Wine, Weddings, and Deliverance
(Source: Some of these marital images and references to the wine are from Zola Levitt’s television show on the Passover. )
In Judaism, the Passover meal consists of four cups of wine, and three matzos (unleavened bread). The four cups of wine represent the four expressions of deliverance promised by God Exodus 6: 6-7: "I will bring out," "I will deliver," "I will redeem," and "I will take." Keep these images in mind as we go through the traditional Jewish customs of the betrothal later on.
The three matzos represent Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob- the three Patriarchs of Genesis. Bread also symbolizes salvation to the Jew, because it was unleavened bread that sustained them in the Exodus from Egypt. Also remember that in the tabernacle, the showbread was fresh each day and broken as a symbol of the Presence of God and salvation- Jesus was broken from the Father and Holy Spirit for that brief moment of time when our sins were placed upon Him. He is the Bread of Life.
I suggest that a Scriptural symbol of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is found in the three matzos. Isaac was the son (Son) of Abraham (Father). Jacob, the son of Isaac, (Holy Spirit) was joined into the promise just as we are joined into the Body and blessing by receiving Christ and being filled with His Holy Spirit. Jacob’s personal encounter with God was life-changing, just as our personal encounters with the Holy Spirit are life-changing. He was NOT originally in the lineage for the blessing, just as we were not in the lineage of the Jewish people, yet God granted us the place of blessing just as He did Jacob. We are joined to God, granted salvation because of His great love for us, just as God loved Jacob.
So in the original Passover expression, the Bread is broken for salvation, and the wine represents the four promises of God’s covenant. Let’s look at covenant from a marital point of view.
A covenant, is a contract. In Jewish tradition, when a young man wanted to marry a certain woman, he would draw up a contract. With money and presents in hand, and the contract papers, he would bring a cup of wine to the prospective woman and her parents. He gave her the contract, with the money, then handed her a cup of wine. If she drank from the cup, the contract was sealed and they were betrothed. She would now be legally contracted to him to become one flesh—and not allowed to stray (which was the problem with Mary—more than a moral issue, it was a legally binding situation that appeared to be broken. Of course we know it wasn’t).
Then he would get up and go to his father’s house to build a home for them. Only the Father could determine when he was done. He wasn’t allowed to throw something together, he was required to make it well and strong. It was his Father who said it was finished so the young man could return to his bride.—Only the Father knows when the Son will return. Jesus said He went to prepare a place for us. I can hardly wait to see it, how about you?
He would return to her at any time- early morning or even in the middle of the night. It was her responsibility to always keep oil in her lamp so that she would be ready. When he arrived in the town, there would be a cry- a shout- to tell her he was almost there to take her to her new home. The parable of the ten virgins is about this custom.
This is ALSO where we hear the shout of the Lord and the archangel just before He descends to take His church.
Read 10 virgins – Matthew 25:1-13
Read 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
Read Last Supper Scriptures Matthew 26: 26-30, Mark 14:22-26
In the last supper- why did Jesus use the cup of wine? It was a symbol not only of the Body and Blood as we understand it in the legal sense of remission of sins, it was a question: will you be one with I and the Father? It was a question of “marriage.”
Did Judas take the cup? Yes, but he took the cup and broke the marriage vow- he betrayed the groom. And so he died. The Christians in 1 Corinthians also were breaking the marriage vow and not understanding that saying “yes” to the cup of wine meant saying yes to oneness with Christ. That’s part of “discerning the Body of Christ” in the cup. We are to be one with Him. (John 17)
Aside from Judas, those who drank from the cup at the Last Supper became the beginnings of God’s outpouring of power on earth. Because at that moment they said “yes,” and acted on it. Do we say yes?
That was the covenant – our contract is written and sealed in blood. The highest price (or dowry) possible has been paid for our relationship to God. Since the price paid was so high, He will return to get us. We are indeed His Bride.
The promises of Exodus are: "I will bring out," "I will deliver," "I will redeem," and "I will take." He will bring us out of our difficulties, He will deliver us from both sin and circumstance, He will redeem what we have done wrong and set our lives on a new course, and He will take us to be His own special people. It is the pattern of Scripture from beginning to end- the covenant of the Living God with those who say “yes” to His Son.