New Jerusalem, the Bride of Christ, Part 1

(Genesis 15, 17, Ephesians 5, 1 Corinthians 11, John 6, various)

One man, one woman, one in flesh and spirit. The image of marriage—seen as early as Genesis 1 and reaching all the way to Revelation 22—offers a recurring symbol of union and wholeness throughout the Word; God’s heart for oneness with his people on full display.

By chapter three of Genesis, our rebellion ushers sin into the world. Foreshadowing the better covenant to come, a sacrifice is made, blood is shed, and our first parents’ shame was covered (Genesis 3:21). Across human history, the highest form of covenant ever known has been blood covenant. I am convinced: if we don’t understand the blood covenant symbology in the Old Testament, we can’t possibly understand the marriage language we find in the New.

In the first half of this two-part lesson on New Jerusalem, we will survey the development of marriage and covenantal oneness as illustrated by the Word. In the second movement, we’ll answer questions like: Who is the bride of Christ? Has God rejected national Israel? What did Paul mean when he said, “Not all Israel is of Israel”? How will all Israel be saved? And finally, who is New Jerusalem, as seen in Revelation 21 and 22?

TAKE-AWAYS FROM THIS LESSON

• Survey the Bible's development of marriage and covenantal oneness
• Weigh the biblical evidence for a future national restoration of Israel
• Distinguish national Israel from the faithful “Israel of God”
• Understand the new heaven and new earth of Revelation 21-22, as seen through Isaiah

In the early 20^th century, one of the most significant discoveries in biblical scholarship came as archaeologists were excavating the Hittite capital Hattusa (located in modern Turkey). Among thousands of cuneiform tablets, they unearthed dozens of suzerainty treaties; formal covenants between Hittite kings and their vassal states. When scholars began comparing these to the biblical text, the structural parallels were stunning. ^[1] These treaties followed a consistent six-part form we also find in the Word:

1. The covenants began with a preamble identifying the king by name and title (who is making this formal declaration and by what authority); in Israel’s case, that read as “I am the LORD your God” (Exodus 20:2). Per the suzerainty framework, identity flows from the sovereign to the vassal. “They shall put my name upon the children of Israel and I will bless them” (Numbers 6:27). They are marked as His.
2. A historical prologue then reminds the reader of the grace already extended upon their behalf; favor before obligation, a provision-before-possession pattern we’ll see more of later. What has God already done? Israel is reminded God is the one who brought them “out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (Exodus 20:2). This highlights the common Old Testament misunderstanding that Israel was to earn and keep God's favor by keeping the Mosaic Law. However, when we view the Old Testament through the lens of suzerainty covenant, we recognize God acted first. Obedience is the grateful response by a people already redeemed, not the vehicle of their redemption.
3. Stipulations were then defined. These are the behavioral requirements the vassal takes upon themselves as their part in the covenantal exchange. Think of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:2-17; Deuteronomy 5:6-21) and the broader Mosaic Law that follows (Exodus 20 through Deuteronomy 33).
4. The blessings for obedience and the curses for violation are declared, giving the covenant its teeth (Deuteronomy 27-28).
5. Witnesses were invoked to attest to the cutting of the covenant. In pagan cultures, this might be the gods of both parties. In Israel's case—since there were no other gods—heaven and earth are called as witnesses (Deuteronomy 30:19, 31:28). We see this play out later in Isaiah 1 and Micah 6, when the prophets indict Israel (“hear what the LORD says: rise, plead your case before the mountains”). Though “heaven and earth” can also refer to a nation and its ruling class, here heaven and earth are called as witnesses as the great King of heaven brings charges against His vassal for their covenant violation.
6. The treaty document was kept in the sanctuary (as the tablets were kept in the ark; Deuteronomy 10:2) and regularly read publicly so the people would remember their agreement (Deuteronomy 31:10-13).

As it turns out, Deuteronomy closely follows this suzerainty treaty structure, leading scholars to argue the book should be understood as a covenant renewal, Ancient Near East-style, not merely a legal code or historical narrative.

