Correlation Between Traditional Jewish Weddings & The Bride Of Christ



1. The first step in the marriage process was the Shiddukhin, which was common in ancient Israel that the father of the groom select a bride for his son. We were selected by the Father to be His Beloved Son’s Bride (Eph. 1:4).

2. The Ketubah is the marriage contract. It includes that the groom promises to support his wife to be and the bride stipulates the contents of her dowry. The Ketubah for us is the New Covenant in which the groom promises to take care of the Bride, and to give Himself for her. He has paid the proper price for His bride (his own life!). We have been redeemed with a price (1 Cor. 6:19-20).

3. The Betrothal period is the time when the couple is set aside to prepare themselves to enter into the covenant of marriage. The groom’s responsibility was to prepare a new dwelling place for his bride and family. This place had to be better than the place she had lived before. His father would make the determination and give the go ahead to receive his bride. The bride was to keep herself busy in preparation for the wedding day. The Betrothal includes the blessings of the wine under the huppah, which was one of the last of Jesus’ actions to bless the cup of the New Covenant, the contract of marriage. He stated that He would not taste it again until a later time, when he would drink at the wedding feast. As in any betrothal, the promise is so dependable that it would take a religious divorce to nullify the contract during this period. And the divorce is only available to the husband. In Hosea 2:19-20 He promises that He will betrothal His people to Himself-forever. So we are secure in our Messiah’s contract with us (and in our salvation), because we cannot break it and He promises that He will never break it (Jn. 10:28).

4. The Matan is the bridal gift of love from the groom, which serves as a pledge. The purpose of it was to be a reminder to his bride during their days of separation of his love for her and that he was thinking of her, and that he would return to receive her as his wife. Our gift is the Holy Spirit (Eph 1:13-14). Our Groom is making (or has made) the preparations to return for His Bride as we read about in Revelation.

5. The final step is the Nissuin, when the bride would be waiting for her groom to come, to carry her off to her new home. One of the unique features of this was the time of the groom’s arrival was to be a surprise! She knew the approximate timing, but the exact hour or day was uncertain. It was the father of the groom who would give the final approval for the marriage to begin. Since the time of his arrival would be a surprise, the bride and her bridal party were always to be ready. All this sound familiar RFTH Family?

6. When the groom was coming, a Shofar would go ahead of him and shout, “Behold, the bridegroom comes!” My pastor thinks that the verse below illustrates that the voice of the archangel may shout the same thing as the Shofar at the time of the rapture.

“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18)

At our blessed rapture, as described in the above verse, Jesus will shout and the dead in Christ will be raised. The archangel will say something like, “Behold, the Groom comes!” and we will hear that and in a matter of seconds will be caught up in the clouds together with Him!

7. The marriage supper was much more than just a sit down dinner. It included seven full days of food, music, dance, and celebration. We have a lot to look forward to! We may not know the day or hour, but the season is surely here!






http://messianicfellowship.50webs.com/wedding.html

One thing puzzles me. The bride and her parents had to know the day of the wedding when it came, or she would have no chance to change into her wedding finery before the wedding feast, and her virgins--bridesmaids--would have no opportunity to go to her home and get themselves ready, either. Certain last-minute preparations would have to be made by the bride and her family on the day the wedding supper itself began, which could not be made if the day remained a total surprise right up to the moment when the groom came for his bride. Yet, we are expected to not know what the day of our departure is until the big event actually happens. Are no last-minute preparations that we should be prepared to make on the day itself? If there are, we cannot hope to make them if we're not to know when it's going to happen until it does.

Stephanie thanks so much for posting this lovely description of the engagement and marriage in the Hebrew tradition. It is exciting to see the exact mirror image of our relationship with Jesus pictured this way. I love this part:

And the divorce is only available to the husband. In Hosea 2:19-20 He promises that He will betrothal His people to Himself-forever. So we are secure in our Messiah’s contract with us (and in our salvation), because we cannot break it and He promises that He will never break it (Jn. 10:28).[/quote]

There are so many youtubes floating around who have grace mixed with law and causing great confusion and fear in the body of Christ. We are saved by grace and kept by grace. Jesus declared "IT IS FINISHED". In the original Greek that is a bookkeeping term which means "PAID IN FULL".

Jesus spoke to me a few years ago while I waited quietly for the church service to start one Sunday morning. In my thoughts I was hearing the tune to a song that we used to sing in the church where I grew up. I kept hearing the first part of it and then remembered the rest. It went "I know whom I have believed and I'm persauded that He is able to keep that which I've delivered unto Him against that day".

It was also a scripture that I always thought "that which I've delivered unto Him" was my soul. As I sat there humming the tune, Jesus spoke to me and said, "I have all those you have given to me, the ones on your heart. I've got them! It is my work and I will finish it!"

