise was to touch and encourage the souls of the entire world and encourage all those who were yet to come. Jesus told His disciples,

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also [4].

Christ was telling them that he had to leave in order for Him to build a place for them to live, but that He’d return for them so they could be together. The reason why Jesus came to earth was for the forgiveness of man and for a bride. God created mankind to acquire a bride, and all of scripture points to this truth. Israel and the disciples did not have the ears to hear this during Christ's physical stay on earth.

From Eden to Golgotha, Genesis to Revelation, nothing speaks to this fact like the Jewish Marriage Customs. The Bible is replete with references to them. God’s Word is a love affair between Christ and His Bride. This love affair culminates in the Book of the Revelation at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb [5].

While on Earth, Christ used marriage metaphors to teach His disciples about His Kingdom, all of which came from the early scrolls that we call the Old Testament Scriptures [6]. When we put these marriage metaphors beside the Christian Church, we see a parallel that we cannot deny.

To grasp the meaning of Christ’s promise to the world, as written in John 14:1-3, then it would be prudent for us to study the steps of the Jewish Marriage Customs. This will keep His discourse in context, because context is everything. Not only will this help us understand Christ’s promise, but it will help us understand the entire Bible.

Once we get the idea of Jewish Marriage Customs, the Scripture will jump right off of the pages. What was difficult for us to understand before about God’s Word will be academic to us when we grasp the steps of the wedding customs? Before the foundation of the world, while God formulated His plan, Christ desired a bride. He was just hours away from paying the bride price for her.

________________________

[1] 2 Corinthians 6:14
[2] 1 Peter 1:16
[3] Judas had left to betray Jesus.
[4] John 14:1-3
[5] Revelation 19:9
[6] Christ taught from the Scrolls of the Old Testament era.

.