The betrothal to the Lamb

2 Corinthians 11:2-3

2 Corinthians 11:2-4 “For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy, because I promised you in marriage to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I am afraid lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds may be led astray from the sincerity and the purity of devotion to Christ. For if the one who comes proclaims another Jesus whom we have not proclaimed, or you receive a different spirit which you did not receive, or a different gospel which you did not accept, you put up with it well enough!”

Paul was talking to the Corinthian church and making a metaphor for them and us of what the church represents.

What is a metaphor?

metaphor. In general usage, an implied comparison in which the characteristics, qualities or actions of one thing are applied to another (e.g., speaking of God as shepherd). A more sophisticated analysis of metaphor yields two elements: the tenor is the subject to which the metaphoric word is applied; the vehicle is the metaphoric word itself (e.g., “God” is the tenor, and “shepherd” is the vehicle). A further analysis asks how metaphors achieve their purposes, whether by substitution (as a decorative way of saying something that could be stated more literally) or by emotive effect (its importance is less in what it says and more in the impact it has on the audience) or by increment (as a unique cognitive vehicle that allows an author to say a thing that can be said in no other way). Janet Soskice in Metaphor and Religious Language (1985) argues that a cautious theological realism best explains how language is used when speaking about God. Thus, for example, to speak of God as father or warrior or in mother imagery is truly to say something about the nature of God, however tentative and inadequate that language may be in saying something comprehensive about God.

Arthur G. Patzia and Anthony J. Petrotta, Pocket Dictionary of Biblical Studies (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002), 79–80.

So, we find not for the first time, the people of God, whether is be Isaiah 62:5 “For as a young man marries a virgin, so shall your sons marry you, and as is the joy of the bridegroom over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.”

Or here in 2 Corinthians, the people of God, are compared to a bride. In the New Testament not only is the church compared to a bride, the metaphor is very specific to Jewish wedding practices. In the first century, Jewish marriages began with what was called a betrothal period, that typically lasted for one year. In that year the bridegroom would do his part, sometimes building a home or adding on to his existing familial home for much of the world still operates on a kinship based model of family. A kinship based model, unlike our nuclear family that we are familiar with, is a home where several parts of the family or generations dwell together. Yet, during that time of preparation the couple was considered legally married even though they did not live together or consummate the marriage.

So, we know that the bridegroom has his part; Jesus said it, “I go to prepare a place for you”, yet the bride has her part.

Revelation 19:5-9 “And a voice came out from the throne, saying, “Praise our God all his slaves, and those who fear him, the small and the great!” And I heard something like the sound of a great crowd and something like the sound of many waters and something like the sound of powerful thunder, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord God, the All-Powerful, reigns! Let us rejoice and be glad and give him the glory, because the wedding celebration of the Lamb has come, and his bride has prepared herself. And it has been granted to her that she be dressed in bright, clean fine linen (for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints). And he said to me, “Write: Blessed are those who are invited to the banquet of the wedding celebration of the Lamb!” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.””

The bride prepared herself, another version says that the bride has made herself ready.

So, what is this time that we are living in? It is called the “Times of the Gentiles” yet, it is also the “betrothal period”. A length of time that is unknown.

The Parable of the Ten Virgins tells it like this: Matthew 25:1-13 ““Then the kingdom of heaven may be compared to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were foolish and five were wise. For when the foolish ones took their lamps, they did not take olive oil with them. But the wise ones took olive oil in flasks with their lamps. And when the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. But in the middle of the night there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish ones said to the wise ones, ‘Give us some of your olive oil, because our lamps are going out!’ But the wise ones answered saying, “Certainly there will never be enough for us and for you! Go instead to those who sell olive oil and buy some for yourselves.’ But while they had gone away to buy it the bridegroom arrived, and those who were ready went inside with him to the wedding celebration, and the door was shut. And later the other virgi…”

It ends with “be on alert, because you do not know the day or the hour”

A bride prepared.