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For the next 40 Holy days we are going to unroll the pages of our marriage covenant and walk through the three stage ritual of a traditional Jewish Wedding – the Covenant, the Consummation, and the Celebration. Our guide on this wondrous adventure will be the faithful Witness of the covenant - the eternal Three in One - Who for our benefit Scribed this Holy covenant, Signed it in His Blood, and Sealed with His Spirit for the day of Redemption. "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one" (1 John 5:7)

Jewish tradition considers the wedding day to be the happiest and holiest day of one's life. On this day the bride and groom join together to become one flesh - and make a new covenant together. In ancient times, when two parties "cut a covenant" together, they would prepare an animal sacrifice for the covenant ceremony - the animal would be cut in two and the parties would then walk down an aisle between the two pieces of flesh. In traditional Jewish weddings, both the Bride and Groom walk down the aisle, as they symbolically "cut covenant" with one another. When God covenanted with Abram, He confirmed His covenant by passing between the pieces of animal flesh: "When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land..." (Genesis 15:17-18). To cut covenant is a sacred obligation confirmed with the oath "May it be so done to me if I do not keep my oath and pledge." It is a holy pledge not to be entered into lightly, which we affirm in marriage ceremonies with the words "till death do us part."

In Jewish tradition, the wedding day was considered a personal Yom Kippur. Because the couple was becoming one new flesh - they would fast from the dawn of their wedding day until the end of the marriage ceremony. At which point the fast would be broken and they would feast together.

This is what Jesus was speaking of when He was questioned about fasting. He explained that the time would come for His disciples to fast, "...when the Bridegroom would be taken from them; then they will fast" (Matthew 9:15). We have not entered into our time of feasting yet. The Wedding Supper of the Lamb is still to come. We are to anoint our head with oil and live our lives in the perpetual joy of our Wedding Day - the day we became one with our True Husband. Every day is a day for rejoicing if we are united with Him - "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 118:24). He has taken us for Himself and we are eternally His - He will never leave us or forsake us - no one can separate us from His love and death cannot keep us from Him. We are to feed daily upon the precious promises of our Wedding Covenant and live our lives dressed in all the purity and beauty of a bride on her wedding day so that He will find us as He left us when He comes to walk us into that glorious feast where the announcement will be proclaimed:

For the wedding of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready."

The Marriage Contract becomes a legally binding agreement when it is signed by two witnesses at the ceremony. In Malachi, we read that the Lord is the unseen witness at weddings. After the marriage covenant was signed it was then given to the Bride to keep. God has placed the Holy Covenant of His Word into the hands of us, His Bride, for safe-keeping until the day of His return. We have been entrusted with a Holy treasure and a sacred responsibility. Traditional Jewish Wedding Contracts were often written in the midst of a piece of extravagant artwork and displayed on the wall of the couples' home. The contract outlined the bridegroom's responsibility to provide for His wife and to be attentive to her needs. Our Bridegroom has gone even further - He has written His covenant on our hearts and has placed us, as His beautiful masterpiece, on display for the whole world to see (Jeremiah 31:33).

When God gave His instructions for the building of His tabernacle and Temple He gave His people a pattern for how they should live and worship Him. God has given us this pattern as we "rise up to become a holy temple in the Lord...and become built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit" (Ephesians 2:21-22). As we walk through the 3 stage ritual of the traditional Jewish Wedding we will be rebuilding the Holy Temple of our lives according to the pattern He has given.

Our journey begins today in the outer courts - of Creation - where His pattern was first put on display. Over these next 2 weeks as we unroll the scroll of our Marriage Covenant our prayer time will be spent in praise and adoration of the Author of our life and covenant. This journey will build as we walk through these 3 sections of our Marriage to the Lamb these next 40 days. Every step of our journey will take us deeper in and higher up in our relationship with our Beloved Bridegroom as we enter into that Most Holy Place of a more perfect union with Christ.

living our lives in all holiness and purity - as our more perfect union with You rises