God is Covenantal

Throughout the Word, we see God is a covenantal God. To level-set our discussion, let’s quickly review the major covenant promises made between God and His people:

• the Edenic promise God made with Adam and Eve for future redemption (Genesis 3),
• the Noahic covenant to never again flood the whole earth (Genesis 9),
• the Abrahamic promises of descendants and land (Genesis 12, 15 and 17),
• the Mosaic blessings and curses spoken over Israel at Mount Sinai (Exodus, Deuteronomy),
• the Palestinian covenant to restore faithful Israel to their land following exile (Deuteronomy 29-30),
• the Davidic covenant, God’s promise to David his royal line will produce the Messiah (2 Samuel 7), and
• the Messiah’s New Covenant to fulfill the law, forgive sin and restore us to God (Jeremiah 31:31-34, Daniel 9:24-27, Hebrews 8).

Of these, blood covenants are established as the highest form of human contract. I used to teach blood covenant was involved in three:

• the Abrahamic (by animal sacrifice and circumcision),
• the Mosaic (by animal sacrifice and the sprinkling of blood for the yearly atonement of sin), and
• the New Covenant (by the shedding of Jesus' blood for the atonement of our sin.)

However, I now believe the animal skins mentioned in the Edenic covenant also count as blood shed to establish covering, and so I would also include the Edenic covenant as the first of four in this list.

A valid next question might be, “Why blood? What is it about the presence of blood that elevates a covenant?” In Leviticus 17:11, we learn “the life of the flesh is in the blood” and that therefore “it is the blood that makes atonement for that life”. It is the blood that raises the gravity of any covenant to the level of life and death.

Covenant, Blood and Marriage

The structure of “cutting a covenant” usually involved one or more of the following elements. These steps are modular; not sequential. They could happen in any order, if at all.

• The exchange of robes, coats, belts and weapons
• The exchange of blessings and curses (vows)
• The exchange of names
• The exchange of blood
• The exchange of marks, and finally
• The covenant meal or celebration feast

By going through a brief survey of these steps, we’ll be better equipped to connect the dots when we arrive at the New Covenant.

The Exchange of Robes, Coats, Belts and Weapons

Covenant opens with giving, not getting. In ancient times, the stronger party showed their commitment by offering protection and provision before receiving anything in return.

In the exchange of coats, the identities and authority of those entering into covenant were exchanged in the form of possessions, status, and inheritance. The message: “We are no longer our own; all I am, all I have, now belongs to you and everything you are, everything you have, now belongs to me.”

When belts and weapons were included in this exchange, it said, “Your enemies are my enemies, and my enemies are yours. Your battles are mine and my battles are yours; all my strength now belongs to you.”

When God struck a covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15, He opened with, “I am your shield” offering His protection, and, “Your reward shall be very great”, promising His provision. God—needing nothing—offered everything to Abraham who had nothing to offer in return but his loyalty and love.

An even clearer example may be seen in 1 Samuel 18:3-4 where:

³ “Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. ⁴ And Jonathan removed the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, his sword, his bow, and his belt.”

Jonathan gives David his robe, sharing his royal status and inheritance, and his sword, bow and belt showing David’s battles would be Jonathan’s battles.

Entering The Marriage Covenant

Across the biblical record, this gift exchange to signal commitment enjoys great marital significance. Paid by the groom, the “mohar” (a dowry or bride price) follows this same provision-before-possession pattern. In ancient Jewish marriage rites, there were three distinct stages: contract, consummation and celebration. The first stage—contract or “ketubah”—is found here among provision and promise:

• After Rebekah agrees to marry Isaac, gifts of gold, silver, and garments are offered by Isaac’s servant (Genesis 24).
• Jacob exchanges fourteen years of service for Rachel, offering his life and strength as a bride price (Genesis 29).
• Shechem offers to pay whatever dowry is required to take Dinah as his wife: “Demand a high dowry and an expensive gift, and I will give you whatever you ask” (Genesis 34:11-12).
• Though an unusual example led by deadly intentions, Saul asks for “a hundred Philistine foreskins” in 1 Samuel 18:25 in return for Michal’s hand in marriage. David doubles the payment, a clear signal of his commitment marked by sacrifice, demonstrating his love and loyalty to Michal.

There are still cultures today who participate in dowry exchanges, especially within arranged marriages across southern Asia, the Middle East and parts of Africa. In ancient times, once the promise was backed by a dowry, terms were established and a marriage contract might be signed by the groom and the bride’s father. At this point, the couple was considered legally married, though they still may not be living together. If the man desired to break off their engagement, he required a certificate of divorce called a “get”—and, except in the event she was caught in adultery or died—he was likely to lose the dowry he paid. We see an image of this in Matthew 1:18-19:

¹⁸ “This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged in marriage to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and was unwilling to disgrace her publicly, he resolved to divorce her quietly.”

