Category Archives: Christian Life

SEEING JESUS IN THE FEASTS OF ISRAEL – LESSON 1 Cont

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2. HEBREW COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE

Step 1 – The Choice – lachah

The first step for the prospective bridegroom was to choose his bride-to-be and to declare that he had chosen her. The word he used to alert her that he had chosen her was lachah – “I want to make you mine.”

Before God delivered Israel from Egypt He spoke to the Israelites through Moses, informing them that He had chosen them to be His own people – wedding talk!

“I will take you as my own people and I will be your God.” Exodus 6:7

Step 2 – The Declaration of Intent – segulah

The next step was the declaration of intent which followed a period of courtship. 

When the Israelites reached Mount Sinai, God declared His intention to marry them in the words used by every Hebrew man who was courting a young woman – segula – “I want to make you my treasured possession.”

God courted them during their sojourn in the desert. He was with them, He covered them, provided for them, led them and showed them His love in every way possible. Now He indicated His desire to marry them.

“Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all the nations you will be my treasured possession.” Exodus 19:6

Step 3 – The Preparation – mikvah

The third step was to prepare for the betrothal. This took place in two parts: mikvah – washing; ketubah – the marriage covenant.

Two days before the betrothal, the bride-to-be was required go through the ceremony of ritual purification by washing – mikvah – in preparation for the setting up of the marriage covenant and the proposal which would take place on the third day.

“And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes and have them ready by the third day, because on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.’” Exodus 19:10.

Step 4 – The Marriage Covenant – ketubah

What is a ketubah? “A Jewish legal marriage document with a legacy spanning two thousand years. It is typically signed before the wedding ceremony by the couple and at least two witnesses.

(http://www.interfaithfamily.com/life_cycle/weddings/The_Jewish_Marriage_Contract_(Ketubah).shtml)

“The content of the ketubah is in essence a one-way contract that formalizes the various requirements by Halakha (Jewish law) of a Jewish husband vis à vis his wife. The Jewish husband takes upon himself in the ketubah the obligation that he will provide to his wife three major things: clothing, food and conjugal relations, and also that he will pay her a pre-specified amount of cash in the case of a divorce. Thus the content of the ketubah essentially dictates security and protection for the woman, and her rights in the marriage.”

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketubah)

God’s ketubah was recorded on two tablets of stone and written by the finger of God. It provided the boundaries within which the marriage relationship would be carried out, which we call the Ten Commandments. The Hebrew meaning is “Ten Words” which is a technical term for covenant stipulations. The rest of the Law found in Leviticus is a fleshing out of these ten words. 

After the signing of the ketubah, the bridegroom would formally propose to his bride and she would reply in these words, “When will you come for me?” He would respond, “I go to prepare a place for you and when my father approves of the bridal chamber, I will come again and receive you to myself that where I am, you may be also.” Does this sound familiar?

Betrothal

This was followed by the betrothal period. Both bride and groom had preparations to make for the wedding. The bride was to prepare herself by separating herself from all other men to belong exclusively to her husband and by preparing her wedding gown (her righteous deeds). The bridegroom was to prepare the bridal chamber for the consummation of their marriage.

Once the ketubah was signed, betrothal was as legally binding as marriage itself.  Hence Joseph decided to “divorce” Mary for her apparent unfaithfulness although they were not yet married.

Step 5 – The Consummation

When the bridal chamber was complete and met with his father’s approval, the bridegroom would return to claim his bride and take her back to his home where the wedding ceremony would take place.

The wedding ceremony would be conducted under a canopy called the chuppah. After the ceremony was over, the bride and groom would be escorted to the bridal chamber. The bridegroom would pick up (rapture) his bride and carry her over the threshold of the bridal chamber where they would consummate their marriage under a canopy which was a talith – prayer shawl – mounted on poles over the bed, symbolising the presence of God.

“Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently, and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the voice of the Lord answered him…And God spoke all these words…” Exodus 19:18, 19; 20:1.

SEEING JESUS IN THE FEASTS OF ISRAEL – LESSON 1

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Today we begin a new series entitled “Seeing Jesus in the Feasts of Israel”

LESSON 1

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

We must read the Bible with the Hebrew culture and language in mind. We cannot interpret it from our cultural and language perspective – otherwise it will not make sense. Therefore, to understand the Jewish feasts, we must view the Bible as the story of God’s dealings with the church of the Old and New Covenants and see how the feasts cover the whole of human history and tell the story of Jesus’ wooing and winning of His bride.   

Why is it important for us as Christians to understand the meaning and significance of these feasts?

  1. THE BIBLE – A ROMANCE

There is more than one way to interpret the Bible; for example it is the story of two covenants; the story of a journey; or the story of salvation. One of the ways to interpret the Bible is to read it as a romance – God’s romance with His people. 

When did God fall in love with His people?

“When Israel was a child, I loved him…” Hosea 12:1a;

“On the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to make you clean…you were thrown out into the open field, for on the day you were born, you were despised…” Ezekiel 16:4, 5.

“Then I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood…I said to you, “Live!”…Later I passed by, and when I looked at you and saw you were old enough for love, I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness. I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant with you, declares the sovereign Lord, and you became mine.” Ezekiel 16:8. 

God loved Israel long before she ever became a nation. Because He loved her, He rescued her from slavery in Egypt and proposed to her at Mount Sinai. He followed the 5 steps every Hebrew man follows in the process of courtship and marriage.

