Be Wise

When a Jewish couple married, they did not go for a honeymoon. They would stay at home and feast (eating and drinking) for three to seven days with their well-wishers and relatives. For the wedding ceremony the bridegroom would come unexpectedly. But whenever he chose to come, he was required to send a man to shout in advance Behold the bridegroom coming! And everyone from age six to sixty followed the marriage drum. Once the bridegroom had arrived, the door was shut, latecomers to the ceremony not admitted.[1]

So it would be when the Bridegroom comes.

⁷ Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book. REVELATION 22

At the rate men are ignoring the marriage drum, many would be caught unprepared when the Bridegroom comes.

³⁷ As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸ For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark… MATTHEW 24

¹⁴ Many are invited, but few are chosen. MATTHEW 22

⁴¹ O unbelieving and perverse generation! MARK 9

²² Many will say to Me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your Name, and in Your Name drive out demons and perform many miracles?” ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from Me, you evildoers!” MATTHEW 7

The insatiable mouth of Second Death would swallow them. In lieu of a festive garden would be a fiery furnace for them. In lieu of feasting would be fasting.

²⁰ Bear your own end in mind. ECCLESIASTICUS 38

¹⁷ Every living thing grows old like a garment, the age-old law is “Death must be.” ECCLESIASTICUS 14

³ Remember those who came before you and those who will come after. ⁴ This is the sentence passed on all living creatures by the Lord. ECCLESIASTICUS 41

Be wise therefore. Be guided by the Parable of Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-12). Make sure your lamps are lighted for the Lord’s Day.

³¹ Give up all the evil you have been doing, and get yourselves new minds and new hearts. Why do you Israelites want to die? ³² I do not want anyone to die, says the Sovereign Lord. Turn away from your sins and live. EZEKIEL 18 tev

¹⁷ The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come!” REVELATION 22

²⁴ Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. ²⁵ Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, “Sir, open the door for us.” But he will answer, “I don’t know you or where you come from.” ²⁸ There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. LUKE 13 

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[1] William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Vol. 2 (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1975 rev. ed.).

   What happens after the door is shut? Encyclopedia Britannica wrote, “In Judaism, marriage involves a double ceremony, which includes the formal betrothal and wedding rites (prior to the 12th century the two were separated by as much as one year). The modern ceremony begins with the groom signing the marriage contract before a group of witnesses. He is then led to the bride's room, where he places a veil on her. This is followed by the ceremony under the huppa (a canopy that symbolizes the bridal bower), which involves the reading of the marriage contract, the seven marriage benedictions, the groom's placing a ring on the bride's finger (in Conservative and Reform traditions the double ring ceremony has been introduced), and, in most communities, the crushing of a glass under foot. After the ceremony the couple is led into a private room for seclusion, which symbolizes the consummation of the marriage.”