High Priest Must be Married

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How, and why, does the marriage qualify him to enter the Holy of Holies?

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Marriage Requirement for Priest

http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/7689-high-priest

Leviticus 21

The high priest must be married, and "should only marry a virgin"

13 And he shall take a wife in her virginity.

14 A widow, or one divorced, or a profaned woman, or a harlot, these shall he not take; but a virgin of his own people shall he take to wife.

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Jewish wedding takes place in 2 stages:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_wedding

Technically, the Jewish wedding process has two distinct stages:

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[1] kiddushin (sanctification or dedication, also called erusin, betrothal in Hebrew) and nissuin (marriage), when the couple start their life together.

The first stage prohibits the woman to all other men, requiring a religious divorce (Get) to dissolve, and

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the final stage permits the couple to each other. The ceremony that accomplishes nisuin is known as chuppah.[2]

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Before the wedding ceremony, the ketubah, or marriage contract, is signed in the presence of two witnesses.[4]

The ketubah details the husband’s obligations to his wife, among which are food, clothing, and marital relations.

This document has the standing of a legally binding agreement. It is often written as an illuminated manuscript that is framed and displayed in their home.[5]

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Under the chuppa, it is traditional to read the signed ketubah aloud, usually in the Aramaic original, but sometimes in translation.

Traditionally, this is done to separate the two basic parts of the wedding.[6]

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Why marriage is needed

According to Jewish thought, the Cohen HaGadol had to have the divine presence in his life, and be able to share this divine presence with others.

There are two great commandments:

Love God

Love others

So the High priest could not come before the Lord God unless he was married, and carried both the love of God and others with him.

He fulfilled the love of others by loving a wife.

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Jesus / Yahshua did not enter the holy of holies while on this earth

There is no record of him interceding for His people before He came to earth either.

This is because he was “single.”

He was not married yet.

Only when he died, did he give birth to his Bride, the church.

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To have a Bride, she had to be pure, sinless, like a virgin.

But the Bride Israel had sin, and had to be purified and sanctified.

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So he had to die to have her sins covered with his holy blood, so he could have a pure wife before appearing before the Father.

Once he had His Bride purified and sanctified, He was then able to enter the Holy of Holies in heaven, and intercede for her.

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Stage One and Two

Yahshua accomplished stage one of the marriage.

The Father and the Holy Spirit were the two witnesses to his marriage contract.

He sanctified his bride, and made the promises to provide for her.

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The marriage supper of the Lamb will consummate this marriage in heaven for Stage Two.

His Bride now awaits the consummation!

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