In this passage, Mary is found to be pregnant before she and Joseph had consummated their marriage. Joseph, “being a righteous man”, intended to give her a get without publicly accusing her of adultery. This meant he would lose his dowry, maybe around 50 shekels in value (per Deuteronomy 22), about a year’s wages by some estimates. Suffice it to say, Joseph was willing to take a serious financial hit to protect Mary, even in the face of her apparent betrayal; he loved her.

Preparation Period

Once the dowry was paid and the contract in place, both the bride and groom began preparing for married life together. The groom might then leave to prepare a home as part of the protective covering he offered his bride. Often, this would be an addition onto his father’s house or estate. At the Last Supper, Jesus signaled this same covenantal pattern:

² “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. ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:2-3)

And when, in Matthew 24:36 (Mark 13:32), our Lord says, “No one knows the day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father”, He was alluding to the Jewish practice of fathers holding final say over the readiness of their sons’ preparations. Once those preparations passed the father’s scrutiny, the son was released to collect his bride and bring her home. Wedding days, then, were not fixed on a convenient date, but rather upon readiness.

The Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13)

It was this open-ended anticipation and call to “keep watch, for you do not know the day or the hour” (Matthew 25:13) that held the bride in suspense as she readied herself. Jesus’ parable of the ten virgins gives us an image of a bridegroom returning at night. Word of the groom’s approach has come to the bridesmaids (the virgins) and they hasten to meet him to join the procession. All bring their lamps, but only half bring enough oil to last into the night. The oil, in this case, represents spiritual readiness that cannot be shared or borrowed. The foolish bridesmaids, who failed to bring enough oil, leave to buy more, missing the procession. Upon their return, they find they are too late and are now excluded from the wedding feast (“I do not know you”, v12; see also Matthew 7:21-23).

However, Bible students will be quickly confounded if they attempt to map the parable’s imagery too closely. For instance, the groom in this parable is obviously Jesus, and—if we have learned anything from Old Testament history—the bride is the faithful. But—who does that leave as the virgins?

The tension is real. But when Jesus taught in parables, He didn’t create consistent allegorical systems where every role lined up; He taught in snapshots, one point at a time. The message of this parable is narrow: be ready. Jesus was not mapping matrimonial theology, but drawing a distinction between the prepared and the unprepared. Here, the virgins represent those who expect to participate in the kingdom of God, a kingdom which Jesus had been declaring was “at hand”, “upon you” and “at the door” (Matthew 3:2, 4:17, Mark 1:15, Luke 10:9, 11:20, 17:21). They are not the final, purified bride; she isn’t even pictured in this story.

Just as a Jewish bride preparing for her wedding day would focus on purifying herself (Exodus 19:10,14), the people of God are called to a preparation of righteousness. Per Ephesians 5:26-27, the Church is called to be sanctified and cleansed “by the washing with water through the word, […] holy and blameless.”

In 1 Peter 3, the apostle teaches the women of the church their beauty is not physical or material, but established by the posture of their hearts, their peace and gentleness, the way they honor their husbands, their righteousness and by “refusing to give way to fear” (1 Peter 3:3-6). Her bridal dress is further shown in Revelation 19:7-8, when we are told

⁷ “…the marriage of the Lamb has come (“ēlthen”, “arrived”, aorist tense), and His bride has made herself ready. ⁸ She was given clothing of fine linen, bright and pure. For the fine linen she wears is the righteous acts of the saints.”

