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Thousands of years ago, the Hebrews observed a betrothal of marriage custom that consisted of twelve steps. Much of this custom is still observed today.

According to the custom, a Hebrew father almost always chose the woman to be betrothed to his son. Only rarely did the parents allow their children to make their own choices.

After all the betrothal steps had been completed, the Law legally bound the man and woman together and regarded them as husband and wife, as one entity. Though considered married, the covenant forbade them to live together physically.

Most betrothal periods lasted about one year, as the bridegroom would leave to build a home for his bride. Before he departed to begin his project, the bridegroom made a statement to his bride: “I go to prepare a place for you; if I go, I will return again unto you.”

Throughout their relationship, they were entirely devoted to one another, even though distance separated them. Their commitment to each other was based on covenant and was not to be broken.

When the bridegroom was finished building the home, he still could not leave to snatch away his bride. He never knew the day or hour for he had to wait until his father gave his approval and said it was time to go. Then, the bridegroom would gather his friends and go get his bride, arriving around midnight, unannounced. The bride never knew the day nor the hour of his arrival and had to be ready at all times.

Throughout the Bible, God relates to His people in a closeness of companionship so intimate that He compares it to a marriage relationship. In the book of Isaiah, He said, “For your Maker is your Husband.” (Is. 54:5 NKJV)

As the father, in the tradition, arranged the marriage for his son, God the Father arranged the marriage between His Son and the church as the Bride.

Just as the Hebrew couple was considered as one unit, the same truth exists when believers accept Christ’s proposal, receiving Him as their Savior, for they become a part “of His body, of His flesh and of His bones,” (Eph. 5:30b 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? “For this is the secret: Christ lives in you.” (Col. 1:27b NLT)

Even though the Father has chosen her, the Bride comes of her own free will, accepting the Bridegroom’s proposal and choosing to be betrothed to Christ - or not. If she accepts and says, “I do,” she is, as Paul said, “‘married,’ so to speak, to the One Who rose from the dead.” (Rom. 7:4b TLB)

When Christ died, He departed as the heavenly Bridegroom to prepare a dwelling place for His precious Bride. On the night before His crucifixion, Jesus essentially spoke the bridegroom’s statement to the disciples, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:2b-3 NKJV)

The Son knows not the day nor the hour of His return, as only the Father knows the time for the Son’s return for His precious Bride. As Jesus said, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” (Matt. 24:36 NKJV)

Neither does the Church Bride know the day nor the hour of her Beloved Bridegroom’s return for her, so she must be prepared at all times.

If Jesus died that His Bride might be without spot or wrinkle or any other defect, then, as part of the Bride, how will you be dressed when the heavenly Bridegroom arrives? Will you have a mopey face, hair covered in the ashes of doubt and worry, breath smelling of negative words, and wear a ratty old wedding gown of self-pity, ripped and stained, full of the filth of the world?

Or will you be “a bride beautifully dressed for her husband” (Rev. 21:2b NIV) adorned with a smile on your face, joy in your heart, songs of worship and praise on your lips, dressed in a pure, white garment of salvation and righteousness, and crowned with the gift of the Bridegroom?

The Bridegroom is coming soon for His Bride. Have you made sure that you are in a holy covenant of betrothal with Him? While He’s away, are you totally devoted to Him? If you knew tomorrow was your last day on earth, would it affect your behavior today?

Are you ready for His return? Are you, as they say, good to go?

“God blesses those whose hearts are pure,for they will see God.”Matt 5:8 NLT
“Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (1 John 3:2-3 NIV)

In Greek, ‘pure’ is defined as clean, clear, pure as cleansed, free from impure admixture, without blemish, and spotless.

Some of the definitions from the English dictionaries describe ‘pure’ as…

*physically chaste
*free of or without guilt
*clean, spotless, or unsullied
*untainted with evil; innocent
*of unmixed descent or ancestry
*free from foreign or inappropriate elements
*without any discordant quality; clear and true
*free from anything of a different, inferior, or contaminating kind; free from extraneous matter

God made each of us as a precious being, a body, soul, and spirit needing special care. His intention was that we preserve the purity of our minds, hearts, and bodies, protecting them from anything that would harm the integrity of His creation. It was His gift to each of us.

How hard do we work to keep ourselves from inappropriate contaminants that sully our purity while waiting for our Beloved’s return? Do any of these negative things camp out in our hearts…doubt, worry, unbelief, strife, stealing, cheating, covetousness, lying, pride, unforgiveness, depression, murmuring, complaining, filthy language, rebellion, hypocrisy, bitterness, judging, gossip, speaking against others, addictions, impure thoughts, lust, internet porn, or anything else that grieves the Holy Spirit?

What do we look at or listen to that tempts us or puts us at risk of lusting, lusting for anything? We cannot look at or listen to just anything. Our eyes and ears act conveyor belts of the world’s junk dumping it all into our minds and hearts. Impure sights and sounds siphon out the purity of our lives and become infinitesimal steps of separation between us and God.

Though God fills us with His holiness through Christ’s salvation, the upkeep of holiness depends solely upon us. It is absolutely necessary, as Paul persuades, that we “Pursue a godly life,” (1 Tim. 6:11a NLT) for “God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.” (1 Thess. 4:7 NKJV)

If we keep our hope and trust in Jesus, we continually flush ourselves of impurities, keeping ourselves pure in Him. Therefore, Paul says, “Dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” (2 Cor. 7:1 NKJV)

We do this because “Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.” (Eph. 5:25-27 NKJV)

The purity of holiness is not an option, for, without it, the Lord will not receive us, as the writer of Hebrews tells us, “Seek to live a clean and holy life, for one who is not holy will not see the Lord.” (Heb. 12:14 TLB)

I wonder if God asks the same question about us as He did of Hosea when He lamented over Samaria and their idols, “How long will it be before they attain purity?” (Hos. 8:5 Amp)

Remember, “God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.” So, how bad do we want to see God?

“He who loves purity of heart and has grace on his lips, the king will be his friend.” (Prov. 22:11 NKJV)