THE BRIDE OF CHRIST IN EXODUS
“The covenant at Mt. Sinai has many elements of a marital covenant. It is
obviously a foreshadowing of the NT era. God certainly wanted Israel to be His
own special people who were committed to Him in a relationship of fidelity and
trust.” Dr. Berin Gilfillan (Founder, Good Shepherd Ministries International and
the International School of Ministry) 1
In the Book of Exodus we find that the Lord initiated a covenant with the nation of Israel
through Moses at Mount Sinai. The rabbis have traditionally taught that this was actually a
marriage covenant between the Lord and Israel. The Christian writer, S.J. Hill tells us,
According to Jewish tradition, the covenant God initiated with His people at
Mount Sinai was really a covenant of marriage. In fact, rabbis have believed for
centuries that the Jewish wedding ceremony was not only a re-enactment of what
happened at Sinai, but it also reflected the primary features of God’s covenant
with Israel. 2
A well known Messianic Jewish writer from the last century said, “Moses brought forth
the people out of the camp to meet with God; while Jehovah, as the bridegroom, meets His
Church at Sinai.” 3 In traditional Jewish culture, the human agent who represents the bridegroom
in negotiations with potential brides is referred to as the “Friend of the Bridegroom.” There is a
strong rabbinic tradition that speaks of Moses as the Friend of the Bridegroom whom God used
to lead Israel into a marriage covenant with Him. 4 The Lord sent Moses back and forth
negotiating His marriage to the people of Israel. Many verses in Exodus show Moses performing
this function, including the following: “Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with
God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.” (Ex 19:17)
The Jews believe that the Lord gave Israel a marriage contract through Moses at Mt.
Sinai. The Hebrew word for “marriage contract” is “ketubah” and it literally means “written
1
Taken from a personal interview I did with the subject in 2008.
S.J. Hill, Burning Desire (Orlando, 2005),p.42.
3
Alfred Edersheim, Sketches of Jewish Social Life in the Days of Christ (London, 1908),p.153.
4
Edersheim, Sketches p.153.
2
document.” There is traditionally a ketubah drawn up that details the terms of the marriage
covenant. This document defines the responsibilities of both parties and is retained as a
contractual guide for their marriage. The Jews understand Exodus and the entire Torah to be a
marriage ketubah between God and Israel. A special ketubah is sometimes read in Jewish
services at Pentecost because they celebrate Pentecost as the time of the giving of the Torah at
Sinai.
“Jews look at all of Israel’s history up to that point as a bridal history. And that’s
why the Song of Songs is read every year at Passover in traditional Judaism
because it’s a recounting of the bridal paradigm – every Passover commemorates
the Exodus from Egypt.” Dr. Michael L. Brown (Founder, Israel, the Church
and the Nations) 5
The Jews see every wedding ceremony as a celebration in miniature of their national
marriage to God at Mount Sinai. Edersheim says that they first incorporated the use of candles
into the wedding procession to commemorate the fire and that came down on Mount Sinai at the
time of the Lord’s visitation in Exodus. 6 Eisenberg expands this theme and says that the candles
represented both the fire that came at the time of the Lord’s arrival and the lightning that
continued to engulf the top of the mountain for days after. The lamps or candles in the wedding
procession were intended to remind the people of God that the Lord had once come to be married
to them at Mount Sinai. 7
Perhaps the Lord used this same symbolism of fire on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2 to
point to the marriage of the Church to Christ. Every member of the Bridal Company in the upper
room received a personal flame from the Holy Spirit who is the Friend of the Bridegroom. (Acts
2:3) The early Jewish Disciples of Christ would likely have connected these flames with the
custom of the Bridal lights passed down from the marriage of the Lord to Israel at Mt. Sinai.
5
Taken from a personal interview I did with the subject in 2008.
Edersheim, Sketches p.155.
7
Ronald L. Eisenberg, The JPS Guide to Jewish Traditions (Philadelphia, 2004), p.39.
6
2
The wedding covenant or ketubah is read to the bride and groom during their marriage
ceremony. Traditionally, Jews look to the following Scripture for the Biblical basis for this
practice. “Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded,
"We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey.” (Ex 24:7) Whenever the Torah is
read publicly, the Jewish people believe they are hearing the terms of their Marriage contract
with the Lord. The rabbis teach us that the main reason the ketubah is read at every Jewish
wedding is to commemorate this symbolic union of Israel with God. 8 As Christians, we should
also understand that the terms of our Marriage to Jesus are being detailed and affirmed to us
whenever we read our Bible or the Scriptures are read publicly.
After the terms of the ketubah are read during the marriage ceremony, the Jewish bride
and groom take a public oath before witnesses to abide by the details. This marriage practice
also comes from the book of Exodus and the Marriage between Israel and the Lord. The rabbis
teach that the Lord’s oath to Israel (His Bride) was, “Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice
indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people.”
(Ex 19:5, KJV) After the Lord as Husband presents His vows, Israel the Bride then gives Hers.
Moses read the commandments/ketubah of the Lord and the people of Israel publicly affirmed
their intentions to abide by the Lord’s terms of Marriage, “Then he took the Book of the
Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, "We will do everything the LORD has
said; we will obey." (Ex 24:7)
At the time of Jeremiah, the Jewish people knew the Lord was saying He had
been like a faithful “husband” to Israel, but they had broken his marriage covenant and
been unfaithful.
"The time is coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with
8
Hill, Burning Desire pp.42-43.
3
the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I
made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of
Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,"
declares the LORD. "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel
after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it
on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” (Jer 31:31-33)
Therefore, they understood that a marriage contract was in view when the Lord spoke of a “new
covenant” in Jeremiah 31 that would replace their old ketubah, given at Mt. Sinai. They knew
the Lord was saying He would one day offer them new terms for marriage. They understood that
their forefathers had not been faithful to keep the old marriage agreement and the Lord had
graciously offered to give them a New (Marriage) Covenant that they could keep.
For Christians, the New Testament of our Bible is our ketubah. The Lord has
graciously put the terms of our betrothal and marriage in writing. It clearly articulates the details
of what Jesus, our Husband, expects from us and tells us what we can expect from Him. Every
important right and responsibility is clearly laid out for both parties. It also gives us key details
about our pending marriage and our future lives together. As a waiting Bridal Company, the
Church should rejoice than nothing is left out of this all important marriage contract and we can
be grateful that the Lord has made it available to us.
In the Book of Exodus, the LORD revealed Himself as Israel’s jealous and loving
Husband. The Jewish people became an unfaithful Wife whose adultery consisted of the
worship of other gods. Israel broke their Marriage Covenant with God by this type of spiritual
adultery. For a season, God (Israel’s Husband) separated Himself from Israel (His Wife). The
Lord spoke through His prophets that He would one day forgive Israel, His adulterous Wife, take
Her back and enter into a New Covenant with Her/them. Under the renewed or New
(Marriage) Covenant, faithful Israel and the Church of Jesus Christ will together make up
the Bride of Christ and together we will be married to our God.
4