God the Father opened human history with a marriage in Genesis 2. And God the Son opened His public ministry at a wedding in John 2.
That is not an accident.
Marriage is more than a human institution. It is a picture—an earthly representation of a heavenly reality. The Bible uses marriage to help us understand the covenant love of Christ for His people.
So what is the big idea about marriage?
To answer that, let’s look at the steps of ancient Jewish marriage. In them, we find a remarkable picture of Jesus and His Bride.
The Shidduchim: The Match
The first step was the shidduchim, or the match.
In ancient Israel, it was common for the father of the groom to select a bride for his son. He could delegate this responsibility to an agent, a shadchan, or matchmaker.
The Groom to whom we are betrothed is Jesus. And God the Father has sent His Matchmaker to win us to His Son.
The Matchmaker is the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit opens our hearts to Christ and enables us to believe.
Yet the bride could refuse the proposal.
And so can we.
God does not force us into relationship with Christ. The invitation is real, and our response matters.
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says...”
— Revelation 2:7
Please don’t say no.
The Mohar: The Bride Price
Next came the mohar, the bride price.
The groom’s father provided the price, but the groom delivered it himself. He left his father’s house and traveled to the home of his prospective bride.
Two thousand years ago, God the Father sent His Son on precisely such a journey—from His home to ours.
And He came with a bride price beyond measure:
His own life.
Peter writes:
“Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold... but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”
— 1 Peter 1:18–19
The price paid for the bride tells us something about the value placed upon her.
So consider this:
What does the price Christ paid tell us about how deeply God values us?
The cross is where the Groom paid the price to make us His own.
The Shiluchim: The Gift
The father of the bride would also provide a dowry to equip her for her new life. This was called the shiluchim.
And we have been given a remarkable gift to equip us for our new life:
the Spirit of God dwelling within us.
Paul writes:
“He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.”
— 2 Corinthians 1:21–22
The Spirit is God’s pledge—a down payment on what is still to come.
We have God’s presence now while we await the day when we will be with Him forever.
The Ketubah: The Covenant
Then came the ketubah, the written marriage document describing the rights of the bride and the promises of the groom.
Our written covenant is the New Testament—the New Covenant.
Hebrews calls Christ the mediator of a better covenant (Hebrews 8:6).
God has not left His Bride wondering about the nature of His relationship with her.
He has written it down.
The Kiddushin: The Cup
Next came the kiddushin, associated with sanctification and being set apart.
As part of the proposal, the groom would offer the prospective bride a cup of wine. She could accept it by drinking, or reject the proposal by pushing it away.
The cup symbolized the marriage covenant.
Now consider what Jesus did on the night before His crucifixion:
“This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
— 1 Corinthians 11:25
The cup of Communion points us to the covenant through which Christ has obtained His Bride.
And once the proposal was accepted, the groom would return to his father’s house to prepare a place for his bride.
Jesus said:
“In My Father’s house are many dwelling places... for I go to prepare a place for you.”
— John 14:2
Then He promised:
“If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself.”
— John 14:3
The Groom leaves. The Groom prepares. And the Groom promises to return.
The Mikveh: Preparing the Bride
While the groom prepared the dwelling, the bride prepared herself.
She participated in the mikveh, ritual immersion in water symbolizing cleansing.
The bride was setting herself apart for her coming husband.
Paul uses this bridal imagery when he writes:
“For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin.”
— 2 Corinthians 11:2
The Bride is waiting—but waiting does not mean doing nothing.
It means preparing.
It means living as someone who belongs to another.
We are Christ’s.
The Huppah: A Public Covenant
The couple would then appear beneath the huppah, the canopy representing the establishment of a new household.
Vows were exchanged before God and witnesses.
The relationship was now publicly established and binding, even though the bride and groom had not yet come together physically.
That is a remarkable picture of the Church.
We belong to Christ, but we are still waiting for the day when we will be with Him.
Our lives should publicly declare:
I belong to Jesus.
The Waiting: No One Knows the Day
After the betrothal, the bride waited for the groom to come. She did not know exactly when he would arrive.
Jesus made a striking statement about His own return:
“Of that day or hour no one knows... but the Father alone.”
— Mark 13:32
So what should the Bride do while she waits?
Jesus tells us:
“Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time will come.”
— Mark 13:33
The Bride waits.
She watches.
She prepares.
She remains faithful.
The Nissuin: The Groom Comes
Finally came the nissuin—the carrying away of the bride to her new home.
When the appointed time came, the groom would come for his bride, accompanied by his friends. Trumpets and shouts would announce his arrival.
The New Testament gives us similar imagery concerning Christ’s return:
“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God...”
— 1 Thessalonians 4:16
Paul continues:
“Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.”
— 1 Thessalonians 4:17
The Groom comes for His Bride.
And the destination is permanent:
“So we shall always be with the Lord.”
The Wedding Supper
The story culminates in a wedding celebration.
John sees it in Revelation:
“Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.”
— Revelation 19:7
Then comes the invitation:
“Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.”
— Revelation 19:9
The story ends where the entire biblical picture has been pointing:
The Groom and His Bride together.
The Big Idea
So what is the big idea about marriage?
Marriage is meant to reflect the Lord’s marriage to us.
It is an earthly representation of a heavenly reality.
The Bible begins with a marriage.
The Bible ends with a wedding.
In between, we find a Groom who leaves His Father’s house, pays the ultimate bride price, establishes a covenant, gives His Spirit as a pledge, promises to prepare a place, and promises to return for His Bride.
And the Bride waits.
She prepares.
She remains faithful.
Until the day the Groom comes.
That is why marriage matters.
Marriage is not ultimately about us. It is about Him.
Our marriages are meant to tell the story of Christ’s covenant love—to remind the world that there is a Groom who willingly gave Himself for His Bride and who will never abandon her.
And now let me ask you the most significant question of all:
Have you said yes to the Groom?
Jesus Christ has already made His proposal.
He has come to us. He has paid the bride price—not with silver or gold, but with His own precious blood (1 Peter 1:18–19). He has offered us a new covenant in His blood (1 Corinthians 11:25). He has given us His Spirit as a pledge of what is still to come (2 Corinthians 1:21–22). And He has promised that He will come again and take His people to be with Him forever (John 14:2–3).
But a proposal calls for a response.
You can say yes.
To say yes to Jesus is to recognize who He is, to receive what He has done for you, to turn from your sin, and to entrust your life to Him. It is to stop living as though you belong only to yourself and to say, in faith:
“I belong to Christ.”
Perhaps you have spent your life around the wedding. You have heard the songs. You have admired the Bride. You have even known something of the story.
But have you said yes to the Groom?
You don’t have to make yourself worthy before coming to Him. The bride price has already been paid. Christ has already stretched out His hands on the cross.
The invitation is before you.
Will you receive Him?
The Bible’s final picture is not of a Groom who forgets His Bride. It is of a Groom who comes for her.
And so the great story that began in Genesis and reaches its climax in Revelation ends with an invitation:
“The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’”
— Revelation 22:17
The Groom is coming.
Have you said yes to His invitation?
—Stuart
Click here to see previous articles:
www.fromstuart.com/archive
I miss being at Sagemont and listening to your lessons on Jewish traditions on Wednesday nights. Thank you again.
Dear brother Stuart, this parallel of the two marriage styles is PERFECT ‼️. Thank you. I have frank from the groom’s cup of wine🙌🙌.
Thank you, also for the Jewish Christian that taught us so much Wednesday night at church. You are a wonderful blessing to Charlie and I. Cookie Gouger.