The prophet Isaiah used similar language when he foresaw salvation:

“I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” (Isaiah 61:10)

New Covenant Engagement

Just as in Jewish betrothal, where the groom pledges his commitment and seals it with provision, so too we have received the Spirit as a pledge; we are legally one with Christ:

¹³ “And in Him, having heard and believed the word of truth—the gospel of your salvation—you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴ who is the pledge [“arrabōn”, down payment] of our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession, to the praise of His glory.” (Ephesians 1:13-14; see also 2 Corinthians 1:22)

From this place of believing, our previously darkened hearts experience the light of Christ as we continue to grow in the “knowledge of the glory of God”:

⁷ “Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us. ⁸ We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.” (2 Corinthians 4:7-9)

Therefore, you have entered the kingdom of God:

²⁶ “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁷ For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. ²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:26-29)

In the New Covenant, we are deeply humbled to learn Christ divested Himself of His own glory (Philippians 2:7-8), so that we may take on robes of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10), receiving what we could never earn. Christ took on our human weakness that we might receive His eternal strength (2 Corinthians 12:9). We trade out our ashes, and in return, we receive Jesus’ beauty and glory; what a ridiculous, lopsided exchange! This impossible, sobering love is further completed as we receive the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-17) and watch as Jesus brings our enemies of sin, death and Satan to ruin while we receive His victory (John 16:33, 1 John 5:4-5).

The Exchange of Blessings and Curses (Vows)

Just as innocent blood was required to cover Adam and Eve’s shortcomings, in Genesis 15, God enters into a similar covenant with Abraham. In cutting this covenant, a heifer, goat and ram are each divided in half, lengthwise, with the pieces arranged opposite each other forming a corridor (Genesis 15:17). Per ancient covenant-making, the sacrificed animals exemplified a symbolic curse if the terms of the agreement weren’t fulfilled. It was here, standing in the pooling blood, that two parties would meet face to face, and state the terms of their agreement, including the blessings that would follow and the curses if it was violated. The mutilated animals declared the severity of the vows, as in, “If I break this covenant, may I be torn apart like these animals!” ^[2] But in Abraham’s case, what follows next is completely unhinged!

Abraham falls into a deep sleep. The Hebrew word here in Genesis 15:12 is tardemah, and it’s the same word used for the supernatural, death-like sleep that fell upon Adam when God created Eve in Genesis 2:21. God alone passes through the pieces, represented by a smoking firepot and blazing torch, making an unconditional covenant. God alone takes upon Himself the curse of death if either party fails in their covenantal obligation. Of course, in God’s complete foreknowledge, He already knows Abraham and his nation will fail. God commits Himself to die a grisly death as repayment for a covenant He knows will be broken.

Enter the Messiah. “Stricken for our transgressions” (Isaiah 53:8) and “cut off, but not for Himself” (Daniel 9:26 KJV), Christ is the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29, Hebrews 9:26). God’s covenant with Abraham was bound onto death; as in, once entered, the only options were complete fulfillment or death. Christ accomplished both: by walking out a sinless life, He fulfilled the righteousness Israel (and humanity at large) couldn’t attain by the Law, and by dying on the cross, He paid the penalty for that same failure.

¹³ “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.’ ¹⁴ He redeemed us in order that the blessing promised to Abraham would come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.” (Galatians 3:13-14; see also 2 Corinthians 5:21)

All the covenant curses humanity had earned (and would earn) fell upon Him. This New Covenant transfer of even Gentiles from darkness into the family of God, fulfilled—and continues to fulfill—God’s promise to Abraham to make him a father of many nations:

¹³ “When God made His promise to Abraham, since He had no one greater to swear by, He swore by Himself, ¹⁴ saying, ‘I will surely bless you and multiply your descendants.’” (Hebrews 6:13-14)

(Can you imagine Abraham in heaven, still marveling over the faithfulness of God as new believers continue to come into the faith?)

Finally, when it comes to the modern symbol of exchanging wedding vows (“‘til death do us part”), we still walk down the aisle, and—though it’s not lined with hamburger or filet mignon—in a biblically-ordered marriage, blood is still involved. More on that in a moment.

The Exchange of Names

In the ancient Near East, names weren’t just labels; they meant identity, nature, and purpose. Changing a name meant changing a destiny.

In Genesis, as God creates the earth, He assigns names and purpose to all He produces. After Adam names all the creatures and no sufficient mate is found, God creates woman from Adam’s rib:

²³ “‘This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for out of man she was taken.’
²⁴ “For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:23-24)

In Genesis 17:5 and 15, God doesn’t just rename Abraham and Sarah but inserts part of His own name (YHWH - יהוה)—the “hei” (ה, pronounced “hey”) character—into theirs. The sound of breath, the hei represents the breath and spirit of God, as when God breathed life into Adam (Genesis 2:7). By adding the hei into Abram (אברם), God changes the meaning of his name from “exalted father” to “father of many” (אברהם, Abraham). For Sarai (שָׂרַי), the meaning of her name changes from “my princess” to “princess” (שָׂרָה, Sarah). For both Abraham and Sarah, the focus of their names changed from their household identities to identities with national scope; a father and mother of many nations.