He said this in a very strong declarative manner. I had been praying for my children, their husbands, other family members and acquaintances for salvation. Jesus confirmed to me in that moment that He had them. Were they all saved at that moment? No, but He told me, "IT IS MY WORK AND I WILL FINISH IT!". This also let me know that Jesus does a complete work,

Here is the song...

FAIR USE FOR INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION PURPOSES

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Noal7GXpRsI[/youtube]

Texas Sue, I haven't heard that song in so many years! It is really good to hear it again.
Kathy, I don't know what's going to happen when we first come to where the Lord is, but it comforts me to think He has it all planned out. Whatever clothes or attendants or anything, He is our source for what we need.

The Lord said for us not let our hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. He loves us very much and Keeps His word. God bless you & keep you. Jesus has waited a long time for His bride, He has put a lot of thought into how to celebrate this big event!

Kathy, that is a good question but I haven't researched it enough to give a proper answer. My pastor mentioned the shofar part only during last nights service, which got me interested and researching it today. I found another site who has even more correlations and they had this to say:

"Jewish bridegrooms usually came for their brides late at night, near the midnight hour.
The sound of the shofar would break the silence of the night and there would be great
shouting and dancing in the streets. We can see this in the parable of the ten virgins:
“And at midnight, a cry was heard; Behold, go out to meet him.”

As a thief in the night, our Bridegroom will call us to arise and meet Him in the air. We
will hear a shout and the sound of the shofar. It will happen quickly. We must be ready."

From: http://www.opendoorministrieswv.org/ancientjewishwedding.html

Kathy, I just found your answer.

The bride anticipated the return of the groom, the exact time of which she did not know, and which could occur at any time. Her experience during this time must have included some doubt and anxiety that the groom might not return for her.

The bride would ensure every night before retiring that she had an oil lamp prepared, in case her groom returned for her at night (cf. the Parable of the Ten Virgins, Matt. 25). Since grooms often returned at midnight to surprise the bride, and since the journey back to the nuptial chambers through the dark streets of a Israelite village could be hazardous, the bride would continually have an oil lamp ready, in preparation for the return of the groom.

http://ldolphin.org/risk/ult.shtml

But the parable of the 10 virgins doesn't apply in this case, because the groom in the parable wasn't marrying a harem, but one woman. The 10 virgins in the parable were her bridesmaids, who all had to have their torches ready to light the way when they accompanied the bride to her new home. Hence the need for generous amounts of oil.

And the bride would still have to have enough advance warning to have time to change into her wedding clothes, and for her virgins to get to her home and get themselves ready, as well. Unless the bride went to her own wedding in her ordinary everyday clothes, which I find hard to swallow. =)

I did read something about how the linens were prepared. Perhaps every evening they were on high alert and when they heard the shofar (who was ahead of the groom) shout, they put on their wedding attire which was already prepared for quick use along with their lamp. It is rather unusual but their culture was obviously much different than ours. I think the message for us is to be ready by receiving the Holy Spirit, and watching everyday for The Lord to get us and since we are expecting him anytime, to keep a short account of sins (daily repentance) and obey The Lord.

Hmm. Could be. The bride's wedding gown would have to be quick and easy to put on then, and her hair would have to be arranged in one heck of a hurry once she had it on. And her virgins would have to be staying with her every night toward the end, with their own wedding clothes and torches on hand, so they could get ready just as quickly.

Stephanie thanks so much for posting this lovely description of the engagement and marriage in the Hebrew tradition. It is exciting to see the exact mirror image of our relationship with Jesus pictured this way. I love this part:

And the divorce is only available to the husband. In Hosea 2:19-20 He promises that He will betrothal His people to Himself-forever. So we are secure in our Messiah’s contract with us (and in our salvation), because we cannot break it and He promises that He will never break it (Jn. 10:28).[/quote]

There are so many youtubes floating around who have grace mixed with law and causing great confusion and fear in the body of Christ. We are saved by grace and kept by grace. Jesus declared "IT IS FINISHED". In the original Greek that is a bookkeeping term which means "PAID IN FULL".

Jesus spoke to me a few years ago while I waited quietly for the church service to start one Sunday morning. In my thoughts I was hearing the tune to a song that we used to sing in the church where I grew up. I kept hearing the first part of it and then remembered the rest. It went "I know whom I have believed and I'm persauded that He is able to keep that which I've delivered unto Him against that day".

It was also a scripture that I always thought "that which I've delivered unto Him" was my soul. As I sat there humming the tune, Jesus spoke to me and said, "I have all those you have given to me, the ones on your heart. I've got them! It is my work and I will finish it!"

