4. Born from Above – Match-Making before Relations
4. Born from Above – Match-Making before Relations.
“The Jewish wedding is a unique illustration of the Messiah’s relationship with His followers.” (Dr. David Stern, Professor of Messianic Judaism, translator of the Complete Jewish Study Bible).
According to Dr. Stern, the esteemed writer, professor, and interpreter of the New Testament from the Messianic perspective, he states that the first of the phases to the traditional Jewish wedding process was “Match-Making.” This wedding process during biblical times sheds much light on the nature of our call to Christian discipleship. All Christians can learn much from the process of the Jewish wedding.
Match-Making was called “shiddukhin,” and refers to the selection of the bride. In biblical times the match-making was performed by someone designated for that role, many times by a trusted women in the community, and sometimes by the father of the groom. An example is found in Genesis 24, when Abraham selected his servant to make a match for his son Isaac. As in all biblical match-making, the people involved trusted that God would guide the search, that He would personally intervene in the choice. Stern maintains that this phase is a picture of believers in Jesus having been chosen as Messiah’s bride. “Even before the creation of the universe, God loved us and chose us in the Messiah to be holy and without fault in His eyes.” (Ephesians 1:4). In His love, the Father of the Groom desires that all be chosen as a member of the Bride, the Church, the Body of believers. Unfortunately, many choose not to be chosen. In His omniscience, God knew who would be chosen before the world was even made. God didn’t make the decision for them because of free will. Nonetheless, “He wants all humanity to be delivered and come to a full knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:4).
THE FRONT PORCH. That’s right, after the Sacred Jailbreak, a person is freed to seek a union with God, to enter His Heart-House. If this is a true match made in heaven, one has to approach God’s house by the front porch. Before we even enter God’s house, we can’t help but notice in our approach a big sign on the front porch, “WELCOME.” The Lord seems to want for us to get that straight right from the beginning. God wants to reveal his generosity of spirit, His large-heartedness, and so He offers the best in hospitality. After the Jailbreak, He makes His home available to literally everyone… Mi casa, su casa. There are no signs prohibiting trespassers or salesmen. The front porch light is always on, and the rocking chairs are always available. God doesn’t want His home to exclude anyone who wants to enter His heart through the front Door, who is Jesus Christ. God’s heart delights in being a source of life for all who would have Him, and actually, even for those who don’t want Him quite yet. “He is not willing that any shall perish, but desires that all might come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9). And as Yahweh declared through His prophet Ezekiel, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his ways and live!” (Ezek. 33:4). God’s heart is big enough to house the world, and His home can accommodate the universe if it comes to that.
The Woo-er. The fact is, God is a spiritual woo-er. He wooed the Chosen People through His rescue from Egypt, crossing the Red Sea, and caring for them in wilderness. Jeremiah says that Yahweh “took her by the hand to lead them out of slavery” (31:32) and into freedom so He could be united to His people. Ezekiel is more graphic as he described how the Lord Yahweh observed His Chosen People early on as an abandoned baby lying in the dust, bloody and uncleansed, and how He said to her (Israel), “LIVE! Yes, I said to you in your blood, LIVE!” Yahweh picked her up from the dust, cleansed her, anointed her with oil, and gave her beautiful garments to wear. Yahweh wooed Israel by helping to thrive. (Ezekiel 16:4-14). And God has been wooing the world ever since through Jesus His Son. Jesus brazenly flirted with us, inviting us all to have a spiritual union with Him, in which He abides inside us and we abide inside Him. Jesus makes His dwelling place in our heart, while we make our dwelling place in His heart. And in that way, we enter God’s house of love, “Hidden within Christ, and thus inside God Himself.” (Col. 3:3). God is a Lover of all humanity, and will continue to woo us all. He is the ultimate match-maker.