And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave
them to Rebekah.
-Genesis 24:53a
An ancient custom of Israel required the groom give a
Mattan ("gift" in Hebrew) to his bride at the betrothal. This differs from the
Mohar, which is the groom's bridal payment to the bride's father and is an obligation of the law.
These voluntary gifts are an expression of his love for his bride and vary greatly depending on the prosperity of the groom. Biblical examples of this practice, such as Eliezer giving articles of silver, gold, and garments to Rebekah, and Shechem offering any
Mattan for Dinah, offers its official recognition in the marriage ceremony today.
Genesis 24:22 says, "And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten
shekels weight of gold."
Our bridegroom Yeshua also offers
Mattan to His bride. Some of the gifts He gives us are eternal life and peace. And, just as Shechem did, Yeshua offers anything we ask in His name. Of course, these gifts are given to us so that we may make ourselves ready for His return.
In Matthew 7:11 we read, "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?"
Other gifts the
Ruach HaKodesh (God's servant, the Holy Spirit) has given to Yeshua's bride are listed in 1 Corinthians 12:1, 8-10:
Now concerning spiritual
gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant... For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another
divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues.
For more information about the Who is the Bride, visit our website at
http://www.healwithoil.com or purchase a copy of Rebecca's book, Who is the Bride online at bookstores everywhere.
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