I am finally done reading through the book of Zechariah. I don't know why that particular minor prophet was so difficult for me to get through...I just wasn't really as interested in that one as in the other minor prophets I have been making my way through.This morning I began reading in the book of Hosea. Now this book I like! For some reason it is more interesting to me. Then again, I have read through much of it in the past. Maybe it is because I am more familiar with what Hosea is all about. Here are 2 verses I was mulling over during breakfast and on the way to work:
"I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice, in lovingkindness and mercy; I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. And you shall know the Lord."I did some research this evening (I am writing this on Monday evening after a morning of working in the classroom, shopping, overseeing homework, housework, helping my oldest finish decorating outdoors, cooking dinner, etc. etc. I am finally enjoying a mug of steaming hot wild mountain blueberry coffee and sitting down to write!)...anyways, the research I did told me that a betrothal, historically, was a formal contract. It was blessed by a religious person of authority. It was a binding, as marriage....in order to terminate a betrothal, one had to obtain a divorce. If a couple was betrothed, they were looked upon as legally husband and wife! Before the wedding!!
Hosea 2: 19 & 20
Wow! God will betroth us to Him. FOREVER!!
Wow...in our culture, we don't even use the word "betrothed" any longer. We use the word "engaged" and we definitely don't look upon our selves as husband and wife until the actual wedding day!
This has some parallels to what Hosea heard from the Lord regarding betrothal.
We are betrothed to God.....if we are one of His....
Notice how the word is used three times! This shows the intensity of the message. It has also been explained that by using the word three times here, it signifies the Trinity: God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
We are, essentially, married to God when we become one with Him. But...the wedding hasn't even taken place yet, has it?? That will come when Jesus returns to this earth. (at least that is what I have been taught). How awesome that we can be intimate with our God....and the best is yet to come!
These verses also show me that even though we are just small creatures compared to Almighty God, He considers us to be precious. He is everlastingly compassionate and faithful. His mercies are new every morning. He extends mercy and grace to us even when we do not deserve it! He loves us with an everlasting love! No marriage on this earth between 2 humans can really say that. Yes, many of us are committed for life to our marriage....by the grace of God some of us have a lasting marriage....but....do we love unconditionally? Sadly, no. None of us do. We strive for it...but....none of us are perfect. Only God is our perfect bridegroom.......and someday we will be made perfect in Him. But now here. Not now.
When we became Christians, there was a longing to spend time with our Savior, wasn't there? We were in the Word, praying daily, communing with our Lord....building a relationship with Him. This is similar to what we do when we begin dating, isn't it? We want to spend time with the person. We speak daily. We think on them. And even more so once we are engaged (betrothed!). We have no doubts about our relationship at that point of engagement. Oh how it is with our Savior. We long to spend time with Him, getting to know Him. There is no doubt about His Presence in our lives.
He has chosen us and wants us to know Him intimately. How important that is to Him.
God assures us that He has a place and a plan for us. He has a purpose for us.
And we can have the confidence that we are His!
Forever.
6 comments:
i love very much the Zachariah (in romanian laguage )book , too .Especialy in this season to remember the real moments when our LORD came to us , He came for us to show the true love .
HE is my air without HIS love i cant breath ,
sweet blessings ,
Violeta
What a great and precious promise! Very much comfort in that scripture. I have to admit I have never sat and read through Zechariah beginning to end. But I love the Hosea story too.
Thanks for this reminder, Faith! Thanks also for dropping by my blog. Elnathan is now 7 months old. It is great to hear you are teaching your daughter household management skills - I am sure she will thank you one day!
Sherrin: lol...I am HOPING she'll thank me one day...she sure is kicking against it now though...Methinks she thinks we need a maid (it's tempting but...SUCH a waste of money when I can clean with my children....it's all part of the training process!!)
Susanne: thanks for stopping by! I'll be over to read yours soon and do the random dozen.
Violeta: thanks for stopping by again!
I love this topic! Forgive me, I have a lot to say. And finally, I have some time...
The marriage relationship is deeply symbolic of profound spiritual realities. As you know, Paul talks about marriage as a "mystery," and as a reflection of Christ's relationship to the Church.
Here's how I see it...
According to Scripture, Words are seeds. The Bible also says that all of life is built upon the seed principle. So, just as a wife is "indwelt" by her husband's "seed" in the bedroom and brings forth life (a child), so believers are "indwelt" by the Word of God (seed) to bring forth new life (resurrection of their bodies).
You're right... the idea of betrothal or engagement in OT Jewish wedding customs was different than it is today. In OT times there were two parts: the betrothal/engagement was public and binding, and dissolvable only by divorce. (Can you imagine?) The delay between betrothal and the wedding gave the groom time to prepare a home for his bride--usually built alongside his father's house. This makes sense, because without birth control, children followed after sex almost immediately, and some sort of secure "nest" would be needed right away.
The Jewish wedding itself was more like a party or celebration of the previous public promises made between a couple. (eg. the wedding at Cana.) That's also when sex took place between the couple for the first time.
Jewish wedding customs were definitely at the forefront of Jesus' mind in his teachings about the Kingdom of God. Read it carefully, and you'll see that the Last Supper--among other things-- was His formal betrothal to all believers. He also promised to prepare a place for us in the future, much like an OT Jewish groom would. So we can think of Jesus' First Coming, as his promise of fidelity to his Bride, the Church.
We can look forward to the consummation of our betrothal to Jesus at his Second Coming. Jesus promises a bodily resurrection for all believers, and also perfection in holiness. Sounds stunning, and I can't wait!
In talking about the timeline of establishing the Kingdom of God on earth, some theologians use this phrase: "already/but not yet." In other words, we already lay claim to some of the promises, but we have not yet laid hold of all of them. To me, this phrase is certainly reminiscent of the two-phase wedding customs of the OT Jews.
I wrote about this topic in depth at Chrysalis in '07--I think before I knew you. I hope you'll take a look at this post, as it explains some of the things I've touched on above, but in greater detail. (example: paying the bride price.)
Thanks for letting me chat on... and for stimulating some good thought with your wonderful post.
Suffice to say, I'm jumping up and down singing "Hallelujah" with you!
Have a wonderful weekend, Faith.
(((Hugs)))
WOW e mom! thank you for all of this...you are so knowledgable. i MUST get back to participating in the marriage monday posts....will there be one for january, after the holidays? TThis info is so good!!!!
blessings to you and hugs!!!
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