Prophet’s Reading Plan: Isaiah 64-66
And the fruit of the Spirit is… faithfulness…
Hosea 2:19-20 (ESV) And I will betroth you to Me forever… I will betroth
you to Me in faithfulness. And you shall know the Lord.
A betrothal is a promise of marriage. It was the
engagement period of Old Testament times and was as binding as marriage itself,
though consummation came only after the wedding. The verb for consummation is
“to know”. Adam knew Eve and Abraham knew Sarah. The physical, spiritual and
emotional intimacy between husband and wife is a sort of “knowing.”
Through the prophet Hosea, God makes this promise of
fidelity to His people. And He says to us: “You are My bride. I am coming to
marry you and when I come you will truly know
Me.” We will see Jesus face-to-face. We will be in His presence and we will
know the cries of His heart. His cries will be our cries and we will be full of
His joy and His life.
Jesus is betrothed to us in faithfulness. He waits for the Father to say, “Now is the time!
Go to your bride!” He is not squandering His time. He is not pursuing other
lovers to pass the time away. He is working to prepare a beautiful home for His
bride – a home that He takes joy and pride in building because He knows His
bride will love it.
Meanwhile, the Bride of Christ is off biding her time in
brothels. That was the picture painted by the prophets and that is the picture
that much of the church displays today. There are so many things competing for
our attention, some sinful, some good some neutral. But is Jesus our first love? Would we be willing to
surrender all for Him if He would ask us? Do we pursue Him as a Person, looking forward to joining Him
and entering into the wonderful home He has prepared? Jesus has promised us His
love and fidelity. Are we the pure Bride He is waiting for?
PRAYER AND
MEDITATION
1. Take
a few moments to pray and intercede for our nation. Confess sins on Canada’s
behalf – things like abortion, adultery, pride – and ask God for a turning
towards Christ. Pray for Pastor Ray and Fran and their ministry to the Canadian
church.
2. Ask
God to speak to you about this picture of bride and groom. Ask Him to speak to
you about how He values you as His bride. Ask Him about the vows He has made to
you. Respond to Him.
3. Ask
God to grow your love and faithfulness for Him today.
