Today we’re going to start a new series of devotionals that will cover interesting things from Scripture you may not know. We’ll start with an explanation of the Jewish betrothal process at the time of Jesus and show how it fits into your relationship with Him as His bride (Rev 19:7–9). Let me show you.
The process had the following steps.
Prearranged marriage
In ancient Israel, the fathers, or male heads of household, of the woman and the man would arrange the marriage based on the factors they considered important like alliance, stability, fit, etc with the groom’s father typically initiating contact and the process.
In the same way, God the Father (Groom’s Father) has chosen you as the bride of His Son Jesus:
3 Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ … 4 For He chose us in Him … before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:3-4)
God initiated the arranged marriage between you and Jesus before the foundation of the world was laid.
Bride price
A ‘bride price’ was paid to the bride’s father for the bride. It wasn’t a matter of buying the woman as a slave but honoring the woman’s worth.
Jesus paid the ‘bride price’ for you (His bride) to God the Father who is your Father. The ‘bride price’ He paid was Himself:
… how much more will the blood of the Messiah, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God … (Heb 9:14)
And walk in love, as the Messiah also loved us and gave Himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God. (Eph 5:2)
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her … (Eph 5:25)
The Bride’s consent by taking the cup of wine
The woman was not betrothed to the man until she gave consent. She was free to say ‘no’. Traditionally, the man would offer a cup of wine to the woman. This cup was called the ‘cup of acceptance’. If she took it and drank, it was a sign of her acceptance of the proposal and they were officially betrothed. If she did not take the cup and drink, they were not betrothed to one another.
As a believer, you took the ‘cup of acceptance’ from Jesus when you accepted Him as Savior by faith. The Last Supper is the scene where this played out physically:
Then He took a cup, and after giving thanks, He gave it to them and said, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood that establishes the covenant; it is shed for many for the forgiveness of sins. (Mt 26:27-28)
Whenever you take the cup of communion to remember the Last Supper, you are willingly taking the ‘cup of acceptance’ as part of your betrothal to Christ.
The token from the bridegroom
The bridegroom would give a small personal gift to his betrothed before he left for the separation period from her.
Jesus Christ giving us the gift of the Holy Spirit is the fulfillment of this part of the betrothal process in your life:
21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22 After saying this, He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (Jn 20:21-22)
13 When you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed in Him, you were also sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. 14 He is the down payment of our inheritance, for the redemption of the possession, to the praise of His glory. (Eph 1:13-14)
The separation period
After the couple was officially betrothed, the groom and bride-to-be would separate for a year or so and not see one another. The groom would go to his father’s house and build an addition onto the house where he and his bride would live. During the period of separation, the bride would prepare herself for the wedding to the groom.
Jesus told the Apostle’s about Him going away and preparing a place for us in advance:
2 In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if not, I would have told you. I am going away to prepare a place for you. 3 If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come back and receive you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also. (Jn 14:2-3)
As Christ’s bride, Scripture shows how we prepare ourselves for Him in His absence by living holy and faithful lives:
And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. (1 Jn 2:28)
7 Let us be glad, rejoice, and give Him glory, because the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has prepared herself. 8 She was given fine linen to wear, bright and pure. For the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the saints. (Rev 19:7-8)
The grooms coming to retrieve the bride
At some point, the father of the groom would tell his son to go retrieve his bride. The groom had no say in the matter. The time of the gathering of the bride was completely up to the father of the groom.
Jesus made it clear to us that only the Father knows when He’s coming back for His people. Even Jesus doesn’t know when He’s coming:
36 “Now concerning that day and hour no one knows—neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son —except the Father only.” (Mt 24:36)
The father would typically tell his son at night to go get his bride. When the father gave the word, the groom and his friends would go to the bride’s house shouting and blowing the ram’s horn. It was a big event. This will be fulfilled when Christ comes to receive His people:
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are still alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so we will always be with the Lord. (1 Thes 4:16-17)
The marriage feast
There was a seven-day marriage feast to celebrate the marriage.
We see this fulfilled in Revelation:
7 Let us be glad, rejoice, and give Him glory, because the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has prepared herself. 8 She was given fine linen to wear, bright and pure. (Rev 19:7-8)
I pray this was encouraging and educational to you.