To be continued…

DAY SEVENTEEN – PSALM 91

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DAY SEVENTEEN

“‘Because he loves me,’ says the Lord,

‘I will rescue him;

I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

He will call upon me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble,

I will deliver him and honour him. 

With long life I will satisfy him

and show him my salvation.’”

Psalm 91:14-16

COMMENT

What an amazing string of promises!   Read through them again.  God promises to rescue you, protect you, answer your prayers when you call to Him, be with you, deliver and honour you, satisfy you with long life and show you His salvation.  Amid the storms of life that you and I face every day, what more could we ask for than all the things God has promised in these verses we have read today?  This should make your heart sing for joy because you are never alone or abandoned by your God and He is powerful enough to honour every promise He has made.

PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING

Tell the Lord today how thankful you are that He is always with you and that He will guard you against harm and sickness and crown your life with His blessings because you believe His promises and trust Him for His love and favour to be showered upon you.

DAY TWO – PSALM 139

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DAY TWO

“O Lord, you have searched me

and you know me.

You know when I sit and when I rise;

You perceive my thoughts from afar.

You discern my going out and my lying down;

you are familiar with all my ways.

Before a word is on my tongue

you know it completely, O Lord.

Psalm 139:1-4

COMMENT

Not only are you the unique creation of God’s hand but also the object of His personal and intimate knowledge.  This can be quite a scary thought if you are thinking, saying, or doing what you know is displeasing to Him.  But it’s also comforting to know that God knows you so completely that you don’t need to hide anything from Him.  He knows where you are, He knows your thoughts and He knows your ways.  That means that He knows how you are going to react and what you are going to do before you do it.  Wow!  That’s amazing!  Imagine someone knowing you that well and loving you for who you are anyway.

PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING

Praise the Lord today for His intimate knowledge of you. How does that make you feel?  Don’t you feel loved and special?  Thank Him for being so close to you that everything about you is open to Him.

A HOUSE OF PRAYER

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A HOUSE OF PRAYER

“Going into the Temple He began to throw out everyone who had set up shop, selling everything and anything. He said, ‘It’s written in Scripture, “My house is a house of prayer,” but you have turned it into a religious bazaar.’

“From then on He taught each day in the Temple. The high priests, religion scholars, and the leaders of the people were trying their best to find a way to get rid of Him. But with the people hanging on every word He spoke; they couldn’t come up with anything.” Luke 19:45-49 (The Message).

Jesus had made His intentions clear on Palm Sunday when He turned towards the Temple, not Pilate’s residence. The Temple, symbolic of God’s desire to make His dwelling with His people, was His focus. It was the place where He expected to find people whose hearts were after God and who were there to worship Him in the appropriate way. It was there that He spent time, while He was in Jerusalem, teaching the people about the kingdom of God.

What He found when He reached the Temple, appalled Him. Luke’s Gospel gives us few details, but we learn from the other gospels that the opportunists had set up shop in the outer court – the court of the Gentiles, which was the farthest non-Jews were allowed to go in the Temple. The merchants were no doubt there under the protection of the religious leaders who would take a cut of the profits for their co-operation! 

So what were they doing? They were making a fine business out of selling ‘unblemished’ sacrificial animals at Passover. This seems innocent enough but a closer look, coupled with Jesus’ accusation, reveals that they were engaged in crooked business.

Every animal had to pass the scrutiny of the priests to be declared fit for a Passover offering. Many animals ‘failed’ the test which meant that they had to be scrapped and another bought from the merchants. The ‘failed’ animal was then sold to the next worshipper whose lamb had been rejected. This practice, together with the exorbitant exchange rate charged by the men handling the forex, was a lucrative business both for the merchants and for their religious overlords.

Jesus was incensed by the whole scene. It angered and sickened Him because it exposed the disposition of the human heart. It was the basest thing any human being could pull off on sincere worshippers, and it hijacked the only place in the Temple where Gentiles were permitted to worship God.  

Since Jesus’ action has deeper significance than simply an outburst of righteous anger, we have to go to John’s Gospel to find out the underlying meaning of this incident. John records this event as happening at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. It was a prophetic action which revealed the purpose of His coming. John’s record is authenticated by  false witnesses at Jesus’ trial, which we find in Mark’s Gospel (14:57,58). “Then some stood up and gave this false testimony against Him. ‘We heard Him say, “I will destroy this man-made temple, and in three days will build another, not made by man.”‘ Yet even then their testimony did not agree.”     

By cleansing the Temple of the greedy merchants in cahoots with greedy religious leaders, Jesus was declaring the purpose of His own death. He had come to uncover and deal with the deepseated reason why human beings need to be cleansed and reconciled to God so that He can make His dwelling within us. By giving His own sinless life as a sacrificial Passover lamb, He would set people free from their slavery to selfishness, greed and wickedness, and give us the right and power to become a ‘house of prayer’ for God, a place of loving, intimate fellowship with Him.

It was this ‘zeal for His house’ that sent Jesus to the cross, and it is still the zeal for God’s spiritual house that motivates His passion for people. God has purposed and will fulfill His plan to complete what He began, to build a family of men and women, boys and girls from every nation, tribe and clan on earth who will receive His love, and will love and worship Him in return.

Will you be one of them? It’s your choice…