The Jewish Wedding System

The ancient Jewish wedding system paints a beautiful picture of the coming wedding between the Lord Jesus Christ and his bride, the church. According to Jewish wedding customs, during the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry, the bridegroom came at a day and hour that his bride did not know. As he came, the friends of the bridegroom went before him and shouted, “Behold, the bridegroom comes.” This shout would be accompanied by the blowing of a shofar-a trumpet made from a ram’s horn. As the shout was heard, the bridegroom would get his bride and take her back to his father’s house, where the ceremony and celebration would take place. These customs are very similar to Jesus’ description of His second coming from the parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-13).
The Jewish Wedding …show more content…
The arrangement was the time of matchmaking, usually decided upon by the fathers of the bride and groom. Often the couple did not know each other before the arrangement. The betrothal ceremony followed. To prepare for this, the bride and groom would take part, separately, in a ritual immersion in water, which symbolized spiritual cleansing. Next came the preparation period. During the betrothal period, the groom remained at his father’s home and prepared a place for the two to live. The wedding ceremony followed the yearlong betrothal period, in which the bride waited with great expectancy for the groom to come and for the actual ceremony to take place. The day of the ceremony was a surprise to both the groom and the bride. Finally, the wedding feast came. It was the highlight of the wedding ceremony, and the primary purpose was to honor the