Day 8: The Gift…Betrothal & A New Home
Read: Matthew 25:1-13, John 14:1-3
All throughout the New Testament Christ refers to the church as the Bride of Christ. The parable given in Matthew 25 is a picture of the betrothal period. To better understand these passages, I did some research on the ancient traditional Jewish wedding. The engagement would consist of two parts: 1) Kiddushin 2) Nisuin
During the Kiddushin period, the bride is set aside to belong to the groom and no other. At this time the groom goes away to prepare a home for his bride. Jewish Rabbi’s refer to Kiddushin as sanctified or consecrated. Let that soak in.
Nisuin is the second part of the betrothal. This word actually means to lift up or elevate. It would always be the groom’s father who determined when the groom could call his bride home. It would be a surprise. Consequently, the bride was to be ready.
Out of curiosity, I looked up the word “ready” out of our reading today and discovered this word to be both a noun and a verb. As a noun, we are ready if we are “in Christ,” a “believer.” When I gave my heart and life to Jesus Christ as an 11 year- old girl, I was ready. As a verb, it is something I do. Am I diligently growing in the Lord? Am I choosing to live in obedience and faith with my Lord?
We’re still in the Kiddushin phase of our betrothal. Our Lord has gone away to prepare a beautiful place for us to live forever with Him. When the Father decides, we’ll be summoned home. Caught up (dare I say elevated) to meet Him in the skies.
Somewhere back in time. Really before time began, God the Father asked our Lord, “Do You take (fill in your name) to be Yours?” And our Lord replied, “I Do.”
Challenge: Are you ready should the Lord return today? Romans 10:9 says,
“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Prayer: Thank you Lord for Your gift of salvation, eternal life, and a home to come with You. I’m ready.