The Ancient Wedding Custom. As wedding season arrives and we celebrate love and commitment, there’s a beautiful story from ancient times that helps us understand Jesus’ love for us in a whole new way. This is a wonderful teaching moment for our children!
The Covenant Ceremony. In Jesus’ day, when a young man decided he wanted to marry a woman, he would bring both families together for a special ceremony. The young man would pour wine into a cup and offer it to the woman he loved, saying something like, “I am making a covenant with you. Do you accept?”
If she drank from the cup, her answer was yes. In that moment, they became betrothed, a commitment even stronger than our modern engagement. It’s an engagement that can only be broken by divorce; a formal legal proceeding called a “get” in Hebrew.
The Time of Separation. The couple would separate and return to their own homes. Communication happened through a trusted friend who carried messages between them and helped prepare for the wedding day. During this time, the bride’s identity changed. She was considered “bought with a price” because the groom had paid a bride price to her family. She wore special clothing, so everyone knew she belonged to someone. And she lived in anticipation, watching and waiting, because she had no idea when her groom would come back for her.
The Groom’s Preparation. Meanwhile, the groom was hard at work building a home for his bride, typically by adding rooms to his father’s existing house. Multiple generations often lived together in these extended family homes.
It’s important to know that the groom couldn’t decide when the construction was complete. That decision was entirely his father’s. Only when the father inspected the work and declared, “It is finished. It is ready,” could the wedding proceed.
The Joyful Return. When that moment finally came, the groom would call his friends together. They would march through the streets toward the bride’s home, blowing shofars, which are ram’s horn trumpets, to announce his arrival. The bride, hearing those trumpet blasts, would know her waiting was over. She would hurry down to meet him, and together with all the wedding guests, they would travel to the groom’s house for a blessed celebration feast.
The Beautiful Connection. Now, think about Jesus at the Passover table with His disciples. He lifted a cup, the cup traditionally set aside for the promised Messiah, and He drank from it. In doing so, He was declaring Himself the long-awaited Savior. Then He explained that this cup represented a new covenant, sealed not with wine, but with His own blood.
Jesus’ Promise to Us. Before He left, Jesus made this promise that His Father’s house will have many rooms (John 14:2-3) and just as the ancient groom returned to His Father’s house to prepare our home, Jesus returned to His Father’s house to prepare our home.
A Teaching Moment. So, this wedding season, help your children remember the greatest promise of all. Jesus is preparing a place for us. And oh, what a celebration awaits!
—Lee Ann Mancini is an author, founder of Raising Christian Kids, adjunct professor at South Florida Bible College & Theological Seminary, and executive producer of the animated series Sea Kids.
