I will never forget the day that I received my engagement ring. It was not just the gift of a beautiful ring from someone that I loved, but a change of status. This ring was an announcement that I was engaged to be married. Throughout the time of my engagement I would hold out my hand and look at my ring with a feeling of anticipation, I was to be a bride! The ring was symbolic of the wedding and marriage that was to follow, and I wanted to share my joy with everyone that I met.
There is a Jewish wedding tradition connected with a marriage proposal that is similar to the giving of an engagement ring. *According to rabbi Michael Short of Phoenix, Arizona, when a Jewish man would propose marriage to a prospective bride, he would offer her a cup of wine. If she drank it, she was accepting the betrothal. Once the woman was betrothed, she would wait for the man to go home to his father and make arrangements for the wedding and their new home together.
At the Passover meal, the third cup of wine was called the “Cup of Redemption.” This was the cup that Jesus was referring to when He said, “This is My blood that establishes the covenant; it is shed for many” (Mark 14:24). Just as the bride would drink from the “Cup of Betrothal” and enter into a covenant with the groom, Jesus offered the “Cup of Redemption” to His bride the church.
The fourth cup at Passover was commonly called the “Cup of the Kingdom.” It is also called the “Cup of Consummation.” About this cup Jesus said, “I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it in a new way in the kingdom of God” (Mark 14:25). The Jewish bride and groom would celebrate their marriage with a wedding feast that began with the “Cup of Consummation.”
As I consider this, I am filled with a sense of hope and longing. I have drunk from the Cup of Redemption. I have placed my faith in the blood of Christ that was shed for me and all who come to Him by faith. When I take communion I remember the anticipation I felt when I received my engagement ring. I wait with hope and longing, along with all those who have entered into this covenant with Christ, to share the fourth cup in the kingdom. Until then, I will remember with gratitude both the sacrifice and the promise.
*Unlocking the Secrets of the Feasts by Michael Norten
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