WEDDING FEASTS

God loves weddings and weddings feasts. God is excited when a “man and a maid” are joined together. He is the one who planned the whole idea of marriage anyway. God loves matchmaking! I am sure that He must rub His hands together in delight as He sees a couple joined together who have waited for Him to lead them together! He delights in the ceremony. He delights in the joy of the feast and celebration. He looks forward to the fruit that will come from the union – the godly seed that will fill the earth with His glory.

God so loves wedding feasts that He is also planning one Himself – the greatest feast that will ever be held. He has been planning it for a long time. He got our taste buds watering when He proclaimed it nearly 2,000 years ago! In fact, it was planned before the creation of our world! Maybe He even talked to Adam and Eve about it as they talked together in the Garden of Eden.  With this much time for preparation, can you imagine what it is going to be like? Wow! Just make sure you are there! All are invited but the only ones who get in are those whose garments are washed in the blood of the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will be the Bridegroom of the day! Hallelujah!

I wonder how long this feast will last? Will it last for weeks, months or years into eternity? It will be the Feast of all feasts, the Wedding of all weddings, the ultimate Joy of all joys!

Revelation 19: 9, “Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.”

Perhaps Matthew 8:11 NIV is also referring to the marriage supper of the Lamb when it says “Many shall come from the east and west and shall take their places at the feast with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.”

Some commentators point the following Scripture to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. I’m not sure whether it relates to this or not, but it does talk about a feast (maybe another one) that is going to happen when He comes to reign on the earth.

Isaiah 25:6 TLB, “Here on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, the Lord of Hosts will spread a wondrous feast for everyone around the world – a delicious feast of good food, with clear, well-aged wine and choice beef.” Doesn’t it sound exciting? How can people think that God is boring? He is interested in food. He loves celebrations! He loves to provide good food.

Jesus talked about wedding feasts as he taught the people through parables.

Matthew 22:2 MLB, “The kingdom of heaven is similar to a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son… ‘Tell those invited, “Look here! I have gotten my dinner ready, my steers and fatted beasts are killed, and everything is prepared. Come to the wedding.”’

Weddings in the Bible were different than what we experience today. They didn’t have a short meal or few snacks after the wedding ceremony. They didn’t have a quick “get it over and done with it”. No, they usually feasted and celebrated for a whole week! We see examples of this in Genesis 29:21-27 - Leah’s wedding; and Judges 14:10-12 - Samson’s wedding.

I feel sad when a wedding service is hurried and short, and when people come for a token visit to a wedding reception and then leave, especially without saying good-bye. In our busy lives in the nineties, I believe we should come back to the importance of the uniting of two lives. It is a solemn covenant before God that we are called upon to conscientiously witness. We have a responsibility to strengthen and help keep the marriage together. A new generation is starting. It is precious in the eyes of God. We should not take it lightly.

When reading the account of the wedding of Cana in Galilee I noticed something new. John 2:12 NAS, “After this (the wedding in Cana) He went down to Capernaum, He and his mother and his brothers, and His disciples, and there they stayed a few days.” The wedding at Cana continued for a number of days but it didn't end there! Can you read between the lines in this Scripture? After having such a good time together at the wedding, they continued the vacation together. The celebration continued even beyond the celebration! 

We had a little taste of this after Serene and Sam’s wedding – our youngest daughter. We had lots of people staying and visiting who had come in from out of town for the wedding. So for the next three days we feasted on wedding feast leftovers with about 20 - 30 people for the evening meal each night. What great times they were. It would have been such an anti-climax if the wedding feasting and celebration had ended on the same day!

You can also read about Esther’s wedding in Esther 2:17-18.