Ancient Hebrew Weddings - A Glimpse of Christ & His Bride

My husband and I read the account of Christ's entrance into our world as told in Luke Chapter 2 yesterday. Our prayer before reading, included asking God to reveal something new to us.  He granted our prayer request and I was so thrilled with it that I wanted to share it with you.

As we read the entire account as told in the second chapter of Luke, the fifth verse caught our attention.  "Luke 2:5 "He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child."  Wait, Mary was only engaged to Joseph when they traveled to Bethlehem?

Yes, this is another evidence that Jesus' coming was different.  It was prophesied (even the details of being conceived in a virgin's womb) hundreds of years before it occurred.  Mary was pregnant and the marriage hadn't been consummated. They were only engaged.  How hard was that to believe for those in the community?  How hard was that for Joseph?  This was so taboo that the woman could be stoned to death for this.  They must've both been very afraid.  I wonder if they thought to hurry and marry instead of just staying engaged?  

Well, unlike in our culture, where if a couple found that they were pregnant, they could quickly marry and call the baby "premature", that wasn't possible in Hebrew culture.

So we looked into what it meant to be engaged in that culture and what we found was amazing.  Our research using various commentaries and histories of ancient Hebrew cultures, revealed to us just how scandalous Mary and Joseph's relationship was .  No wonder an Angel had to go to Joseph and convince him to follow through with his marriage to Mary.  Everything about Jesus' life, to include his earthly parents, was not "normal".

What we discovered about the ancient Hebrew engagements and wedding ceremony was very enlightening. Just like most other Hebrew celebrations, feasts and festivals, the engagement and wedding practices served as a shadow of Christ. The below chart lays that out so very clearly. Thank you to www.returntogod.com for this chart!

(Tip:  To read the small font in this chart, you can press down the Ctrl and + keys to make it larger (Cmnd and + keys for Mac).  Ctr and - (Cmnd -) keys will make it smaller again.  Or go to the chart on the website I mention in the caption.)

Chart found at

 http://www.returntogod.com/hebrew/wedding.htm.

Again I say, isn't our God amazing?  Every detail found in the Word is there for a reason. It is such a treasure to really study it and explore it. 

The Danger of the Sinner's Prayer

False Conversion

   Have you ever known someone who prayed the sinners prayer, displayed all the "right" attitudes and actions; then over time (days, weeks, months, even years) fall away and even abandon their faith completely.  What happened?  Were they saved and then fell away?  Or could it be they were never saved at all?  Maybe they had a false conversion?

What the Bible has to say   

  The Bible is very clear that not everyone who says "Lord, Lord" are saved (Matthew 7:22-24).  The parable of the sower in Matthew 13, Mark 4 and Luke 8 is a clear message that not everyone who hears the Word of God is a true believer, even if they show some signs at first.   This parable is told in 3 out of the 4 Gospels...must be very important!  There is also the account in John 6:60-66 about the many disciples who were following Christ but turned away when the message of His being their bread was too hard to believe.  I wonder how many walked away when He said "deny yourself, pick up your cross and follow me?"  (The Bible doesn't say).

  There are false doctrines taught to many unsuspecting people by both well-meaning but misinformed Christians and false teachers.  Those doctrines come in many forms; but the most dangerous may be in telling people that as long as they have prayed the "Sinner's Prayer" they are saved no matter what. 

Dangerous Evangelistic practice

  There's a very good  article by CARM.org which explains the dangers of the evangelistic practice of using the Sinner's Prayer to proclaim one as truly saved and gives tips on the correct way:  Evangelism Tactics.  I highly recommend reading it.

   In reality, only the individual believer and the Lord know for sure of their salvation. There are really good indicators in people's lives though.  If a proclaimed Christian displays lifestyle choices, activites or attitudes that are contrary to God's Word,  we as brethren should hold a mirror up to them; lovingly and with the motivation of restoration. This is true love; not letting one die in sin without warning and correction (see how Nathan was able to reach David in his blindness of his sin in 2 Samuel 12). 

  As for each individual believer, we are called to examine ourselves to see if we are truly in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5).  That is a topic for a blog series coming soon!

What About Those Contradictions?

   Have you ever been sharing the Gospel with someone and they bring up their belief that you can't trust the Bible because it contradicts itself or is full of errors?

  I have.  And even worse, I used that argument with someone a long time ago when I was seeking truth.  Their response to me at the time was "God won't let His word be corrupted".  That wasn't convincing to me because it wasn't God I was mistrusting, it was man. And in my mind, it was man that wrote, rewrote and copied the Bible from generation to generation.

 I love how God works in the lives of His people.  How inconceivable (yes, I do think it means what I think it means), that I am now put in positions to defend the truth of God where I was once one of the greatest skeptics.   Prayerfully, I do my best to be much better equipped now to give answers to such skeptics as God leads.  I just found a great introduction on this topic at one of my favorite Christian Apologetic websites, CARM.org.  If you want to be better equipped to have a response to someone when they claim the Bible can't be trusted because of "contradictions" or "errors", read this article and then be prepared!  When you allow God to equip you, He'll give you the opportunity to hone your skills.

http://carm.org/introduction-bible-difficulties-and-bible-contradictions

 

How are we to honor an ungodly earthly king as a Christian?

