Isaiah 61-Like a Bride

Our look at Isaiah 61 is almost over. We’ve seen how God promises to work in and through us to heal and restore. We have an everlasting covenant with the One who cannot fail us.

The last part of Isaiah 61 is a hymn of joy to God by one who has embraced the promises in the first 9 verses. Isaiah says, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my whole being shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.” (Isaiah 61:10-11) For me, this calls to mind the vision in the Book of Revelation of the church as the Bride coming down from heaven.

The writer of Revelations tells us, “I saw the Holy City, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” (Revelation 21:2) For many young girls the idea of being a bride is something that is almost like being a princess. When I was a little girl, dressing up in a long dress and veil was great fun.

Isaiah says that God has covered us “with the robe of righteousness” as when a bridegroom prepare for his wedding. For a Jewish bride, in Biblical times, one of the important parts of the bridal array was the dowry necklace. In these coins and/or jewels was the bride’s security if something should happen and leave her a widow with no family. The groom paid the family for the privilege of marrying the girl. A portion of that, plus, if he was able, a gift from the father of the bride, was given to the girl as her dowry. Most often this was in the form of easily worn jewelry.

Jesus talks about the woman who had 10 coins and loses one. This coin was probably part of her dowry and losing it would be a great hardship. No wonder she calls everyone together for a party when she finds it. (Luke 15:1-xx) And remember the parable about the bridesmaids, (Matthew 25:1-13) who waited for the bridegroom to arrive? Some of them missed the wedding itself because they were not prepared with extra oil.  Jesus warns us to be prepared and ready because we, as the people of God, will one day join with Christ as is promised in Revelation.At the very end of Revelation, we hear, “The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let the one who hears say, "Come!" Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.” (Revelation 22:17) 

As the Bride, we are issuing that invitation each day to all we meet. Our lives, lived as those “clothed with the garments of salvation…the robe of righteousness” show that the “Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations”. As we’ve seen throughout this study, we cannot do this without the Spirit of God who ‘anoints us’ for our work. For that work we are given gifts to use to build up the Kingdom. This is our dowry necklace of talents and time and, yes, treasure.

What coins are in your dowry necklace?

How can we, as the anointed of God, become a more true and perfect ‘bride’?

Holy Bridegroom is Lord

In our ongoing chat about the Holy Bridegroom and our relationship as bride, we are looking at bride and bridegroom images in the New Testament. Are there specific citations that jump into your mind about Bride or Bridegroom in the Gospels or Epistles? There is the Wedding at Canaan (John 2). There is the story of the Wise and Foolish Bridesmaids waiting for the Bridegroom (Matthew 25:1-10). In Revelation, the Church is symbolized as a Bride “prepared for her husband” and as the “wife of the Lamb.”

In Matthew 9:15, Mark 2:19-20 and Luke 5:34-35, Jesus refers to himself as the Bridegroom when he says, "How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.” Similarly in John 3:29, John the Baptism points to Jesus and says, “The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.”

Weddings were then, and still are, joyful occasions. The celebration often lasted a week. That is why it was such a problem when the wine ran out too soon during the wedding in Cana (John 2). It was a social faux pas for the food or drink to run out before the celebration was over. Luckily, Mary asked Jesus to help out with the situation. (Some speculate that the bride or groom were family members, but there is no proof one way or the other.) Even though Jesus did not want to start his ministry in such a way, he does as his mother asks and the steward was amazed "You have kept the good wine until now."

A Jewish husband was given the title of ‘lord’, not ‘master’ of the household. The title ‘Lord’ implies head of the house, leader of the family or tribe not overbearing power. The shame of failing to provide enough would have been on this groom and on the family. He would have had a hard time living it down. Jesus, in taking up his role as head of the 'Household of God' provides the necessary wine.

It is interesting that Jesus in all the Gospels is referred to as the Bridegroom. As we saw last week, we (humanity) were chosen by God as bride for the Holy Bridegroom. In the Gospels Jesus emphasizes that relationship, himself. He accepts the role of ‘lord’ of the household as the Bridegroom. Part of that role is protection of the family. He hints at that when he notes, “time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them…”

Because we are a Resurrection people, we know that the Holy Bridegroom DID step in and redeem us by his own death. And because we are an Easter people, we believe that he made a ‘full, perfect and sufficient sacrifice and offering’ as the old (1928 Episcopal Book of Common Prayer) Eucharistic prayer says. The bride (we) was rescued and redeemed by the actions of the Holy Bridegroom.

The Book of Revelation carries the analogy to the natural conclusion by calling the entire Church the Bride of Christ. Revelation 19:7 says “For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.” Two chapters later (Revelation 21:2), John says, “I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.” At the very end of the Bible, we hear the glorious invitation where “the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let the one who hears say, "Come!" Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.” (Revelation 22:17) The bride, we as the gathered Church, are finally united with the Holy Bridegroom to welcome all creation!

In our role as the bride, living today, let us remember that we owe allegiance to our Lord, the One who protects, cares for, guides, provides, and most importantly Loves each of us!

In July, we’ll consider the steps between being chosen and becoming a bride.