Jewish Wedding Traditions Will Hammack 20251013

What an honor it is to be here with you today. It is a great blessing to be able to serve you in this capacity. Brother Mike reached out to me several weeks ago, about today, and a little bit before that he had sent me a Bible study on Jewish customs and how their weddings are a little bit different than what we participate in here in the West. And there are distinct differences between Eastern-cultured weddings and our Western-cultured weddings. And we can really see sort of the parallels through scripture and how Christ being the bridegroom and his bride, the church, and how those customs can be sort of found and walked through in scripture. And so today I would like to go about that with you guys. So we see that when Jesus lived on earth, weddings looked a bit different than they do today. But this small difference, this difference in there, it really points to Christ, and it points to Christ and his church. And it points to a bridegroom who loves his church, who loves his bride, and how he is preparing to return to be with his bride. And there are 11 steps for us to kind of follow and to walk through and to see that. And to kind of start us from the beginning, we can see it laid out for us in Revelations in chapter 21. And at verse 9, the scripture reads, Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife. We can see in John chapter 1 at verse 29, we see John the Baptist. We can see Christ coming. He says, Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. So we see that the Lamb is Jesus and that his bride is the church. And in our weddings, we say, Here comes the bride. But in scripture, we see it reversed. The bride is waiting for the bridegroom. In Matthew chapter 25, we see the parable of the ten virgins. And at verse 6 specifically, we see that it says that at midnight a cry was heard. Behold, the bridegroom is coming. Let us go out to meet him. And in 2 Corinthians, we see in chapter 11, verse 2, For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy, for I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. So we are that bride. We are the church. And our calling is to stay ready, to be pure and faithful while we wait for his return. And so step one in this ancient practice, this ancient custom, we see the choosing. In those days, the father of the groom arranged the marriage. And before the world began, our father in heaven chose a bride for his son. In Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 3 and 4, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. Before creation, God already saw you, saw us, the church. He already chose us. And step two, the price. In Hebrew, we see this as the mohar, M-O-H-A-R. And this would be a price that was paid for the bride. And the question is, what was our price? What's the price that was paid for us? In Isaiah chapter 53 and verse 10, It pleased the Lord to bruise him. He has put him to grief when you make his soul an offering. Verse 10, we see Christ telling us in John chapter 10, verse 18, And no one takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. Luke writes for us in Acts chapter 20 and verse 28, The church of God, which he purchased with his own blood. That's the price, his own blood. First Corinthians chapter 6, verse 24, You were bought at a price that will glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. So we see that that's how much the bridegroom loves his bride. That's how much Christ loves his church, that he willingly gave his life for us. So step three, we see the betrothal or the covenant, betrothal. Interesting word to say. But I find that this is such a foundational part of this, especially with the example that we see in Scripture. The betrothal wasn't a casual engagement. It was a binding covenant. And so the example that we have is in Matthew chapter 1, verses 18 and 19. So we see where it says that, For after his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. And then Joseph, her husband, was minded to put her away secretly. So even in betrothal, they were called husband and wife. Then Joseph, her husband, was minded to put her away secretly. In Malachi 2, verse 14, She is your companion and your wife by covenant. Our covenant with Christ is sealed in his word, unchanging and sure. I wanted to kind of take a moment to stick on this for a minute, but we see that, you know, how much grace God has for us, you know, to think. Like we have this covenant that if we take Joseph's example here, in his, you know, mind, he saw Mary break this covenant that they had made with one another, and he had every reason to put her away in secret. And yet he chose not to, from Revelation. But, you know, we have a covenant that was made with God, and we just partook of it. And, you know, when we sin, when we disobey God, when we go against his commandments, when we walk outside of the instructions that he's given us to live in and to please him by, you know, we break, we are breaking, and so we break his heart. You know, we break the covenant that he's made with us. We do have 1 John 1 verse 9. We confess our sins that he is trustworthy and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. That's a great scripture to remind ourselves that we can be forgiven for the mistakes that we make. Even though we have been baptized, we have entered into this covenant with God, and we can still slip and we can still make mistakes. But if the desires of our heart, if our intent is set on being pleasing to him and abiding in him and all that