With the second term of our President beginning, I've really struggled with the Biblical mandate to honor the king (1 Peter 2:17). I was reading 1 Peter this morning and stopped at this verse yet again and had to dig a bit further into what it means to honor the king. I did a word study on the word "honor" and as far as I can see, it's used the same way in this passage of Scripture as it's used in the 5th Commandment to honor your father and your mother. As Christians we don't struggle as much with that mandate, as we do with bestowing this same action on an earthly king; especially one that promotes things contrary to God's word. There are evil parents too, so this also applies in that situation, the same with the passage beginning in verse 17 that says to "honor all people."   After praying about this a bit, I pulled out the Bible Expositor's Commentary and read this commentary by Warren W. Wiersbe that really made things clearer to me.    I thought I'd share it with my brethren. It's a bit long, but well worth it if you are struggling with this command of Scripture to honor our earthly king.

Excerpt from Warren W Wiersbe's "Be" Series (Bible Expositor's Commentary)
 (1 Peter 2:13–17)

Of course, everything we do should be for the glory of the Lord and the good of His kingdom! But Peter was careful to point out that Christians in society are representatives of Jesus Christ. It is our responsibility to “advertise God’s virtues” (1 Peter 2:9, author’s translation). This is especially true when it comes to our relationship to government and people in authority.

As Christian citizens, we should submit to the authority vested in human government. The word translated “ordinance” in our Authorized Version simply means “creation or institution.” It does not refer to each individual law, but to the institutions that make and enforce the laws. It is possible to submit to the institutions and still disobey the laws.

For example, when Daniel and his three friends refused to obey the king’s dietary regulations, they disobeyed the law; but the way the king’s dietary regulations, they disobeyed the law; but the way that they did it proved that they honored the king and respected the authorities (Dan. 1). They were not rebels; they were careful not to embarrass the official in charge or get him into trouble; and yet they stood their ground. They glorified God and, at the same time, honored the authority of the king.

Peter and the other Apostles faced a similar challenge shortly after Pentecost (Acts 4–5). The Jewish council commanded them to stop preaching in the name of Jesus, but Peter and his associates refused to obey (see Acts 4:19; 5:29). They did not cause a rebellion or in any way question or deny the authority of the council. They submitted to the institution but they refused to stop preaching. They showed respect to their leaders even though these men were opposed to the Gospel.

It is important that we respect the office even though we cannot respect the man or woman in the office. As much as possible, we should seek to cooperate with the government and obey the law; but we must never allow the law to make us violate our conscience or disobey God’s Word. Unfortunately, some zealous but ignorant Christians use these differences as opportunities for conflict and loud sermons about “freedom” and “separation of church and state.”

When a local church constructs and furnishes a building, there is a local code that must be obeyed. (I have been through several building programs and I know!) The government has no right to control the pulpit or the business meeting, but it has every right to control matters that relate to safety and operation. If the law requires a certain number of exits, or fire extinguishers, or emergency lights, the church must comply. The state is not persecuting when it sets up the code, nor is the church compromising when it obeys the code. But I know some overly zealous saints who have disdisgraced the name of the Lord by their attitudes and actions relating to these matters.

Peter named the offices we are to respect. “The king” meant “the emperor.” In democratic nations, we have a president or premier. Peter did not criticize the Roman government or suggest that it be overthrown. God’s church has been able to live and grow in all kinds of political systems. The “governors” are those under the supreme authority who administer the laws and execute justice. Ideally, they should punish those who do evil and praise those who do good. This ideal was not always reached in Peter’s day (see Acts 24:24–27), nor is it reached in our own. Again, we must remind ourselves to respect the office even if we cannot respect the officer.

Two phrases are important: “the will of God” (1 Peter 2:15) and “the servants of God” (1 Peter 2:16). When we do something in the will of God and as the servants of God, then we are doing it “for the Lord’s sake.” God has willed that we silence the critics by doing good, not by opposing the authority. The word “silence” in 1 Peter 2:15 is literally “muzzle,” as though the pagan critics were like a pack of yelping, snapping dogs!

Someone may argue, “But, as Christians, are we not free?” Yes, we are free in Christ; but we must never use our freedom for ourselves. We must always use it for others. Sad to say, there are “religious racketeers” who prey on ignorant people and use “religion” to veil their evil actions. A true Christian submits himself to authority because he is first of all submitted to Christ. He uses his freedom as a tool to build with and not as a weapon to fight with. A good example of this attitude is Nehemiah, who willingly gave up his own rights that he might help his people and restore the walls of Jerusalem.

If we are sincerely submitted to authority “for the Lord’s sake,” then we will show honor to all who deserve it. We may not agree with their politics or their practices, but we must respect their position (see Rom. 13). We will also “love the brotherhood,” meaning, of course, the people of God in the church. This is a recurring theme in this letter (1 Peter 1:22; 3:8; 4:8; 5:14). One way we show love to the brethren is by submitting to the authority of the “powers that be,” for we are bound together with one another in our Christian witness.

“Fear God” and “honor the king” go together, since “the powers that be are ordained of God” (Rom. 13:1). Solomon had the same counsel: “My son, fear thou the Lord and the king” (Prov. 24:21). We honor the king because we do fear the Lord. It is worth noting that the tenses of these verbs indicate that we should constantly maintain these attitudes. “Keep loving the brotherhood! Keep fearing God! Keep honoring the king!”As Christians, we must exercise discernment in our relationship to human government. There are times when the right thing is to set aside our own privileges, and there are other times when using our citizenship is the right thing. Paul was willing to suffer personally in Philippi (Acts 16:16–24), but he was unwilling to “sneak out of town” like a criminal (Acts 16:35–40). When he was arrested on false charges, Paul used his citizenship to protect himself (Acts 22:22–29) and to insist on a fair trial before Caesar (Acts 25:1–12).
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  I certainly need the Holy Spirit's help in doing this correctly; as I do in all aspects of living a life of following Christ.

Terri