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♫ On the road again! ♫

Back on the next leg of our journey. Today, we’ll stroll along the path of betrothal and be joined by the ancient bride. We’ll learn how the betrothal of old applies to us today in our earthly marriage and our spiritual marriage.

~Hope you’ve been following along, but, in case you haven’t, please check the end of this post if you’d like to catch up on the previous journey stops.

*The bride of old...

When a young woman went through the process of being betrothed to a young man, she would participate in kiddushin with her husband-to-be. Kiddushin was (and still is) a very serious commitment.

The word kiddushin comes from the same root word as “holy” but has no English word equivalent. This process consecrates a man and woman to each other.

Being bound together by the Law, the couple was referred to as husband and wife, though the marriage covenant forbade them to live together physically. They pledged to remain holy in their covenant relationship, making a strict vow of purity and allegiance to each other.

If the bridegroom found any uncleanness in his bride, according to the Law, he had the option of putting her away, or divorcing her, which required a public performance. Only death or a public document had the power to end betrothal or the marriage itself. The bride or wife could never divorce her husband.

Just what constituted uncleanness sometimes became a matter of debate between the rabbis. Some even considered bad cooking a good reason.

*The bride of today...

How seriously do we take the wedding vows of our earthly marriage covenant? Are they just ceremonial words we stumble over in nervousness? Do we adhere to a holy relationship of strict purity?

According to the vows used in years past, each partner promised to love, honor, and cherish, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, cleaving only to each other, to have and to hold from this day forward, until death parted them. That is covenant language.

Today, it has become all too easy just to toss the marriage certificate of covenant in the garbage, especially for Christians. The divorce rate within the church is a disgraceful witness to the world.

Understandably, under certain conditions, divorce does occur, and although God’s forgiveness covers divorce, it is not His ultimate will for He hates divorce (Mal. 2:16a).

*The spiritual Bride...

Covenant is one of the most significant truths in God’s Word, laying a foundation for establishing our relationship with God as our provider, with Christ as our Bridegroom, with the Holy Spirit as our comforter, with our spouse in marriage, with each other in God’s family, and for understanding Scripture.

As our ancient, betrothed bride and groom were considered as one entity, the same truth exists when believers covenant themselves with Christ, for they become a part “of His body, of His flesh and of His bones,” (Eph. 5:30 NKJV) as a divine oneness.

As Paul said, “This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” (Eph 5:32 NKJV) The mystery, the secret? “And this is the secret: Christ lives in you.” (Col. 1:27b NLT)

Paul wrote to the Corinthians, telling them, “I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God Himself. I promised you as a pure bride to one husband—Christ.” (2 Cor. 11:2 NLT)

In our divine, covenant relationship, we vow to remain pure and holy. We vow to love, honor, and obey. When our Bridegroom finds uncleanness in us, He does not dismiss us with a certificate of divorce. The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin; then, we ask for forgiveness and are cleansed by the shed blood of Jesus, being restored to our state of purity.

Just as our earthly marriage makes no room for any additional partners, so our heavenly espousal allows no desire in our hearts to be a rival for our Bridegroom. A heart yoked together with the Bridegroom in a holy union—one undivided in its affection, giving Him its full allegiance, without infidelity, hypocrisy, or unbelief—is His desire for us, His Bride.

Scripture cautions us, “Shun (keep clear away from, avoid by flight if need be) any sort of idolatry (of loving or venerating anything more than God).” (1 Cor. 10:14 Amp) Anything! If anything is dearer to our hearts than the Lord, then, it is an idol and threatens our relationship with our heavenly Bridegroom.

As has been said, “If He is not the Lord of all, then He is not the Lord at all!” So then, “looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus,” (Heb. 12:2 Amp) we cleave only to the Bridegroom, saying as the Shulamite woman, “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine.” (SOS 6:3 NKJV)

We cherish our Bridegroom as our First Love, to have and to hold from this day forward, guarding our covenant of betrothal with Him.

“Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetualcovenant that shall not be forgotten.” (Jer. 50:5b Amp)

So ends today’s journey. Thanks for walking with me. Happy trails!



~If you did not read the reason for this monthly journey, you can read it here and the first step of the journey here. The second leg of the journey is here.

Linking up with...

“Hallowed be Your name.”(Matt. 6:9 NKJV and others)

(This is the second part of The Model Prayer series.)

Other versions of the above verse say...

* “May Your name always be kept holy.” New Living Translation
* “Help us to honor Your name.” Contemporary English Version
* “Uphold the holiness of Your name.” Common English Bible
* “Let Thy name be sanctified.” Darby Translation

The Greek word for holy means purify, consecrate, venerate, declare sacred, set apart, and sanctify.

What is so important about God’s Name?

