Redeeming the Time in the Light of Marriage with Christ

Culmination in Eternal Marriage

3 min

As we look to a new year, we have been considering the importance of redeeming our time. The various points covered included the value of wise use of time during the days of singleness, the importance of treasuring every moment of marriage, and the relevance of the profitable use of the years following bereavement.

In this final January article, we will consider the importance of redeeming our time in the light of our anticipated marriage to the Lord Jesus Christ. The preparation for a wedding, both in ancient Israel as well as in our own day, are days of busyness and anticipation.

The bride’s part involves several aspects. The wedding dress must be prepared. Also, her bridesmaids need to be instructed on how to prepare themselves for the big day. Meals for the bridal party need to be planned and cooked during those days of preparation! Decorations for the ceremony must be decided upon, acquired, and put in place at the proper time. The wedding invitations must be written and sent. Meanwhile, the groom is preparing the abode for himself and his bride, so preparations must be made for the day the bride will leave her parents’ home to dwell with her beloved.

In ancient Israel, all these preparations were complicated by a very pertinent fact: The exact day and time of the bridegroom’s arrival was unknown, even to the bride herself! So, she needed not only to prepare for his arrival; she also had to live in a state of constant readiness for the day that her bridegroom would come to call her to himself.

The Lord Jesus’ parables revealed some of the joyful anticipation of those days. In particular, the parable of the ten virgins gives a glimpse of the importance of watching and waiting for the coming of the bridegroom. Jesus told that parable from the perspective of the bridesmaids, also called the ten virgins. They were charged with the responsibility of attending the bride on her wedding day.

“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept” (Matthew 25:1–5).

In the parable, the five wise virgins were ready for the coming of the groom. Their preparations were made in that their lamps were ready to be lit to illuminate the dark streets. Diligently, half of the young ladies had the forethought to bring along extra oil in case the wait was longer than anticipated. By contrast, the foolish virgins had wasted their idle hours. They had not prepared thoroughly by considering possible contingencies, such as a later arrival than anticipated. They were lacking extra oil. Thus, they slumbered in a state of unpreparedness.

“And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him” (Matthew 25:6). This was the shout in ancient Israel that signaled the approach of the groom and his train! John the Baptist, the “friend of the Bridegroom,” fulfilled this role as the one who came to prepare the way for the Messiah.

The call announcing the bridegroom’s arrival indicated the marriage was imminent! The wedding feast was ready and waiting at the home of the groom’s father! Next came the shout: “Go ye out to meet him!” Now the bride’s party was to rise in joy, lamps ready and glowing. The bridal party would stream out into the street to greet the groom with enthusiastic shouts of welcome.

“Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not” (Matthew 25:7–12).

Jesus applied this parable with one solemn line of warning. “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh” (Matthew 25:13). In the same way that the saints of the New Testament awaited the first coming of Christ, so we await the second coming of Christ. As His Bride, the Church, we must be alert, diligently prepared, watching and waiting for the glorious day that Christ our Bridegroom comes to receive us!

This article is from our Matters of Life & Death teaching series.

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