He said this in a very strong declarative manner. I had been praying for my children, their husbands, other family members and acquaintances for salvation. Jesus confirmed to me in that moment that He had them. Were they all saved at that moment? No, but He told me, "IT IS MY WORK AND I WILL FINISH IT!". This also let me know that Jesus does a complete work,

Here is the song...

FAIR USE FOR INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION PURPOSES

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Noal7GXpRsI[/youtube][/quote]

T/Sue, & All--In a dream, I was shown that my unsaved loved ones chose to ignore the signs (which looked-like to me to being road signs) I was trying to point them to to follow to Jesus, Himself, as their way to salvation. Because they ignored these signs, Jesus told me that they would be left behind...left behind to go through the 7-year Tribulation period, as a form of testing. The Tribulation period is a form of a test, when you stop to think about it, isn't it( )?

Because I love 'n' trust Jesus completely, I told Him that I trust them being in His hands to work on them His way. If anyone can win them over His way, I just know that Jesus will never give up on them. He certainly didn't give up on us, did He? Because we'll be closer to God, our Father, & our Heavenly Bridegroom, I can keep on praying for them in heaven.

Kathy G., that's precisely what Irene Steele did, once she & her son, Raymie (who were raptured), were in heaven...was to keep praying for her husband, Rayford, and their daughter, Chloe. Both Ray & Chloe (right after the rapture) eventually accepted Jesus as their personal Saviour down here on earth, just before the revelation of just who the AC is...and at the start of the Tribulation period.

Maranatha!
Tammy

That's what I'll have to do for my unsaved relatives once we're gone, if they haven't accepted Jesus before then. At least, we can still pray for them in Heaven, and we can leave left-behind letters and packages for them to find after our departure.

Yes, we can, Kathy G., to keep praying for them up in our heavenly home.

Maranatha!
Tammy

Texas Sue, I haven't heard that song in so many years! It is really good to hear it again.
Kathy, I don't know what's going to happen when we first come to where the Lord is, but it comforts me to think He has it all planned out. Whatever clothes or attendants or anything, He is our source for what we need.

The Lord said for us not let our hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. He loves us very much and Keeps His word. God bless you & keep you. Jesus has waited a long time for His bride, He has put a lot of thought into how to celebrate this big event! [/quote]

Regina, I am so glad that you knew the song and love it too. That word from Jesus gave me such joy and comfort. To know that He was bringing my family into His salvation gave me rest and relief. Now when I pray about them I thank Jesus for saving them. His name is WONDERFUL just as Isaiah prophesied.

Tammy, you said

T/Sue, & All--In a dream, I was shown that my unsaved loved ones chose to ignore the signs (which looked-like to me to being road signs) I was trying to point them to to follow to Jesus, Himself, as their way to salvation. Because they ignored these signs, Jesus told me that they would be left behind...left behind to go through the 7-year Tribulation period, as a form of testing. The Tribulation period is a form of a test, when you stop to think about it, isn't it( )?[/quote]

Do not stop praying for their salvation. Sometimes the enemy will speak to us in our dreams masquerading as an angel of light. Not all dreams are from God.
Your prayers for your loved ones will not go unanswered by God. Have faith that what you have asked has been done. In the book of Acts there is a verse that says, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved and your house". That is because one believer in a family can pray and open the way for the rest of the family.

The Tribulation period is not a test Tammy, it is the time of God's judgment and justice on those who have sold out to evil and aligned themselves solidly in satan's corner. There will be some hapless souls who were careless and did not choose God in a time of grace that will be saved but many will die. Some will survive and be alive at the end when Jesus comes at Armaggedon. They will go into the 1,000 year kingdom when Jesus will rule on earth. They will repopulate the earth during that 1,000 years.

Fair Use for Information and Discussion Purposes

I wonder if there will be music playing when we arrive from the rapture, and at the wedding supper….

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVh687Kcnbo[/youtube]

The Tribulation period is not a test Tammy, it is the time of God's judgment and justice on those who have sold out to evil and aligned themselves solidly in satan's corner. There will be some hapless souls who were careless and did not choose God in a time of grace that will be saved but many will die. Some will survive and be alive at the end when Jesus comes at Armaggedon. They will go into the 1,000 year kingdom when Jesus will rule on earth. They will repopulate the earth during that 1,000 years.[/quote]

So true, Texas Sue, yet the Tribulation will also be God's last-ditch effort to get people's attention so that they will decide to turn to Jesus for salvation. There will be no sitting on the fence during that time; God will allow no one to have that luxury. While the vast majority, alas, will make the wrong decision and reject Christ, a numberless worldwide multitude will respond to the Rapture and to God's attention-getting judgments, and ask Jesus to save them.