On 26th March 2023, I will have been married to My Beloved for 35 years. Marriage was the first institute ordained by God, and is to be the closest and most intimate relationship that a man and woman can experience. It is a demonstration of the relationship that Jesus Christ wants with His church.
We hear so much and understand so well the concept of God as our loving heavenly Father, but sometimes we need to pause and consider that God the Son is our heavenly bridegroom. The Jewish tradition of betrothal and marriage are so different to our modern-day engagement and wedding, so to fully understand all the wonders of what it means to have Jesus as our heavenly bridegroom, we need to understand the culture of the times the New Testament was written.
When a man found a woman that he wanted to marry, he entered into a negotiation with her father. This usually involved a bride price. Many would find that idea extremely distasteful as it would seem that the father was selling his daughter. But that was not the original intent. The bride price was a test of the man’s commitment towards his future bride. Was he willing to show that he would work hard to earn this amount, and sacrifice his hard-earned cash for the sake of the one he loved? Was his desire just a passing fancy, that would last a few weeks or months, but wasn’t worth the effort of continual self- sacrifice over a period of time? We see in Geneses 29:18 that Jacob loved Rachel so much that he was prepared to work for 7 years without any pay, for her father, to purchase her for his wife. In today’s money that would be approximately £175,000 for an ordinary working man. Seven years of working hard in a manual job without anything other than food and board to gain the one he loved. How precious Rachel was to him, and how much he was willing to sacrifice to gain her for his wife. Equally, how much did Rachel love and admire the man who was willing to give so much for her to become his bride.
The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 7:23 that we “were bought with a price”. Jesus did not purchase his bride with silver or gold, but with something far more precious: his own human blood. He died to pay the bride price. To redeem us from the bondage that sin brought into the world He shed every last drop of His blood. He gave His life to make us His bride. Jesus gave us something far more precious than an engagement ring, He gave us a cross. That’s how much He loves and is committed to His bride.
The hymn The Church’s One Foundation expresses His devotion to His bride so beautifully:
From heaven he came and sought her
To be his holy bride
With his own blood he bought her
And for her life he died.
Christian, you have been sought and bought. What a precious position to be in. What eternal love we are loved with. Let us love Him more and more each day.
