The bride waits in her house for the bridegroom to come and get her. That is often talked about in the parable of the 10 virgins. Susan Easton Black (2010) identified some more facts about these ceremonies.
When the bridegroom arrived, he lifted the bride's veil and saw a dowry, "a string of shiny coins on a headband." He proclaimed joy at finding this treasure. "He took the veil and laid it upon his shoulder. Upon seeing his action his friends shouted, 'the government shall be upon his shoulder'" (p.63).
Wow! That is the phrase from Isaiah that we sing in the Messiah every Christmas.
Black continued by saying that the bride was escorted to her new home. When they got there, the couple was surrounded by their guests "under a wedding canopy and called king and queen" (p. 63). The titles were given to them because entering into marriage was supposed to give them a remission of their sins.
It presents some interesting things to ponder on the importance of marriage and entering into the Kingdom of God. The means of ruling is through marriage, and through modern day revelation we know that the privilege of ruling through the eternities comes about by being sealed in the temple.
You should definitely get a hold of the book The Beloved Bridegroom and read it. Donna B. Nielson looks deeply at all of the rites and ceremonies surrounding the ancient Jewish wedding and family. It opened my eyes to several things and made other things even more meaningful to me. (my review)
ReplyDeleteI have heard about that book. It definitely needs to be put on my list of books to own!
ReplyDelete