Beginning in Genesis 1, the Creator of the universe is known as Elohim, which is plural, meaning supreme God or the Triune God, as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In Genesis 2:4, Jehovah Elohim is used. Jehovah means the Existing or Eternal One, or the Lord.

To reveal more of Himself, God said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh … I am Jehovah… I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty [El-Shaddai], but by My name the Lord [Yahweh—the redemptive name of God] I did not make Myself known to them [in acts and great miracles].” (Ex. 6:1a, 2b Masoretic Text, Ex. 6:3 Amp)

The mere mention of the name of another god on the lips of one of God’s people profaned His Name. God told Israel, “In all I have said to you take heed; do not mention the name of other gods [either in blessing or cursing]; do not let such speech be heard from your mouth.” (Ex. 23:13 Amp)

At one time, the title Baali was applied to God. However, during the reign of Ahab, his wife Jezebel promoted the proliferation of idolatry and commanded the slaying of Jehovah’s prophets. Consequently, Baali became associated with the worship rituals and practices of Baal and conveyed a sense of shame.

Because of this, God directed Hosea to change His name. He desired that Israel keep His name and His presence pure and holy.

He said, “And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shalt call Me Ishi; and shalt call Me no more Baali … For I will take away the names of the Baals out of her mouth; and they shall no more be remembered by their name … And I will betroth you to Me forever. Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in mercy, and in compassions. I will even betroth you to Me in faithfulness. And you shall know Jehovah.” (Hos. 2:16 KJV, Hos. 2:17, 19-20 MasT)

The use of the name Baali placed Israel in more of a subservient relationship with God as owner. Baali means my lord, but not in the sense we think of today. It was a title of respect and subservience.

Jehovah no longer wanted a relationship as a master or owner but as a Husband, betrothed to His people, that they would know Him intimately. He told Israel through Jeremiah, “Return, faithless people...for I am your Husband.” (Jer. 3:14 NIV)

In the third commandment, God said, “You shall not use or repeat the name of the Lord your God in vain [that is, lightly or frivolously, in false affirmations or profanely]; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.” (Ex. 20:7 Amp)

The same Hebrew word is used in the above verse for use, repeat, and takes and means to lift up, exalt, extol, regard, respect, receive, magnify, marry, and so on.

As believers in Jesus Christ, we are joined with Him through salvation, becoming a part “of His body, of His flesh and of His bones,” (Eph. 5:30 NKJV) as a divine oneness of being His Bride.

Would you say or do anything that is crude, immoral, or disrespectful to your spouse? To embarrass your spouse or speak against him/her in any way? Bring shame on his/her name?

What we say and do reflects on God’s Most Holy Name, on the name of our heavenly Bridegroom. On a scale of one to ten, how are you doing in keeping the Lord’s name holy? Is there room for improvement?

As the Lord told Moses, “You must not treat Me as common and ordinary. Revere Me and hallow Me, for I, the Lord, made you holy to Myself.” (Lev. 22:32 TLB)

~~Lord, help me to keep your precious Name holy!~~

Prayer.

Did you cringe or smile when you read that word? Do you spend enough time in prayer?

Whatever the amount of time each of us spends on our knees, it can always be improved.

Since our precious Lord gave us an example of how to pray, I thought I would take what has been dubbed The Lord’s Prayer, or as the New King James Version entitles it, The Model Prayer, and make it a series.

In Matthew 6:9-13, Jesus gives us the prototype, “Pray like this:

Our Father in heaven,
may Your name be kept holy.
May Your Kingdom come soon.
May Your will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven.
Give us today the food we need,
and forgive us our sins,
as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
And don’t let us yield to temptation,
but rescue us from the evil one.” (NLT)

Some manuscripts add, “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” I love that part!

Is prayer important? According to Jesus, it is. He spent a great deal of time on His knees. If He went to the garden, the hillside, or some other secluded place to spend time with His Father, how can we not think it is more important in our lives?

If God is our heavenly Father, how do we talk to Him? What tone do we use? Do we speak to Him...

* in respect, or disrespect, as we would our earthly father?
* in kind tones or in grumpiness?
* in belief of unbelief?
* in trust or in doubt?
* by shaking our fists at Him or raising our hands in praise?

Do we tell Him of our tender love for Him, or do we continually question Him as to why things are happening? Do we tell Him of our unreserved confidence in Him that He will always fulfill His promises? Do we praise Him for Who He is? Do we sit silently at His feet, just to be near Him?

Prayer is a private, exclusive audience with the King of heaven, spending time in His presence to worship Him and to love Him.

Prayer is like a child appealing to its father. Has your child ever crawled up in your lap just to snuggle with you because he or she loves you? Do you ever crawl up in the Father’s lap just to love on Him? He delights in that, just as you do.

