Wedding promise

“And He answered and said to them, ‘Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning, made them male and female, and said, For this reason a man shall leave his father  and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” The words of Jesus Christ from the gospel of Matthew 19:3-6.

Marriage is indeed a picture of Jesus Christ’s own love for His church.  The biblical model for marriage is a monogamous relationship between one man and one woman. The marriage ceremony is a public declaration where the couple promises to make a lifetime commitment to each other. The key words here are “lifetime commitment”.

However, in our fast paced world of instant messages, frozen microwaveable dinners and convenient drive through establishments, we tend to expect our marriages to function that way. Our expectations are that we want our needs to be met right now and we don’t have time for proper communication as our problems get worked out.  Our relationships have also fallen into this trap to the point where divorce becomes the answer because  “you don’t meet my needs anymore” instead of “until death do us part”. 

Since marriage is an institution designed by God for God’s people then it follows that He would have fashioned it in a way that would remind us of His incredible love for His creation. In fact, every aspect of an ancient Hebrew wedding ceremony was designed to be prophetic of God’s ultimate future plan of salvation for all people and the union of God’s Son to His bride; the church.

The first part of the wedding was the covenant or “contract” where the groom would draw up a contact detailing how he was going to provide for his wife stating the “bride price” which was what he was willing to pay for the opportunity to marry his bride. The groom would then pour a cup of wine and if the woman and her father drank from the cup then the deal was sealed. At this point the couple was considered betrothed which was legally binding even though the marriage had not yet been consummated.

At this point the bridegroom would present the bride with special gifts to remind her of his love for her while she waited for him to return sometime during the long betrothal period. Next, a ritual or cleansing bath would be taken by the bride. It was the idea that the bride was cleansing herself for the union with her husband. Her old life of being single was being transformed into a beautiful new life in union with her husband.

The main reason for the long betrothal period was so that the bridegroom could prepare a place for his bride to live. Usually an additional room was added to the father’s house and it was the father’s decision to decide when it was complete. At which time he would tell his son “Ok, go get your bride!”

So what was the bride’s responsibility during this extended period of time while the groom prepared her a dwelling place? It was during this time that the bride was consecrated, set apart and bought with a price. She was to cleanse herself and always be ready and on alert for the grooms return.

When the groom returned he would blow the shofar (ram’s horn) to announce his return. The groom usually came during in the middle of the night. This surprise return would determine if his bride was found ready and awaiting his return. Finally, he would take her back to the home he had prepared for their reunion where the marriage would be consummated. A grand feast and celebration would last for seven days.

The church is the bride of Christ. Jesus paid the bride price for us with His death on the cross and His own blood. At the last supper Jesus raised a cup of wine and made a new covenant with us in His blood sealing our fate and future in Him for eternity. Then He went to prepare a place for us to live with him in eternity. As Jesus left the earth, He gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit to remember Him by. 

Just as the bride was expected to keep herself pure, clean and ready for the wedding day we were also told to be baptized and abstain from every form of evil while we awaited bridegroom’s imminent return. Our bridegroom has made it very easy for us by providing His blood; the very essence of our purity. While our sins were as scarlet, He has washed us white as snow!