Later, when Abraham’s grandson Jacob finds himself being tried by an angelic wrestling match, a new name and identity are his reward: “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men, and you have prevailed” (Genesis 32:28; 35:10).

Finally, while commissioning Moses to return to Egypt, God takes Abraham’s name into His own: “The God of your fathers; the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob...this is My name forever, how I am to be remembered in every generation” (Exodus 3:6, 15-16). God has bound Himself to Abraham’s seed and He establishes a verbal memorial of His covenantal commitment to His people through this name.

I think “Don’t take the LORD’s name in vain” (Exodus 20:7) takes on greater significance when we understand Israel literally carries God’s name in their identity. The call to represent God’s heart and righteousness surely rests upon those who say they belong to Him.

New Identity in Marriage

Just as the vassal state or smaller tribe would take on the name of king and country, so in marriage, the woman would take on her husband’s name as a sign of union and belonging. The one who covers the other extends their name and identity; two become one.

The prophet Isaiah uses the marriage metaphor as a recurring theme for expressing God’s faithfulness despite Israel's unfaithfulness. In this example, we also see new identity being established in new names.

⁴ “No more shall you be called Forsaken, neither shall your land be called Desolate anymore, but you shall be called Hephzibah (“my delight is in her”), and your land, Beulah (“married” or “bride”), for the LORD delights in you, and your land shall be married.
⁵ For as a young man marries a virgin, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.” (Isaiah 62:4-5; see also Isaiah 54:5-6)

When Naomi tried to send her Moabite daughter-in-law away as she returned to Judah, Ruth argued her down: “For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God” (Ruth 1:16). When Boaz first meets Ruth, he blesses her: “May the LORD repay your work, and may you receive a rich reward from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have taken refuge” (Ruth 2:12). But it is she who later asks him to be a material expression for that covering when she sleeps at his feet and implores him to spread his garment over her (Ruth 3:9; some translations say she asks Boaz to spread his wings over her). He agrees and—after some slick negotiating among the elders—Boaz takes Ruth as his wife, whereby she enters into the line of David.

In modern days, it is traditional for the bride’s mother and father to give her away to the groom, where the father removes the bride’s veil and presents her to her betrothed. This is a clear image of the bride’s transition from her parents’ covering to her husband’s.

New Identity in the New Covenant

It is no small thing then, when Jesus identifies Himself with humanity by taking our name, using the moniker “Son of Man” over 80 times across the New Testament. In Paul’s letter to the Philippian church, we find Jesus has received the “name above every name” (Philippians 2:9-11):

⁹ “Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Describing Christ’s approach to collect his bride for the marriage supper of the Lamb and His judgment of the beast and false prophet, John writes of Jesus, “He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself” (Revelation 19:12) and He “has a name written on His robe and on His thigh: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” (Revelation 19:16).

Upon those who remain faithful, Jesus promises to write upon them “the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God (the new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from My God), and My new name” (Revelation 3:12).

Indeed, we get the better side of this New Covenant deal in that we receive His name as “Christians” (Acts 11:26), literally “little Christs” or “Christ-ones”. As part of our adoption into the family of God through the New Covenant, we who receive the Messiah are called “children of God” (John 1:12), “sons of God” (Romans 8:14), and new creations “in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:17). We are called by His name (James 2:7; Acts 15:17), baptized “in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).

The Exchange of Blood

In Exodus 24:6-8, Moses took the blood of sacrificed bulls and poured half the blood over the altar (representing God’s interest in their agreement) and sprinkled the remaining half over the people (Israel’s interest) as they promised their obedience: “This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you.”

For the dedication of the tabernacle, God established the priestly ordination (Exodus 29:20-21; Leviticus 8:23-24), instructing that Aaron and his sons be consecrated by the sprinkling of blood, and that it be deliberately applied to their right ear lobes (hear Him), right thumbs (serve Him), right big toes (carry Him with you wherever you are), signaling they wholly belonged to God.

