Your Wedding Clothes

Shalom dear children,

Our Messiah Yeshua tells a story about the Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of Adonai. You will find it in In Matthew 22. We are now in the last month of the Jewish year: Elul. In Judaism this month Elul is a month to be aware of the wrong things in our lives. Then with Rosh HaShanah and the 9 days after we think about our mistakes. That includes this story (parable, midrash).

Well, of course, a kingdom comes with a king. Well, there is indeed a king in that story. He threw a big feast because his son was getting married! And as is the case at a wedding, many guests were invited, delicious food was prepared and perhaps there were also streamers and music. But what do you think? The people who were invited did not want to come! So what did the king do.

He let his servants take to the streets, even out of town, and they invited all kinds of people. And those people did come. But when the feast had begun and the king entered, he saw a man who was not wearing fine clothes for the wedding. The king asked, “How is it that you are not wearing wedding clothes?” The man was unable to say anything, so the king dismissed the man.

In the Kingdom of Gd, Adonai is the King. He wants us to obey his rules. He has entrusted and given them to us. They are in our Bible. So that we will make the right choice in our life. Grown-ups and children keep playing tricks and naughty things that Adonai doesn’t want because they harm us. We can’t get to the wedding feast like that. The guests who refused to come did not consider the invitation of the king very important. They did not see that they were doing wrong (you call that a sinner).

They thought they didn’t need Adonai. A sinner is someone who is unfair and bullying other people. And who does not see or does not want to know that he or she is doing those wrong things. He or she wants to go his own way and do all the things he or she wants to do so badly. Like all those Roman guys. We don’t want to be like that. We want to be like the common people, all those Jewish people and other neighbors who do worship the King.

Yeshua came to earth to die for those bad things we do. So it’s very important that we think about the bad things we’ve done and say it honestly to Adonai and others. And don’t do them again. Yeshua always understands us, even when we are in pain or when we are sad or afraid or alone. He came to live on the earth. He was human like you and me. He felt what you and I feel.

But he had to die for all the wrong things. This is the only way to get things right between Adonai and us. We want to be thankful that Adonai gives us a chance to be eternally safe with Him. Like a safe coat, a beautiful wedding garment. Our Jewish prophet Isaiah (Isaiahoe) has explained something about this. Take a look at Isaiah 61:

I am very happy and it is because of Adonai.
My soul rejoices through my Gd.
Because He has given me clothes that you wear on your liberation day.
He has put the mantle of righteousness around me,
just like a groom
and as a bride
that are decorated with beautiful clothes.

You may belong to Yeshua. You can trust him. He has the right thing for you. If you want to be with him and trust him, he’ll put those nice clothes on so you can come to the wedding feast. Sometimes people still have to practice a bit, also to trust. And that’s why Adonai gives us the feasts. This fall these three:
1. Training our ears to hear his call when we hear the trumpet honk on Rosh HaShanah, Feast of the Shofar.
2. Training our hearts to trust that Adonai will forgive our tricks, our bullying, and falsehood when we are honest about them, ask for forgiveness, and try our best not to do them again. And then we become friend and friend of Gd in heaven and Yeshua, with Yom Kippur, Day of Atonement.
3. Our whole being exercise in the covering of the booth, on Sukkot, Feast of Tabernacles.

Be honest, feast on the honey, blow the shofar and enjoy the cozy sukkah, the natural hut.

I wish you wonderful Fall Feasts!
Miss Anne