Then the elders of the congregation said, “What shall we do
for wives for those who remain, since the women of Benjamin have been
destroyed?” And they said, “There must be an inheritance for the survivors of
Benjamin, that a tribe may not be destroyed from Israel. “However, we cannot
give them wives from our daughters, for the children of Israel have sworn an
oath, saying, ‘Cursed be the one who gives a wife to Benjamin.’ ”Then they
said, “In fact, there is a yearly feast of the LORD in Shiloh, which is north
of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem,
and south of Lebonah.” Therefore they instructed the children of Benjamin,
saying, “Go, lie in wait in the vineyards, “and watch; and just when the
daughters of Shiloh come out to perform their dances, then come out from the
vineyards, and every man catch a wife for himself from the daughters of Shiloh;
then go to the land of Benjamin. “Then it shall be, when their fathers or their
brothers come to us to complain, that we will say to them, ‘Be kind to them for
our sakes, because we did not take a wife for any of them in the war; for it is
not as though you have given the women to them at this time, making yourselves
guilty of your oath.’ ”And the children of Benjamin did so; they took enough
wives for their number from those who danced, whom they caught. Then they went
and returned to their inheritance, and they rebuilt the cities and dwelt in
them. Judges 21:16-23 NKJV
I think most believers would agree that our hope, the event
for which we are all watching and waiting is the rapture of the Church. I'm
sure most of us too, are familiar with the Church being referred to as the
“bride” of Christ. Many of you are also probably aware of how the events
surrounding the rapture follow precisely the pattern of a Jewish wedding. Since
Jesus is Jewish, it is expected that His wedding to His bride, the Church, will
follow the pattern and traditions associated with Jewish weddings. But there is
one question I personally have always had with this idea and it is this; does
it matter at all to this picture that we the Church are not, strictly speaking,
Jewish?
I don’t recall exactly when I first began studying the
Jewish feast days, but I do know it was quite some time ago. Yet it wasn’t until 2010 that I first became
aware of the holiday in Israel called Tu B’ Av, and wrote my first article
about it. Quite often it is referred to as an unknown holiday because most have
never even heard of it; much less understand the traditional beliefs associated
with it. It isn't even listed on my
Jewish calendar along with all of their other holidays, which makes me wonder
why it is so "forgotten"? If you look it up on the internet, you will
find that most sites call it a "minor" holiday in Jewish culture, but
for reasons I want to share with you, I think it's entirely possible this might
be the most important holiday for the Church that you've never heard of.
First of all, Tu B'Av was declared a celebration by the
first generation after the forty year wilderness wandering from Egypt during
the Exodus. If you recall, God commanded that an entire generation must die
because of their sin before a new generation could enter the Promised Land.
After forty years, seeing the full moon told the new generation that the
appointed time had passed, and they were able to enter the land that God had
led them to. Remember the Jewish calendar is lunar, so the months are
calculated by observing the phases of the moon, and the full moon always occurs
on the night of the 14th (don't forget the new day starts at sunset). So this
new generation declared this day a new day of celebration.
Secondly, the Jewish Talmud, which is a collection of
ancient Rabbinic writings, teaches that on this day, Tu B' Av, the tribes of
Israel were allowed to intermarry. The rest of the year, it was required that
you marry only within your tribe, but on this one day every year, women were
free to marry whomever they wished from any tribe. For this reason, and because
it also marks the end of the wheat harvest in Israel, many believe this is the
day that Ruth married Boaz. If you recall the story, Ruth was not a Jew, but a
Gentile. Yet as a distant relation, she and Boaz, who was Jewish, were allowed
to marry. Their marriage occurred at the end of the harvest, and since on this
day, marriages to others were allowed, it follows that this must have been the
day of their wedding.
Third, as a result of a civil war between the tribe of
Benjamin and the rest of Israel, only 600 males survived the conflict. The
leaders of Israel decided they would allow these men to take wives from
"the daughters from Shiloh". It seems there was a celebration at the
beginning of the grape harvest at Shiloh where the daughters would go into the
vineyards and dance. The surviving men were told they were to hide in the
vineyards and catch themselves a wife from the girls who came out to dance. In
later years this day became known as a traditional day of love and courtship,
where girls would exchange white clothing so that prospective husbands would
not know who was rich or who was poor.
Fourthly, Tu B' Av is the last holiday of the year in
Israel. Since the New Year begins on Rosh Ha Shanah, which is just a month and
a half away, this is the last holiday, as well as the last harvest of their
calendar year. Being the last of the holidays, it is a time of celebration both
in looking back, and looking forward to the New Year that is approaching. This
day is also considered to be the time where planting of crops or trees was to
end for the year. During the time of the Second Temple, Tu B' Av was proclaimed
as the beginning of the grape harvest which continues until Yom Kippur.
Fifth, prophetically speaking, Tu B' Av pictures the future
marriage of Christ with His church.
"In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not
so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you "And if I go
and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that
where I am, there you may be also.
John 14:2-3 NKJV
In the Jewish culture, after the engagement the groom goes
to prepare the home in which he and his wife will reside, and it is up to his
father to decide when the home is ready and the son is allowed to return for
his bride.
So in review, we find there is a holiday in Israel that many
are unfamiliar with which is a traditional day celebrating love. It is a day
many choose as their wedding day, and historically is the only day that Jews
were allowed to marry outside their own tribes. It comes at the conclusion of
the wheat harvest at the end of summer, and along with being the last
celebration of the year, because of the allowance to intermarry it also
perfectly pictures the future marriage of Christ with His Church.
Many look at this day as a perfect time for the rapture of
the Church to occur, and in all honesty, I would have to agree. But as we all
know, God has His own timetable and as far as we know, He hasn't made it
crystal clear. Yet with all the clues we do have, and all that has been happening
lately in the world, many are convinced that this truly could be the day. Who
knows, but since Tu B' Av starts the evening of the fourteenth of Av at sunset,
which this year occurs on Thursday, July 26, I would be lying if I said I
wasn't going to be watching the skies more than usual. The day is approaching
when we will be taken to be with our Lord forever. I'm praying it will be soon.
If you are reading this today and have never made the
decision to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I urge you to do it
right now. Simply admit to God that you need His forgiveness because you are a
sinner, be willing to turn away from
your sins, believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins, and invite Him
to come in and control your life through
the Holy Spirit by praying a simple prayer like this;
Father, I know
I am a sinner in need of salvation. I believe you sent your Son Jesus to die on
the cross for my sin, and I ask you now to forgive me of my sins. I want to
receive your gift of salvation so please come into my heart and help me to live
and follow you as my Lord and Savior. In Jesus' name, Amen.
But as many as
received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who
believe in His name: John 1:12 NKJV
If you have prayed this prayer you are part of the body of
Christ, a member of His Church, and like the rest of us are now waiting for the
call to join Him in Heaven for the wedding soon to come.
Keep watching.