Prayer is the development of our personal relationship with the Lord, as an intimate friend.

Prayer is communicating with the Lord, having an honest, heart-to-heart talk with Him. For this reason, prayer is a conversation, not a monologue! Conversing with Him implies listening to Him.

Prayer takes many forms, whether with many words, sitting silently, a look or glance of faith in the Lord’s direction, or on our faces on the floor, bawling into the carpet.

Though we have virtually perfected our horizontal conversations, we have seriously failed in our Vertical one. This spirit-converse can be found only when one retreats to that quiet place to listen for the intimate whisperings the Holy Spirit brings us from our Beloved Bridegroom.

David said of being in the Lord’s house, as only The Message can state it, “That’s the only quiet, secure place in a noisy world, the perfect getaway far from the buzz of traffic.” (Ps. 27:4) The frazzled racket of the world has deafened our ears to the whispers of heaven. If we don’t silence all the cacophony, we will never hear the voice of the Lord.

How important is prayer to us? “One day Jesus told His disciples a story to illustrate their need for constant prayer and to show them that they must keep praying until the answer comes.” (Luke 18:1 TLB)

~~Lord, may I sit at Your precious feet just to be with You and learn of You. Give me the strength to wait the timing of your answers.~~

“Rejoice greatly, O my people!
Shout with joy!
For look-your King is coming!
He is the Righteous One, the Victor!”
(Zech. 9:9 TLB)
Shepherds oversee their flocks in the field.

A blazing star illuminates an ebony sky.

A choir of angels bursts forth to announce a Divine Appearance, proclaiming, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:14 NKJV)

The veil of time rips.

The King of heaven bows low, entering earth’s time capsule.
A Child’s cry pervades the cool, night air with new life.
The Babe Jesus...dressed in a suit of humanity...arrives, just as Isaiah prophesied...

“For unto us a Child is born
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end.”
(Is. 9:6-7a NKJV)
As Mary exuded to Elizabeth, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.” (Luke 1:46-47 NKJV) Even though my surroundings and circumstances are not what I’d like them to be, my soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices for His coming as a Heavenly Visitor.

Is your soul magnifying the Lord and your spirit rejoicing this season? No matter what the circumstances?

Paul exhorts us, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” (Phil. 4:4 NKJV)

“Jehovah is King! Let all the earth rejoice!”
(Ps. 97:1 TLB)

~~Hope you enjoy this beautiful O Holy Night from Josh Groban~~



~~This post is part of...

* One Word at a Time Blog Carnival hosted on Peter Pollock's site. Check out the other entries on his site.

* ChristianWriters.com blog tour. Check out the other entries in the sidebar.~~

photo by Alex-Murphy at flickr.com
“Leave no [such] room or foothold for the devil [give no opportunity to him].” Eph. 4:27 Amplified
Don’t give a place for the enemy to make himself comfortable! In other words, don’t make a spare room available for him to bunk in, like Eliashib did for Tobiah during the time of Nehemiah.

As King Artaxerxes’ cupbearer, Nehemiah was more than just one who guarded against poison in the king’s cup. Being a cupbearer meant he was an officer of the household, a trusted servant, holding rank and importance. Often chosen for personal beauty, a cupbearer held a position of great influence and confidential nature, giving him frequent access to the royal presence.

When Nehemiah learned of the deplorable condition of Israel after their return from exile, he asked King Artaxerxes to allow him to repair the broken down walls and the burned out gates in Jerusalem. So, the king appointed him governor of Jerusalem and he went to rebuild.

At one point during the rebuilding of the wall, Nehemiah left to return to the king, but, while he was gone, something happened.

The high priest, Eliashib, who had authority over the storerooms in the temple and related to Tobiah, “prepared for [Tobiah] a large room, where previously they had stored the grain offerings, the frankincense, the articles, the tithes of grain, the new wine and oil, which were commanded to be given to the Levites and singers and gatekeepers, and the offerings for the priests.” (Neh. 13:5 NKJV)

Just as God’s people made a golden calf while Moses was away, so the substitution of the unholy for the holy took place while Nehemiah was away.

Eliashib (meaning ‘God will restore’) veered from his consecrated position and scooted up close to one who had ties with the enemy. His relationship of being an in-law of Tobiah (Eliashib’s grandson had been allowed to marry Tobiah’s daughter, Neh. 13:28) was enhanced by his willingness to provide a place for evil to reside.

More than just being chummy, Eliashib allowed himself to be allied with the wrong companion.

Upon Nehemiah’s return to Jerusalem, he discovered the evil Eliashib had done, and he said, “I was furious and threw out all of Tobiah’s belongings. I gave orders for the rooms to be ritually purified and for the Temple equipment, grain offerings, and incense to be put back.” (Neh. 13:8-9 GNB)

When the walls of your life start to crumble around you, do you allow, like Eliashib, a comfy spot for the enemy and his spiritual robbers to sneak in and remove all the holy things? Do you align yourself with the wrong companions?

