THE DEPARTURE

We saw in the Jewish wedding custom that the bridegroom would depart to his father's house after he made the covenant, drank the cup and paid the price. Likewise, our Lord went on to His Father's house with an announcement to His disciples virtually in the same words, as the Israeli bridegroom must have used:

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me.  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 unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also (John 14: 1-3).

Jesus is in heaven now, preparing our place, and we are in the waiting period. True, we grow impatient for His return, but then imagine how impatient that young bride must have been! People who plan to be married don't like waiting around, especially if they can't even see each other! Probably, in the old days, there were a few violations during the waiting period and people must have thought they had a violation in the case of Joseph and Mary. Those two were "espoused" (betrothed), not married, and Mary became with child. It was not that serious a matter to the onlookers, since undoubtedly this situation had occurred before, the Jewish wedding being what it was. But Joseph, at least at first thought Mary had violated their marriage contract in a most grave manner, and he sought to "put her away", or cancel the contract. Or course, the angel revealed the true situation and Joseph and Mary went on to be married.

In our case, we have been waiting a long time. But we must continue to wait in a manner that would gratify our Bridegroom. The veil worn by the bride is simply our good testimony before the world. Our consecrated, set-apart ways speak to the unbelievers around of our loyalty to God and our agreement to marry His Son. Paul put it very strongly when he said simply, "You are not your own".

We must all fully realize, as we wait, that the Lord is coming. The bridegroom always returned. We hear many a sermon on the Lord's return but we falter in our walk, reasoning that if He didn't come last year or last week, He probably won't come tonight. But there will be a night when the Lord will come, and He requires that we be ready and waiting. We can believe that the Jewish bride waited at home every night and trusted constantly in that marvelous night when she would at last hear the shout.