Christ and His Bride and the
Jewish Wedding Ceremony
Both the Old
and the New Testaments describe how
God through Christ, the Bridegroom, is in the process of marrying His Bride,
the believers in Him, who will ultimately live and dwell with Him forever.
God ordained and established marriage and its
divine sanctity in Genesis, when
He brought Adam and Eve together to become one flesh (Genesis 2:21-24). Adam is a type of Christ here (Rom. 5:14). God had a deep sleep fall upon
Adam. Sleep is synonymous with death (Eph.
5:14). The deep sleep that God caused to 
fall
upon Adam is a picture of the crucifixion and death of Jesus. God brought
a deep sleep upon Adam so He could take a rib from the side of his flesh.
This required the shedding of blood. This is a picture of Christ who was pierced
in the side of His flesh, shedding His own blood when He hung on the tree.
From the rib of Adam, God made Eve. By the death of Jesus and our faith in
Him we become wedded to Him, and thus the Bride of Christ. By accepting, trusting,
and believing in Jesus, we become one with Him. “For this cause shall a man
leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two
shall be one flesh.” (Eph. 5:31) “This is a great
mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” (Eph. 5:32) “For I am jealous
over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, which
I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.” (2 Cor. 11:2)
The ancient Jewish wedding ceremony God gave
to the Jewish people was to teach us also about the wedding of the Messiah.
This ceremony consisted of 12 steps. Notice the complete similarities to this
wedding ceremony and the Church, or Bride of Christ today.
1. The selection of the bride.
The bride was usually chosen by the father of the
bridegroom. The father would send his trusted servant, known as the agent of
the father, to search out the bride. Read Gen.
24. In this chapter, Abraham (a type of God the Father) wishes to secure a
bride for Isaac (a type of Messiah) and sent his servant Eliezer
(a type of the Holy Spirit) to do this task. It is the role of the Holy Spirit
to convict the world of sin and lead them to God (John 16:7-8). Just as the bride was usually
chosen by the father of the bridegroom, so the believers in the Messiah are
chosen by God (John 15:16).
The bridegroom chose the bride and lavished his love upon her and she returned
his love. This can be seen in Eph.
5:25. Rebekah consented to marry Isaac even before
she ever met him. Today, the believers in the Messiah consent to become the Bride
of Christ even though we have never seen Him (1 Peter 1:8).
2. A bride price was established.
A price would have to be paid for the bride. Jesus, being
our Bridegroom paid a very high price for His Bride, the body of believers. The
price He paid was His life (1Cor.
6:20).
3. The bride and groom are betrothed to each other.
Betrothal is the first of two steps in the marriage
process. Betrothal legally binds the bride and the groom together in a marriage
contract, except they do not physically live together. Whenever you accept the
Lord into your heart and life, you become betrothed to Him while living on
earth.
4. A written document is drawn up.
This contract states the bride price, the promises of the
groom, and the rights of the bride. The groom promises to work for her, to
honor, support, and maintain her in truth, to provide food, clothing, and
necessities, and to live together with her as husband and wife. This contract
was the unalienable right of the bride. It must be executed and signed prior to
the wedding ceremony. The Bible is
the believers contract. All the promises that God
provided for the believers in Christ are legally ours (2 Cor. 1:20).
5. The bride must give her consent.
The personal application to those who desire the Lord to
come into their hearts and lives is to accept His invitation to do so by faith.
As His Bride, we are saying “I do.”
6. Gifts were given to the bride and a cup called the cup
of the covenant was shared between the bride and the groom.
The rite of the betrothal is completed when
the groom gives something of value to the bride and she accepts it. Today, the
gift that is given is usually a ring. When the groom places the ring on the
bride’s finger, the rite of betrothal is completed. This completed rite is
known in Hebrew as “kiddushin,” which means “sanctification.”
The gifts to the bride are symbols of
love, commitment, and loyalty. The gift God gives to those who accept Jesus is
the Holy Spirit. When Jesus ascended to Heaven, He gave us gifts, including
righteousness, eternal life, grace, faith, and other spiritual gifts.
In addition, at this time the cup of the
covenant was shared and sealed between the bride and the groom with the
drinking of wine. In doing so, the couple drinks from a common cup. The cup is
first given to the groom to sip, and then is given to the bride. This cup,
known as the “cup of the covenant,” is spoken of in Jer. 31:31-33, and in Luke
20, 22.
7. The bride had a water immersion,
which is a ritual of cleansing.
This indicates a separation from a former way to a new way
of life. In the case of marriage, it indicates leaving an old life for a new
life with your spouse. Jesus said, in John
3:1-7, that we must be born anew to enter into the Kingdom of God. Believers
are to be immersed in the name of Jesus. The Holy Spirit is the immerser of God (Luke
3:16, Acts 1:5, 11:15-16).