Let’s return to our earlier image of declaring vows amidst sacrificed animals while standing in blood. Though the modern blood-brother image of two men clasping bloodied palms or tying their slit arms together makes for sensational theater, the historical record doesn’t really point to one consistent blood covenant pattern. Some cultures knit bloodied hands together, but others cut their chests or fingers and smeared blood on each other, while others mixed their blood with wine and shared it among themselves. The symbolic meaning remains constant, however: individuals joined, the separate become one.

Wedding Ceremony (Consummation)

In John 3:29, John the Baptist declares,

“He who has the bride is the groom; but the friend of the groom, who stands and listens to him, rejoices greatly because of the groom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made full.”

The image of witnesses rejoicing at the groom’s voice hails back to the Jewish yichud (yee-hoo’d, private union); the custom of seclusion and consummation following the wedding celebration. Two witnesses—one for the groom, and at least one for the bride (today, we see these as the best man and maid of honor)—were required by Jewish law to verify the marriage’s integrity. The newlyweds would withdraw into the bridal chamber (chuppah) ^[3], an intimate space prepared specifically for their consummation.

Now, we can’t be 100 percent sure the witnesses waited outside the door for the groom’s verbal confirmation of the bride’s virginity. However, we do know from Deuteronomy 22:13-21 it was common practice to catch blood from first intercourse on a designated sheet or cloth, referred to as the “betulim” or virginity cloth.

Furthermore, this virginity cloth provided the bride and her family insurance against any future accusation by a wayward husband trying to get out of the marriage and steal his dowry back. Though the image of witnesses-at-the-door is not explicitly found in the Jewish Mishnah, the legal and cultural framework made the moments surrounding consummation a matter of communal witness and accountability. John seems to be appealing to this same atmosphere.

In this way, the blood covenant of marriage was cut; the blood in the semen mixed with the blood from the broken hymen as two became one. This is why virginity was honored and protected.

Blood Covenant at the Last Supper

So, where John the Baptist nods toward marital oneness, in John 17, the apostle John presents us an image of spiritual oneness, earthly marriage being its shadow. When Jesus broke the bread and shared the cup at the Last Supper, He said, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you” (Luke 22:20). From the garden of Gethsemane, our Lord prayed that those who believe in Him through His disciples’ word “may all be one; just as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us” (John 17:21). It was our Messiah’s atoning death on the cross that tore the Temple veil between God and man, paving the way for two to become one (Matthew 27:51, Mark 15:38, Luke 23:45). It was “by his own blood he entered in once for all into the Most Holy Place, having obtained eternal redemption for us” (Hebrews 9:12). As Paul writes, “Is not the cup of blessing that we bless a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10:16)

The Exchange of Marks

¹⁵ “...I will not forget you! ¹⁶ Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;” (God to faithful Israel; Isaiah 49:15-16)

The Hebrew word for “inscribed” here is “chaqaq” (pronounced “khaw-kak”, Strong’s 2710), meaning “engraved”, suggesting a permanent mark or scar by which God expresses His endless commitment to His Israel. Though we don’t see much scarification in the biblical record beyond Isaiah 49, it is well attested across history that many cultures—including the ancient Near East—exchanged scars, tattoos, branding, rings and other tokens to memorialize identity, kinship and lasting pacts.

Popularly represented by the wedding ring today, the covenant scar served as a permanent personal witness of your union with another, making spiritual reality tangible and unforgettable. As a public declaration, this mark of covenant also put others on notice: this person carries covenant commitment and protection. Finally, a covenant mark offered a symbol to teach your children and your children’s children about identity and faithfulness (Deuteronomy 6:20-25).

God knows we forget. We drift. We are easily distracted. Throughout the Word, He offers us memorials to His faithfulness so we may remain anchored in His promises. Rainbows (Genesis 9:12-17), Passover (Exodus 12:7, 13, 22-23) and even Sabbath rest (Exodus 31:13-17) have all been offered as recurring signs of His covenants with us. They are reminders of God’s promises of mercy, protection and communion.

So, when God introduces circumcision to Abraham in Genesis 17:10-14, God teaches it as a sign of covenant between God’s people and Himself (v11). Circumcision offered a hidden, intimate symbol of belonging, with covenantal implications for a man’s seed and therefore his future generations. This heralds back to the garden, where man is told to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:28). Multiply what? God’s image upon the earth (Genesis 1:27). We also see this confirmed in Malachi 2:15 when we are reminded God desires “holy offspring”.

