The Bridegroom and His Bride

Jesus the Groom and the Church His Bride 

Did you know that the olden days Jewish wedding ceremony is a detailed illustration of the Messiah's relationship to His bride ?

It was such a revelation for me personally to understand in a new way how the 

Jewish wedding ceremony is such a foreshadow to Christ's relationship with the 

Church - His bride !Felt really nudged in my heart to share it with each one of you. 

Its a little long read but sure at the end of it you will see things in such a new 

light 💜

To initiate a Jewish wedding , the first and foremost step was for the father of 

the groom to find the right match for his son or to delegate this responsibility to 

someone trustworthy .The next was the girl accepting the wedding proposal 

and her consent was definitely a must👏. After this there was a written contract 

signed -which includes the provisions and   conditions of the proposed marriage 

where in the groom promises to support his wife. 

Then came The Mohar - or Bridal payment a gift paid by the groom to the bride's 

family which ultimately would belong to the bride. It changed the girls status and 

set her free from her parent's household. Next in line was the Ritual Immersion. 

It was common for the bride and groom to separately take a ritual immersion 

prior to actually entering into the formal betrothal period, and this was 

symbolic of spiritual cleansing.After the couple had undergone immersion 

each separately, they would appear together under the Huppah - or canopy 

- and in public they would express their intention of becoming betrothed 

or engaged. They would exchange rings and their engagement vows were 

sealed by having a cup of wine . Next time of having the wine was only at the 

wedding celebrations.

The Huppah 

After this ceremony the couple was considered married - yet continued to live separately until the end of the betrothal. We see this type of betrothal illustrated in the gospels as reflected in the lives of Joseph and Mary . Also since this was considered more or less like marriage they could only annul the engagement by divorce and that too only the men could do that.

Following this betrothal ceremony the groom would return to his home to fulfil his obligations. But just prior to leaving he would give his wife a bridal gift, a pledge of his love for her. It's purpose was to be a reminder to his bride during their days of separation of his love for her, that he was thinking of her - and that he would return to receive her as his wife.

The Couple's Responsibilities During the Betrothal

During betrothal the groom's responsibility was to focus on preparing a new dwelling

place for his bride and family.It was only when the groom's father gave his consent the groom goes to get his bride from her house.

The bride also was to keep herself busy in preparation for the wedding day as wedding garments were to be sewn and prepared.

The final step in the wedding is when the bride would be waiting for her groom to come - to carry her off to her new home. It was a time of great anticipation - as the exact hour or day was uncertain as it totally depended on the father of the groom who would give the final approval for the marriage to begin.

Since the time of grooms arrival was a surprise - the bride and her bridal party were always to be ready - this is the background of Jesus parable (Mat. 25:1-13- the ten virgins). Also it was customary for one of the grooms party to go ahead of the bridegroom, leading the way to the bride's house - and shout - "Behold, the bridegroom comes." 

So the wedding ceremony would take place and the couple would say a blessing over the cup of wine.The ceremony finalised by promises and vows. The joyful celebration culminated with the marriage supper . It was much more than just a sit down dinner for all the guests as it included seven full days of food, music, dance and celebrations. 

After the festivities the husband was free to bring his bride to their new home to live together as husband and wife in the full covenant of marriage.

Messiah's Wedding - Which is still to Come

• Like the Father selecting the bride , Jesus tells His disciples that no one can come to Him until the Father draws us to Him ( John 6:44) .
• Like the Bride accepting the proposal , we have to accept Jesus in our lives as our personal saviour.
• We also have a legal contract -  'The New Covenant' . This covenant is all the promises that we have in Christ as given to us in the BIBLE.
• Jesus paid the proper price for His bride and that is by His own life[ In the Jewish custom it is the Mohar ]
• Both bride and groom have to undergone the water immersion . Like we see in Christs life where in at the beginning of His ministry, Jesus was baptised by John. As for us -Whoever believes and is baptized [ritually immersed] will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”  (Mark 16:16). When we get baptised we are clean to be a part of the church and just as the women are prepared for marriage after the ceremonial wash as per the Jewish ceremony .
• Like the Bride and Groom came under the Huppa and proclaimed that they would enter into the covenant of marriage and had a cup of wine . In the similar way Jesus and His disciples gathered in the upper room . He took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
• The gift of love from Messiah - is the Holy Spirit - a promise of His love and that He will return for us.
• But what of His bride - what is she to be doing? During waiting period - the bride would consecrate herself - and prepare holy garments for the upcoming marriage. Paul puts this preparation in very clear terms - (Eph 5:25-27). The bridegroom is making preparations to return for His bride - we need to ask ourselves are we as His betrothed keeping our garments clean? Are we arrayed in our bridal attire, and keeping our covenant promises and vows?
• My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you ? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”  (John 14:2-3) 
• Jesus told His disciples - that He did not know the day or hour of His return
  (Mat. 24:32-36) - but as with any Jewish bridegroom - He must wait for
  His Father to give the word that the set time has come.
• In Thessalonians 4:16-18 we see that prior to the Lord's return there would
  indeed be a shout from one of the archangels
• The pinnacle of the Jewish wedding was the joyful celebration of the marriage supper - this too is a facet of our Lord's soon coming wedding .For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready. …  Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” (Revelation 19:7)!

So are we ready 'like the five virgins who had oil in their lamps' and made it to the Wedding celebrations ? 🙌

Or are we like the other five virgins who had no oil and on whom the doors were shut 💁🏻‍♀️

The hour and time is coming soon - though only know to the FATHER 🙏