Re: how can 2 simply get married according to the Bible and
Realizing that the Christian and Catholic churches have adopted numerous pagan and heathen practices I began to research traditional Jewish weddings, since those writing the scriptures were primarily Jewish, and quite frankly the apostle Paul states:
Romans 2:28 For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.
Therefore I consider myself a Jew. I am also born again of the Spirit who led me to seek out traditional wedding practices during biblical times. It took some doing, but I was able to come by the information I needed from numerous sources and references and assembled the ceremony I wanted to have performed over my wife and I. I cannot state for fact that the following ceremony is indeed an actual ceremony as it was used in Biblical times, but to the best of my ability utilizing the resources available to me I made this document to be as close to that as possible. The first two pages as printed out are for the individual performing the ceremony to follow; the third page is an actual contract as they were used, and apparently to some extent are still used. With betrothal being a biblical practice and engagement a heathen/pagan practice I became betrothed to my wives for a period of time before we had the wedding ceremony, signed the contract, and consummated our covenant. Betrothal is essentially an incomplete marriage. The woman is considered to be the wife of the man, but they are not yet allowed to be together sexually. She is sanctified (set apart) unto her husband. I looked into Joseph and Mary and sure enough they were betrothed yet Mary was referred to as his wife. They did not consummate their marriage until after Jesus was born according to the scriptures.
My proposals were as follows:
“Be thou my wife according to the law of Moses and Israel, and I will work for thee, honor, support, and maintain thee in accordance with the custom of Jewish husbands who work for their wives, honor, support, and maintain them in truth. And I will set aside for thee 100 pieces of silver (equivalent to a day labor's pay for a year), in lieu of thy promise, which belong to thee according to the laws of Moses, and thy food, clothing, and necessaries, and live with thee in conjugal relations according to universal custom.”
and upon her agreement to my proposal we became betrothed, at which time I stated:
'I take upon myself and my heirs after me the responsibility of this marriage contract, of the dowry, so that all this shall be paid from the best part of my property, real and personal, that I now possess or may hereafter acquire. All my property, even the mantle on my shoulders, shall be mortgaged for the security of this contract and of the dowry and of the addition made thereto.'
I provided a nice ring, each one was different, and it goes on the index finger of the right hand. My first wife's ring is yellow gold, and my other wives have white gold, all have diamond of various cuts. I wear a ring with 7 small diamonds and there are two raised parts of yellow gold and the rest is white gold. This is to signify the importance but not superiority of my first wife. There was also a gathering to the liking of the woman I was marrying, one was very expensive, another was with a few family members in her mother's living room, the others were somewhere in between. The ceremony is as follows:
Betrothal in its legal sense ("erusin") is performed (marriage ceremony) in the following manner:
(While under a canopy - a covering of some type - symbolizes the covering protection of the Lord - could be an actual canopy outside somewhere, a large umbrella, or a sheet pinned to the ceiling and wall at an angle for the couple to be under)
The ordinary benediction is said with the person saying the blessing (preferably the father or mother of the bride but it can be anyone) holding their hand above a pair of silver wine cups filled with wine:
"The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace."
Then one of the silver cups is lifted (by the person giving the blessings) and another blessing is said:
"Blessed art Thou, O Lord, our God, King of the universe, who hast sanctified us with Thy commandments and given us commandments concerning forbidden connections, and hast forbidden unto us those who are merely betrothed, and permitted unto us those lawfully married to us through huppah (the canopy) and kiddushin (the betrothal). Blessed are Thou, O Lord, who sanctifies Thy people Israel through huppah and kiddushin"
Then the cup is put down.
As I placed the ring on the index finger of her right hand I say:
"Be thou betrothed unto me with this ring in accordance with the laws of Moses and Israel".
Then the Ketubah (marriage contract shown at the bottom) is read by one of the two witnesses (not family members) that will be signing it.
Then the other cup is lifted (by the person giving the blessings) and the seven blessings are read (pausing a few seconds between each blessing):
Wine: Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who creates the fruit of the vine. (short pause)
The Purpose: Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has created all things for His glory. (short pause)
Man: Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, Creator of man. (short pause)
Woman: Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who created man in His image, in the image of His likeness he fashioned his form, and prepared for him from his own self an everlasting edifice. Blessed are You Lord, Creator of man. (short pause)
Jerusalem: May the barren one, Jerusalem, rejoice and be happy at the ingathering of her children to her midst in joy. Blessed are You Lord, who gladdens Zion with her children. (short pause)
Joy: Grant abundant joy to these loving friends, as You bestowed gladness upon Your created being in the Garden of Eden of old. Blessed are You Lord, who gladdens the groom and bride. (short pause)
Completion and Beyond: Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who created joy and happiness, groom and bride, gladness, jubilation, cheer and delight, love, friendship, harmony and fellowship. Lord our God, let there speedily be heard in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem the sound of joy and the sound of happiness, the sound of a groom and the sound of a bride, the sound of exultation of grooms from under their wedding canopy, and youths from their joyous banquets, Blessed are You Lord, who gladdens the groom with the bride.
Then we are husband and wife and get to kiss...then we will each take a silver cup of wine and give each other a drink from their cup – I will give you a drink you will give me one. Then we drink from our own cups.
This is the Ketubah (contract) that will be read:
On Tuesday, the (Google "Jewish date converter") 5th day of the month Elul in the year 5770 (August 15th, 2010) since the creation of the world, the era according to which we are accustomed to reckon here in (City you are getting married in) how (Groom's name) son of (Groom's father's full name - alive or not) said to (Wife's name) daughter of (Wife's Father's full name - alive or not) “Be thou my wife according to the law of Moses and Israel, and I will work for thee, honor, support, and maintain thee in accordance with the custom of Jewish husbands who work for their wives, honor, support, and maintain them in truth. And I will set aside for thee 100 pieces of silver (equivalent to a day labor's pay for a year), in lieu of thy promise, which belong to thee according to the laws of Moses, and thy food, clothing, and necessaries, and live with thee in conjugal relations according to universal custom.” And (Wife's name) this woman consented and became his wife. And thus said (Groom's name) the bridegroom, 'I take upon myself and my heirs after me the responsibility of this marriage contract, of the dowry, so that all this shall be paid from the best part of my property, real and personal, that I now possess or may hereafter acquire. All my property, even the mantle on my shoulders, shall be mortgaged for the security of this contract and of the dowry and of the addition made thereto.' (Groom's name) the bridegroom has taken upon himself the responsibility for all the obligations of this etubah, as is customary with other ketubot made for the daughters of Israel in accordance with the institution of our sages—may their memory be for a blessing! It is not to be regarded as an illusory obligation or as a mere form of document. We have followed the legal formality of symbolical delivery kinyan between (Groom's name) son of (Groom's Father's full name), the bridegroom, and (Wife's name) daughter of (Wife's Father's full name), this woman, and have employed an instrument legally fit for the purpose to strengthen all that is stated above, and everything is valid and established.
________________________________________________ Bridegroom.
________________________________________________ Bride
________________________________________________ Witnesses
________________________________________________
There is no copyright or anything like that on this information so feel free to copy it and paste it into Word or some other similar program and customize it with your information to print it out. The silver wine cups and originally signed contract are to be kept by the Wife's mother, an additional copy can be signed by everyone for the groom to keep as well. I don't desire any credit for this information, I will be happy knowing that it brought two believers into a lifetime covenant should you or anyone else choose to use it. May the Lord my God, Yahweh, richly bless anyone using this ceremony and contract; blessing them with peace, health, children, prosperity, and long life, that in all these things His name would be glorified. Amen.