The New Covenant Mark

Yet this sign of faith and devotion was never intended to stop at a simple scar. Circumcision was never about the flesh, but the heart (another reason why it was placed in such a private location and not for public display). In Romans 2, Paul explains God is the father of all who believe, whether Gentile or Jew:

²³ “Now the words ‘it was credited to him’ were written not only for Abraham, ²⁴ but also for us, to whom righteousness will be credited—for us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. ²⁵ He was delivered over to death for our trespasses and was raised to life for our justification.” (Romans 2:23-25)

Referring to Genesis 15:8–21, when Abraham received his promise from God that he would be the father of many nations, Paul is clear: Righteousness was credited to Abraham before circumcision, not after (v10-11). It is not the law that saves, but righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ:

¹¹ “…[Abraham] is the father of all who believe but are not circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. ¹² And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
¹³ “For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world was not given through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. ¹⁴ For if those who live by the law are heirs, faith is useless and the promise is worthless, ¹⁵ because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law, there is no transgression.” (Romans 2:11-15)

We, therefore, are to understand the New Covenant mark as an internal reality. The Mosaic law has not been able to be fulfilled by any Jew since the Temple fell in the first century. Even if it could be, Paul is clear: it is only faith in Jesus Christ that is counted for righteousness. Additional witnesses from Scripture include Colossians 2:11:

“In Him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of your sinful nature, with the circumcision performed by Christ and not by human hands.”

And Galatians 6:15:

“For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything. What counts is a new creation.”

And Romans 2:28-29:

²⁸ “A man is not a Jew because he is one outwardly, nor is circumcision only outward and physical. ²⁹ No, a man is a Jew because he is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise does not come from men, but from God.”

Finally, and certainly most dramatically, Isaiah 49’s image of God inscribing His people into the palms of His hands finds its ultimate fulfillment in the sacrificial wounds left in Christ's glorified body by His crucifixion. Following His resurrection, before His shocked disciples, Jesus displays the permanent marks of the covenant He cut on our behalf. The covenant scars God promised in Isaiah 49 are visibly and tangibly present in our risen Lord’s hands, feet and side (John 20:20, 27; Luke 24:39-40).

Both the mark of the covenant and the exchange of names make invisible covenant visible. Donning your new name and your covenant mark declares you belong to another. The old has passed away; the new has come.

A Word on Memorials

Covenant marks don’t just speak while establishing the initial agreement, but also serve to remind future generations. In Genesis 31:45-54, when Jacob and Laban heaped stones to create a border marker, they named it “Mizpah” meaning “watchtower”, a reminder of God’s watchful eye over both tribes. A similar memorial can be seen in the 12 stones set up at Gilgal by Joshua as Israel finished crossing the Jordan river; “When your children ask...tell them” (Joshua 4:6-7, 20-24). Like how we mark marriage with annual anniversaries, memorials are intentional ways to remember our commitments to one another and give thanks for God’s faithfulness in our lives.

The Covenant Meal (Celebration Feast)

At this point in our tour through ancient covenant-making, we’ve covered the exchange of robes and weapons, blessings and curses, names, blood and marks of the covenant. That leaves one final expression: the covenant meal.

(Now certainly, the practicality of this step should not be lost on us. After all, what would you do with all that meat laying around? Can’t just leave it there! Fire up the barbeque and call your neighbors!)

Between tribes, the traditional covenant-cutting pattern often concluded with a celebratory feast, putting those sacrificed animals to good use. Tribal leaders would feed each other—often using a single loaf of bread, representing life—and share a communal cup of wine, declaring their unity and shared blood. This was a way to recognize harmony between the covenant parties, for only two at peace with each other would be found eating together.

There are several places across the Old Testament where we see ceremonial dining:

• When Abimelech saw the Lord’s hand was on Isaac, he suggested they make a covenant with each other. To seal their peace treaty, Isaac prepared a feast for them (Genesis 26:28-30).
• To cement his territory agreement with Laban, Jacob “offered a sacrifice on the mountain and invited his relatives to eat a meal” (Genesis 31:54).
• Sealing the Sinai covenant between God and Israel, Moses, Aaron, and over 70 elders ascended the mountain and “beheld God, and ate and drank” (Exodus 24:9-11).
• Israel’s unintentional treaty with the Gibeonites in Joshua 9.
• Finally, Psalm 41:9 laments a deep betrayal: “Even my close friend whom I trusted, the one who shared my bread, has lifted his heel against me.”