we do, there is forgiveness for our sins if we do confess them. Thank the Lord. Thank the Lord. So step 4, we see that this is the bride's consent. So even in an arranged marriage, the bride had to agree. In Genesis chapter 24 and verse 58, we see Abraham's servant was sent back to his people to find his son Isaac a wife. And when he found Rebekah, after praying and asking and seeing in a vision that she would present herself to him in this way, he saw her and the scripture reads, Then they called Rebekah and said to her, will you go with this man? And she said, I will go. She hadn't seen Isaac, but she trusted the promise. And that's us. In 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 8, it says, God doesn't demand our love. He invites it. He asks us to go. And faithfully we can reply, we will. So step 5, so the cup of the covenant. Once both parties have agreed, they seal it with a cup of wine. The groom would say, this cup is our covenant. We see Jesus using these same words in Matthew 26, verse 27 through 29. He took the cup, drank from it. He asked the disciples to drink from it for this, for this is my blood of the new covenant. So every Lord's day when we share that cup, we are reaffirming the same promise. I am yours, Lord. Step 6, we see the gift, the gift for the bride. After the betrothal, the groom sent gifts, signs of his love and pledged to return. And our groom gave us his spirit. In Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 25, Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for her. 2 Peter chapter 1, verse 4. By which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises. These gifts remind us that we are loved and he is coming back. It has been promised. So in step 7, the mikvah, the m-i-k-v-a-h, the mikvah, this will be the cleansing. So for the wedding, the bride would wash herself in a pool of living water. And this would be a symbol of purity and new life. And for this, that's baptism. In Romans chapter 6 and verses 3 and 4, as many of us as were baptized into Christ were baptized into his death. That we should walk in newness of life. Galatians chapter 3, verse 27, for as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. And that's our wedding garments. We now are donned with the robe of salvation. In step 8, we see the bridegroom's departure. After the vows, the groom left to prepare a place for his bride in his father's house. In John chapter 14, verses 2 and 3, in my father's house are many mansions. I go to prepare a place for you. I will come again and receive you to myself. He's been gone a long while, but every board, every room he builds is a promise that he hasn't forgotten us. In step 9, we see the bride waiting. While he was gone, the bride waited. She kept her lamp trimmed and her garments white. Revelation chapter 2, verse 10, be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. And those scoffers mocked, she would stay faithful. Second Peter chapter 3, verses 3 and 4, scoffers will come saying, where is the promise that is coming? We are that bride today, living in the waiting. Stay pure, stay watchful, stay hopeful. Because step 10, the return. At the appointed time, known only to the father, the groom would finally return to his bride. The trumpet would sound, the cry would echo through the night. Behold, the bridegroom comes. Do you remember in Matthew chapter 25, verse 6, at midnight a cry was heard. Behold, the bridegroom is coming. Go out to meet him. And we see in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, verse 16, for the Lord himself would descend from heaven with a shout. And with the trumpet of God. And that's the moment the faithful have longed for. That's the sound we're waiting to hear. And step 11, the wedding feast. When the groom brought his bride home, the celebration began, a feast in his father's house. In Revelation chapter 19, at verse 7, let us be glad and rejoice. For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife has made herself ready. Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb, to the great feast of joy and reunion. No more waiting, no more tears, just prayer. So, in closing, we have Revelation chapter 22, verse 17. And the spirit and bride say, Come. And let him who hears say, Come. And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. The invitation of the gospel is the same today as it was then. The bridegroom is coming, and he calls out to his bride, the church. Come. He's coming soon for those who are ready, for those who have clothed themselves in righteousness, for those who have kept their lamps burning bright in faith and love. And let's be that people. Let's be faithful. And when that trumpet sounds, may he find us pure, prepared, waiting. Just as Rebecca was asked long ago, Will you go with this man? God still asks that same question of every soul today. He has already paid the price. He's already written the covenant. He's gone to prepare the place. All that remains is your consent, your humble, faithful, wholehearted, I will. So, in Romans chapter 6, verse 4, We have been buried with him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. So, if you've not entered into that covenant, the invitation is open. If you have wandered, the bridegroom still waits with open arms. If you simply need the prayers of the church to stay faithful while you wait, we will be honored to pray with you and for you. If we can assist you in any way, in obeying the gospel, in renewing your walk, or in seeking the strength to endure, please let us know.