The Wedding Invitation

There is a part in the Bible that I really love, I'll share the verses below and then we'll talk about it a little bit, we'll use it as a segway into the greater introduction, which is The Wedding Invitation, by the way, thanks for stopping by.

1 Chronicles 15:25 (KJV)  So David, and the elders of Israel, and the captains over thousands, went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the house of Obededom with joy.

The beginning of this endeavor has the background of JOY, which is very important, the following verse is very telling of the atmosphere at that moment:

1 Chronicles 15:28 (KJV)  Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with shouting, and with sound of the cornet, and with trumpets, and with cymbals, making a noise with psalteries and harps.

1 Chronicles 16:1-4 (KJV)  So they brought the ark of God, and set it in the midst of the tent that David had pitched for it: and they offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings before God. And when David had made an end of offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD. And he dealt to every one of Israel, both man and woman, to every one a loaf of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine. And he appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of the LORD, and to record, and to thank and praise the LORD God of Israel:

The blessing of the Lord, a loaf of bread, a good piece of flesh and a flagon of wine, what a joyful time must have that time been, and it is also a joy that we're able to read it and know what took place many, many years ago, almost as if the Lord wanted us to partake of such wonderful joy!

King David then proceeds with this Psalm to thank and praise the Lord:

Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works. Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD. Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually. Remember his marvellous works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth; O ye seed of Israel his servant, ye children of Jacob, his chosen ones. He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth. Be ye mindful always of his covenant; the word which he commanded to a thousand generations; Even of the covenant which he made with Abraham, and of his oath unto Isaac; And hath confirmed the same to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant, Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance; When ye were but few, even a few, and strangers in it. And when they went from nation to nation, and from one kingdom to another people; He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes, Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm. Sing unto the LORD, all the earth; shew forth from day to day his salvation. Declare his glory among the heathen; his marvellous works among all nations. For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the people are idols: but the LORD made the heavens. Glory and honour are in his presence; strength and gladness are in his place. Give unto the LORD, ye kindreds of the people, give unto the LORD glory and strength. Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. Fear before him, all the earth: the world also shall be stable, that it be not moved. Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice: and let men say among the nations, The LORD reigneth. Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof: let the fields rejoice, and all that is therein. Then shall the trees of the wood sing out at the presence of the LORD, because he cometh to judge the earth. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever. And say ye, Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather us together, and deliver us from the heathen, that we may give thanks to thy holy name, and glory in thy praise. Blessed be the LORD God of Israel for ever and ever. And all the people said, Amen, and praised the LORD.

1 Chronicles 16:8-36 (KJV) 

Amen!

All Glory and Power and Blessing unto
the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

It was a very beautiful moment in the Old Testament, but the celebration is far from over, and today you and I are invited to the greatest Wedding Banquet; God has it all prepared and ready, all we have to do is RSVP, how do we do that?  Basically by believing and obeying King Jesus, we don't have to go far to see an example of what our response should be, simply scroll up and read the moments of joyfulness King David and his people partook of when bringing the Ark of God back; but lets unpack the insights of this invitation given to us, where does this invitation begin?

The invitation begins with the very first verse of the Old Testament, "In the beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth." How so?  It was the beginning of God revealing His word to us, He didn't have to do so, be He chose to do so, this part is somewhat of a mystery, but I believe the essence is in whom He is, God is love!  It is the invitation towards mankind, to welcome God in our midst, to embrace His ways, which are Love, Truth, Righteousness, Mercy, Grace, etc.  These are elements that make up a marriage, God wants to dwell among men, and we were given a glimpse of this in the life of the Lord Jesus:

John 1:14 (KJV)  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

And we beheld His glory!  What a wonderful thing, in like manner, God is inviting us through King Jesus to partake of the Wedding Banquet He has prepared for His Son, King Jesus is marrying the Church, let's take a look how King Jesus shares God's will with us through a parable:

The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests. And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen.

Matthew 22:2-14 (KJV) 

How can we say no to such wonderful invitation, God has prepared it all, all we have to do is say Yes, of course the parable goes into being ready just like you would for a weeding, your garments ought to be worthy of a wedding, so how can we accomplish that?  The answer is found in John 17:17

John 17:17 (KJV)  Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

This implies that we need to read God's Word in the Bible, in particular the New Testament, within it we'll find instructions on how to live life, there are verses that imply for us to dress with humility, these are the garments, when we praise the Lord, we're dressed with a garment, for instance the following verse, for which there's a very joyful song:

https://www.davidinglesmusic.org/listen-to-music
Look for Garment of Praise

Isaiah 61:3 (KJV)  To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

So this Weeding Invitation parallels King David's celebration on bring the Ark of God back, King Jesus likewise will bring the Church in the Ark of God, which is King Jesus Himself, and what a joyful time that will be, more joyful than receiving bread, meat and wine, and even greater than the blessing, will that moment be, because we will be receiving the giver of the blessing, King Jesus and we'll be able to behold His Glory!  We need to be excited about that time, because how can we not be excited!!??

So the invitation is in place for you and I, yes you've been given this invitation as well, to the Jew and to the Gentile, and that covers the whole wide world, there's no excuse, if you are able to read the Bible or hear God's Word, and believe it, you are partaking of this beautiful invitation, we all look forward to vacation time, and many of our choices are based on that expectation, and so it should be with the Wedding Banquet to which we are all invited, let us be dressed well, let us be hopeful and joyful, but most of all, let us be ready not just because of the reward, but let us also be ready in the way the Lord Jesus wants us to be ready, and for this I would invite you to read the following article:

How to be ready
Which I wrote recently (11/1/2025), for the purpose of understanding what it means to be ready for the Lord's return.

Thank you for reading, God bless you!