The Marriage Celebration

In biblical times, the wedding feast would usually be held at the groom's or bride's father's home and might last as long as seven to fourteen days. After, the woman would leave the covering of her father's house to join her husband in the place he went away to prepare (remember Jesus’ words, “I go to prepare a place for you”). This is the picture we see when Jesus began His public ministry at the wedding in Cana (John 2:1-11).

Today, we still see communal meals used to celebrate weddings across most cultures. In fact, there may even be a cake-cutting moment near the end of the meal, where the bride and groom feed each other cake. This “I into you and you into me” symbol of oneness was originally a sacred, solemn moment. Unfortunately, as our cultural memory continues to fade, this weighty moment may be replaced with the tension of whether to smash the cake into each other’s faces.

The Bread of Life Explained (John 6:25-58)

Remember that hard, “eat my flesh and drink my blood” lesson Jesus throws out while teaching at a synagogue in Capernaum? Something along the lines of, “Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:54)? To Jews who were forbidden to drink blood (Leviticus 17:10-14), this lesson would have been scandalous. But by verse 56, Jesus makes His intention clear:

⁵⁶ “The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood resides in me, and I in him. ⁵⁷ Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so the one who consumes me will live because of me.”

We understand now: this is marriage language. But even if, as a first-century Jew, you understood what Jesus was saying, the level of intimacy He was proposing may have still shocked you—especially if your local synagogue wasn’t fully tracking with God’s desire for oneness with His people. (Not that this ever gets missed in our local churches today!)

Communion as Memorial

Jesus, as the Passover Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7), struck a covenant meal in the upper room and presented it as a memorial. If you’ve spent any time in the Church, you’ve likely heard this passage, repeated nearly every communion:

²³ “…The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, ²⁴ and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ ²⁵ In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ ²⁶ For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)

Alas, this is where most of us stop. Without understanding the covenantal participation we’re invited into, we can relegate communion (a.k.a. the Eucharist) to a simple memorial. Through communion, yes, we absolutely proclaim the Lord’s death until His Second Coming. But the word used for “remembrance” here is “anamnesis” (Strong’s 364), meaning “make present” or “remind”, as for declaration or covenant renewal. We are called to re-live our Lord’s covenant, to experience it. Communion is not just a Sunday reminder (“Oh yeah, thanks God”) but our marital “yes” to Christ in His covenantal invitation into oneness with Him (“I do”). We accept Him into ourselves and we offer Him all we are in return.

Paul doubles down on this oneness in his letter to the Corinthian church:

¹⁶ “Is not the cup of blessing that we bless a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? ¹⁷ Because there is one loaf, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one loaf.” (1 Corinthians 10:16-17; see also 1 Corinthians 6:17, “But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with Him in spirit.”)

Intermission

Every stage of ancient covenant-cutting—robes, names, blood, the shared table—has met its fulfillment in Christ. The wedding has been arranged; the dowry, paid. Now that we’ve established a firm foundation for covenantal and marital symbology across the Bible, what remains is Israel and the bride herself, New Jerusalem.

Footnotes

[1] Key Bible scholars who led in this discovery: George Mendenhall (1954) who first identified the parallels, and Meredith Kline who developed the theological implications most fully, particularly in his Treaty of the Great King (1963).

[2] See also in Moses 24, when Moses and Israel enter into agreement with God to obey His ordinances through sacrificing bulls and sprinkling blood. Jeremiah 34:18-22, “And those who have transgressed My covenant [...] I will treat like the calf they cut in two in order to pass between its pieces” speaking of Zedekiah and the leaders of Israel who turned back on their agreement to release their servants. Oath-binding rituals involving animal sacrifice as part of covenant-making are well documented across the ancient Near East where treaty ceremonies employed symbolic curses invoking the fate of the slain animals upon violators.

[3] The canopy used in modern Jewish weddings echoes the original bridal chamber, and the bride's veil carries the same theological symbolism of covering and transfer of protection. This concept of a woman being under a man's covering (כנף, kanaf) is also seen in Ruth 3:9 when Ruth asks Boaz to spread his covering over her. This is widely understood as a marriage proposal invoking covenant protection.

References

(See New Jerusalem, Part 2.)