8. The bridegroom departed, going
back to his father’s house to prepare the bridal chamber.
“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.” (John 14:2)
At this point, the bridegroom leaves for his
father’s house to prepare the bridal chamber for his bride. It was understood
to be the man’s duty to go away to be with his father, build a house, and
prepare for the eventual wedding. Before he goes, though, he will make a
statement to the bride, “I go to prepare a place for you; if I go, I will
return again unto you.”
9. The bride was consecrated and set apart for a period of
time while the bridegroom was away building the house.
“And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down
from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” (Rev. 21:2)
Before the bridegroom could go and get the
bride, the groom’s father had to be satisfied that the son had made every
preparation.
“But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father
only.” (Mat. 24:36)
Only then could he give permission to the
son to go and get the bride. In other words, while the bridegroom was working
on the bridal chamber, it was the father who okayed
the final bridal chamber.
10. The bridegroom did not know when his father would
declare the bridal chamber fit and send him to go get his bride. Note the
parallels:
“But
of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor
the Son, but only the Father. Take heed, watch; for you do not know when the
time
will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts
his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to
be on the watch. Watch therefore--for you do not know when the master of the
house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the
morning-- lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you
I say to all: Watch.” (Mark 13:32-37)
Meanwhile, the bride was to wait eagerly for
the return of the bridegroom. In the mind of the bride, the bridegroom could
come at any time, even in the middle of the night or at midnight. Therefore,
she had to be ready at all times. Jesus referred to this in the same verses in Mark above, and in Mat. 25:1-13.
11. The bridegroom would return
with a shout, “Behold, the bridegroom comes” and the sound of the ram’s horn
would be blown.
The time of the return of the bridegroom was usually at
midnight. When the bridegroom did come, he came with a shout (Mat. 25:6) and with the blowing of a
trumpet (1Thess. 4:16-17; Rev. 4:1).
The marriage between the bride and the groom
would take place under a wedding canopy. Since Heaven is a type of canopy, we
can see that when Jesus gives a shout for His Bride, accompanied by the blowing
of a trumpet, the marriage between Christ and His Bride will take place in
Heaven. The marriage ceremony will have a sacred procession. For this reason,
the bridegroom (Jesus) will be led to the canopy first. When the bridegroom
approaches the canopy, the cantor chants, “Blessed is he who comes.” This
expression means “welcome.” Jesus said that He would not return for His bride
until these words were said. The groom is greeted like a king under the
canopy. During this time Jesus, the bridegroom, will be crowned King under the
canopy, which is Heaven.
The bride and groom will go to the wedding
chamber, where the marriage will be consummated. They will stay in that wedding
chamber for seven days, or a week. At the end of the seven days, the bride
and groom will come out from the wedding chamber. This can be seen in Joel 2:16. The word week in Hebrew is “shavuah.” It means a “seven.” It can mean seven days or seven years. An example
of the Hebrew word “shavuah” for week, meaning “seven
years,” can be found 
in
Dan. 9:24, 27. From
this we can see that the believers (Bride) in the Messiah (Bridegroom) will
be with the Messiah in Heaven for His wedding while the earth will be experiencing
the seven-year tribulation period. Also in the biblical wedding service that
God gave, after you are married, you have a honeymoon.
The honeymoon lasts a week, having the same
meaning as the above seven days or seven years. So this also can refer to
Heaven where the previously ruptured believers have been enjoying a seven year
honeymoon with the Lord while the earth is experiencing the tribulation.
12. Finally, there would be a marriage supper for all the
guests invited by the father of the bride.
The bride and the groom would be in the wedding chamber for
seven days. When the bride and the groom initially went into the wedding
chamber, the friend of the bridegroom stood outside the door. All the assembled
guests of the wedding gathered outside, waiting for the friend of the
bridegroom to announce the consummation of the marriage, which was relayed to
him by the groom. John referred to this in John
3:29. At this signal, great rejoicing broke forth. The marriage was consummated
on the first night. The bloodstained linen from this night was preserved. It
was proof of the bride’s virginity (Deut.
22:13-21). On the wedding day, the bridegroom is seen as a king and the bride
as a queen. During the consummation of the marriage, the bridegroom (Jesus)
will be crowned King over all the earth and the bride (believers in Christ)
will live with Him and rule with Him forever.
Jesus will be returning with His Bride and
we will rule and reign with Him physically during the Millennium (Rev. 20:4).
Linda Littlefield is a Christian homeschooling mother and creator of DesiLin
Homeschool Publishing. This article is from her web site www.helpforhomeschoolers.com.
