Will You Marry Me?Sample

Do You Take This Man? 

Let’s recap. The groom’s father has chosen the bride, Jack and his father have presented the betrothal contract to Diane and her family, and the bride-price negotiations have been made. Now, we’re waiting on the bride-to-be’s response. Will Diane say yes? 

What I love about Jewish culture is that the woman had a choice. This was not customary in other faiths of this time period. 

In the next step of the betrothal process, a cup filled with wine called the “cup of acceptance” would be presented to the bride-to-be. The bridegroom would drink half of the cup, then give it to the woman. If she drank the other half of the wine out of the same cup, that would mean that she accepted the invitation and said yes! 

The groom would then shower her with gifts called the “mattan.” These gifts included jewelry, spices, oils, and even money. Dang, girls! Again, who’s going to help me bring these customs back? I’m counting on you all to spread the word. This is a thing. 

After she says yes, Diane will wear a veil. This is kind of like how we wear an engagement ring today. The veil sets her apart from the other women in her village and lets everyone know that Jack put a ring on it. She’s spoken for. 

Let’s again take a look at the parallels we find in Scripture pertaining to us and Christ. 

When the Bible references drinking the cup, it’s a sign of admission. It’s like saying, “Yes, I accept.” As we saw in today’s reading, Jesus drank the cup. He was all in as our bridegroom. Now, He offers it to us. 

Spiritually, when we drink the cup of accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior, His spirit enters us and we are bound to Him for all eternity. Nothing can snatch us out of His hands. It’s not based on works or anything we do, but on His grace alone. He purchased us with His blood, and all we have to do is say yes. 

On a similar note, when we take communion at church, we’re drinking the cup of acceptance with Him. We remind ourselves of our betrothment to Him, knowing in full faith that the wedding is coming! 

Now, let's examine the parallels of the gifts or “mattan” we talked about above. 

When we accept Jesus, we receive the ultimate gift of the Holy Spirit, which washes us clean, saves us from our sin, and makes us new. We then have eternal life and are forever connected to Him. His spirit also gives us personal giftings to bring Him glory and spread His love all over the world. 

Finally, just as the woman would wear a veil to show that she was betrothed and “set apart” to be married, when we belong to Christ, we’re set apart for Him. We belong to Him alone. 

This is deep stuff, isn’t it? Tomorrow, we’ll pick back up on the wedding and honeymoon.