recently i feel i been picking up on what i suspect might be a major theme in the scriptures, so i wanted to make a topic where i can organise and share my thoughts on it.
and perhaps highly pertinent to the last days - which is why many prophets particularly Isaiah go on and on at such length on the topic..
so i wanted to make a thread trying to organise my thougjts on the subject. the broader marriage`feast trope seems to include a few various essential components. gonna colour-code these throughout the post so as to make it easier to see where they come up in the various scriptures I'll be using:
Component 1: Sex/Romance , Flirtatiousness, Kissing, and in the most extreme iterations, even Orgies
Component 2: Food & Drink [usually meat and wine, respectively], including in a celebratory, recreational and perhaps even Sacramental context..
Component 3: Music, Singing, Dancing, and Celebration / Merry-making
But the main idea seems to = covenant-marriage between a deity, and a people-group.
Exodus 32 (false feast to golden calf)
And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!”
When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.”
And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play
And the LORD said to Moses, “Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves"...
.. When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.”
But he said, “It is not the sound of shouting for victory, or the sound of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing that I hear.”
"..And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play..."
"Eating and Drinking" is a general biblical phrase and basically an idiom
meaning the enjoying food, drink and other pleasures, and often in a celebratory, recreational and festive manner.
This is what Jesus meant saying that John the Baptist came "neither eating nor drinking", not meaning that he literally never ate food or drank to sustain himself - but rather that he funxtioned in an ascetic, set-apart role of a strictly-modest diet and overall pleasure-less, un-festive lifestyle, in stark contrast with those who would feast on meat, and get buzzed on drink - the polar opposite of a "glutton and winebibber".
"And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.."
Now, in regards to that phrase "rose up to play..."
(Berean)And the people sat down to eat and drink, and got up to indulge in revelry.
(NASB)
and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and got up to engage in lewd behavior.
Like the phrase "eating and drinking" (and somewhat overlapping w/ it..), so does the word "play" likewise have a range of connotations and associations.
Its often celebratory in context, for festive ovcasions (such as ritual feasts, or military victory &c.). It can apply in both a romantic/sexual context, or in a merely platonic one:
- Gen`26 (romantic context)
When the men of the place asked Isaac about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” for he feared to say, “My wife,” thinking, “lest the men of the place should kill me because of Rebekah,” because she was attractive in appearance.
When he had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw Isaac playing with Rebekah his wife.
So Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Behold, she is your wife. How then could you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac said to him, “Because I thought, ‘Lest I die because of her.’”
- Zech`8 (platonic context)
Thus says the LORD of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age.
And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets.
- 1‘Chr`13 (platonic context)
And David and all Israel were playing before God with all their might, with song and lyres and harps and tambourines and cymbals and trumpets.
I've gone into detail elsewhere on how the sins of the Pre-Flood sinners is somehow closely associated with the Golden Calf sin of the Israelites:
Spoiler
abijah` wrote: ↑November 12th, 2021, 2:38 pm Also, you gotta take into account the context from where this verse comes from (Exodus 32). The usage of the verb "nacham" and its association with "Noah" (and his connected Flood narrative) is likely highly deliberate, and I'll show why that is.
Whats going on in Exodus 32? The Israelites making their own god, the golden calf.
Why was the golden calf thing so serious? They are literally consecrating and consuming a false sacraments, and holding a
false marriage-feast / false bridegroom`ceremony.
Which is... the exact same sinful behaviour of the rebels in the days of Noah:
- Matthew 24
For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark
and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
The word "God repented" ("nacham", i.e "Noah") in Exodus 32 is very likely being used here specifically to link the golden`calf-sin, the the sin of the antediluvians: false sacraments, and false marriage`ceremonies, as we see in the text:
- Exodus 32
And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!”
When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.”
And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play... [the word "play", it basically means like how we in modern times would say "they rose up to party". It carries the connotation of 1) "eating and drinking", unbridled food/meat consumption and wine-imbibing, 2) sexual, sometimes even orgiastic behaviour, which is why some translations render this phrase "rioting and reveling", 3) music-playing, and celebratory dancing, which are core components of the archetypal marriage-feast (specifically a cosmic marriage between a people-group and a deity, be it the true god YHWH, or some other, false god..), something Isaiah addresses all the time, portraying the LORD as basically being the cosmic-scale party-pooper, the wet blanket on the music and celebrations of the wicked, the "rain" that comes down on their "parade" -- literally, in the case of Noah's day This is why Nephi was so disturbed by the partying, music and dancing of Laman and Lemuel whilst out on the waters, wherein the Leviathan -- again, same hebrew term - "plays"...]
...And the LORD said to Moses, “Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves"...
.. When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.”
But he said, “It is not the sound of shouting for victory, or the sound of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing that I hear.”
The language used in Exodus 32 is deliberately and intentionally reminiscent of the language used in Noah's Flood narrative. They are committing the sin of those whom God wiped out when He withdrew the cosmic waters (both above and beneath the earth) which He had been containing since the Creation account when He separated them and, holding the chaos`waters at bay by the word of His power) resulting in them destroying all the rebellious party-animals, false sacrament-consumers, and engaging in covenant-marriage with a false deity instead of the true God YHWH.
This is more or less equivalent with those who "eat" and "drink" the Sacrament unworthily -- which is why the scriptures take this particular sin so serious --->
- 3 Nephi 18
29 For whoso eateth and drinketh my flesh and blood unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to his soul; therefore if ye know that a man is unworthy to eat and drink of my flesh and blood ye shall forbid him.
With all that considered, I find this explanation of antediluvian behaviour by Jesus to be particularly illuminating...
Matthew 24 (antediluvian party animals)
For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark.
^They were having false marriage feasts. False sacramental celebration - idolatrous hieros-gamos rituals between "sons of God" (false Jesus-es) and "daughters of men" (false Marys, and false Zions..), creating a blasphemous, cosmic-scale-cringe perversion of the true Christ, the true Bridegroom and the true Son of God.
additional scriptural examples of this theme being manifested --->
- Isaiah 5
Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may run after strong drink, who tarry late into the evening as wine inflames them!
They have lyre and harp, tambourine and flute and wine at their feasts, but they do not regard the deeds of the LORD, or see the work of his hands.
- Isaiah 24
The earth lies defiled under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant...
The wine mourns, the vine languishes, all the merry-hearted sigh.
The mirth of the tambourines is stilled, the noise of the jubilant has ceased, the mirth of the lyre is stilled.
No more do they drink wine with singing; strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
- Matthew 11
'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.'
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’
The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’
- Numbers 25 (feasting to false gods, sleeping w/ foreign women)
While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab[/u].
These invited the people to eat the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods.
So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel.
- Luke 15 (Return of prodigal son)
And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.
And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet.
And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate.
For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.
“Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.
And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant.
And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’
But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him,
but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends.
But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’
And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.
It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”
- 1 Peter 4
For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry.