The Wedding, the Wine, & the Water

Wedding traditions can change dramatically from culture to culture, from place to place, and from time to time. Yet in the Bible we can discover both a symbolism and a prophetic line that can take us from Old Testament to New Testament-from ancient Jewish culture and traditions to the burgeoning good news of Christ's gospel-and all of this can be found through the wedding ceremony and covenant.

The Wedding, the Wine, and the Water weaves together a tapestry of ancient Jewish wedding traditions and the gospel, exploring the symbolism of wine and water that God uses to reveal his plan to pursue us with a tenacious love through his Son, Jesus. Author Mary T. Billings explains how the tradition of the wine, ever present in the ancient traditions, is used to ceremonially invite and covenant the bride to the groom-something that is echoed in the New Testament gospel as Christ's invitation to us, his bride.

While wedding traditions can change, God's wedding covenant with his bride is immutable and forever. This is a love story that began before we were even born, and it is one that will last for eternity. By connecting the elements and symbols of this marriage from the Old Testament through to the New Testament, we can be drawn into a more intimate relationship with Christ.