The enemy has no access unless we answer the door when he comes calling. Once he gets his foot in the door, he welcomes all his negative, destructive relatives: Sister Unbelief, Brother Cowardice, Grandpa Doubt, and Aunt Despair.

Or do you do like Nehemiah and throw out the unholiness, purify your temple, put back the holy things, and secure those walls that have broken down?

“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” (Prov. 4:23 NIV)

Something has been bugging me. Well, out of the many things, I’ve been wondering about the lack of our ability to blush. Because I care about my brothers and sisters in Christ, I am very concerned about our sensitivity to sin.

When was the last time you saw anyone blush? When was the last time you blushed? I don’t remember the last time I blushed.

Ezra blushed. What caused the blood to rush to his face, giving him that crimson glow? In his remorse at the intermarriages of Israel’s priests and Levites with the surrounding Ites, he lamented, “O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to You, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads and our guilt has mounted to the heavens.” (Ezra 9:6 Amp) Our iniquities, he said, not theirs.

But do we blush when we act in opposition to God’s Word? When we sin, do we grieve over what we have done, as James exhorts us, “Be deeply penitent and grieve, even weep [over your disloyalty]. Let your laughter be turned to grief and your mirth to dejection and heartfelt shame [for your sins].” (James 4:9 Amp)

After committing a sin, are we in anguish only that we got caught and have to face the consequences or that we have wounded the heart of the Father?

Are we ashamed before the holy God of the universe? Unfortunately, we have become so desensitized to unholiness that sin does not bother us much anymore and we act like the Israelites. God said of them to Jeremiah, “Are they ashamed when they do these disgusting things? No, not at all - they don’t even blush!” (Jer. 6:15 NLT)

Do we ever weep over our sins? David grieved over his sin, saying, “For I will declare my iniquity; I will be in anguish over my sin.” (Ps. 38:18 NKJV) He loved God and knew that, if sin remained in his heart, it would offend God and cut off his fellowship with Him. Therefore, he asked God, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” (Ps. 139:23-24 NLT)

Out of our deep love for the Lord and knowing what displeases Him, do we strive to remain so close to Him that any interference, any sin that separates us from Him, is automatically repulsive and avoided? Obeying God has better results than sinning!

But what about those “little sins”? To God, sin is sin, no one sin is considered bigger than another sin. However, we sometimes have it stuck in our finite minds that God has a blind spot when it comes to what we consider little sins. I think it’s the pile-up of the little sins that desensitizes our spirits.

We think little is okay, like nibbling on the forbidden fruit of a little cheating, a little white lie, a little stealing of pens or paper from the company or altering our time cards, a little flirting at work, a little dirty joke, a little gossip, a little peeking at this or winking at that.

We say to ourselves, “I’m not causing any harm. It’s just a little thing.” Or, “Just this once won’t hurt anybody.” Wanna bet? Look what happened because of sin’s one-time nibble in the garden; it spread condemnation to the whole world!

Just one bowing down to lust can ruin a life - or lives - forever. Just one night of sin can result in divorce, AIDS, pregnancy, drunk driving, or the death of a human life. Just one instance of gossip or confidence shared can sometimes rip apart long-time friendships or an entire family.

When we have Godly sorrow for sin, it “brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret.” (2 Cor. 7:10a NIV) Do we say to the Father, “I am deeply sorry for what I have done”? (Ps. 38:18 NLT)

But how long does it take you to confess a sin? Thirty seconds? Thirty minutes? Thirty days? Thirty years? The moment you know you have done something against God’s Word, do you confess it only to rush out the door to do it again?

Because David desired to be rid of those sins prowling around in his heart that might escape his attention, he said to God, “But how can I ever know what sins are lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults.” (Ps. 19:12 TLB)

However, he also wanted to be rid of his willful sins, for he said, “Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression.” (Ps. 19:13 NIV)

If we do not vigilantly guard our hearts against the tactics of the enemy, we leave ourselves wide open to all his assaults. To avoid this, Peter warns us, “Be on your guard and stay awake. Your enemy, the devil, is like a roaring lion, sneaking around to find someone to attack.” (1 Peter 5:8 CEV)

Do you make yourself lion-bait by flirting around the fringe of the forbidden, causing impure thoughts, immoral desires, or inappropriate actions? Sin’s desire is to take you, to possess you, to gobble you up, bit by bit. The hollowness of hell’s hunger hankers to be filled with God’s dainty morsels - His children! If you hear its stomach growl, watch out!

Live in such a way that no blush ever tints your face!