The (Un)Blemished Bride

What do we think of when we think of a bride? I pray that the first thing that comes to mind is pure white, the dress that symbolizes purity and innocence, as well as the willingness of a woman to be joined to the man she loves for the rest of her life.

We think of the happiness that we pray for the beautiful bride, and the hope of a life together with her soon-to-be husband that is full of joy. But have you considered what it would be like, if the bride began to walk down the aisle, everyone stands and looks, eager to see the bride dressed in pure white, only to see in disgust that the dress is stained and dirty, the veil is torn and faded, and the bride herself looks as though this marriage will bring her nothing but misery…

Not a pleasant image is it? Consider then, my friends, the Old Testament prophet Hosea. In order to set up the story, I will give a few verses before coming to the point I wish to make in writing today.
Hosea 1:2 “When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, ‘Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.’”

Why would God do this? Why would He command Hosea to marry someone, to pledge his life to someone, who God knows is going to be unfaithful to Hosea?

Before you become indignant or confused, recall God’s dealings with Job It is much the same. In the Scriptures, whenever God does or says something we don’t understand, it is often because God wants us to reveal something about Himself, and in Job, He wanted us to see that regardless of what may happen to us, He is faithful and we have no reason to question His judgements.

The situation is similar in Hosea, for God wants us, His people, to see something about Himself. And as with Job, He reveals it to us in His Word.

Hosea is commanded to marry a wife that God knew would be unfaithful, and told Hosea this fact. True to God’s words, Gomer, Hosea’s wife, commits adultery and runs away from Hosea. And this is what God tells Hosea to do:

Hosea 3:1-3 “And the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins.” So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethech of barley. And I said to her, “You must dwell as mine for many days. You shall not play the whore, or belong to another man; so will I also be to you.””

Any one of us, upon knowing that the person you are to be joined to for life, was going to be unfaithful, would abandon her on the spot. However, this is not what Hosea is to do, in spite of the heart-break he must feel, God commands him to find Gomer, not only that, to love her in spite of all she had done.

And let us recall that our eyes and minds are stained and jaded by sin and the filth of this world and its ways. To us adultery is all around, but we must not forget that it is a sin, a very serious one, and in the days of Hosea it was a crime punishable by immediate death…

This was a serious offense. And yet, God wants Hosea to redeem his wife from her trouble, and indeed to live with her again. How would you like to live next to the person who betrayed your trust so brazenly, and who spurned your love so completely, by giving it away to others who did not deserve it? Could you even look at their face?

So why do I say all of this? Why do I tell you of the life of Hosea, and ask these questions?
Well recall that God here is not being mean, He is not being unjust, and He is not doing this without purpose. He wants to show His people something through the life of Hosea. Let me finish that verse from earlier:
Hosea 3:4-5 “For the children of Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or household gods. Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days.”

God is sending a message to His People Israel, who have rebelled against God and gone after idols and false gods. Even through all God has done for them, they still forsake Him… Sound familiar?

Jeremiah 2:1-3 “The word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord, “I remember the devotion of your youth,  your love as a bride, how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown. Israel was holy to the Lord, the firstfruits of his harvest. All who ate of it incurred guilt; disaster came upon them, declares the Lord.””

I think sometimes we think of God as some kind of machine, not the All-Powerful, All-Knowing, Ever-Being Creator of the Universe, and indeed, even if we think of Him as the Creator and Ruler, do we think of Him as a husband, The Lover of our souls?

This is how He thinks of us. His people Israel were special, holy, set-apart for God’s purpose and pleasure, to love Him and Him alone above all else, and to follow His Word which He personally gave to them.

There is a long history of God’s faithfulness to His people in the Old Testament, and yet the constantly turn aside, become like the other nations, and forsake God for worthless things.

Jeremiah 1:4-8 “Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the clans of the house of Israel. Thus says the Lord: “What wrong did your fathers find in me that they went far from me,
and went after worthlessness, and became worthless? They did not say, ‘Where is the Lord who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us in the wilderness, in a land of deserts and pits, in a land of drought and deep darkness, in a land that none passes through,  where no man dwells? And I brought you into a plentiful land to enjoy its fruits and its good things. But when you came in, you defiled my land and made my heritage an abomination. The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’ Those who handle the law did not know me; the shepherds transgressed against me;  the prophets prophesied by Baal and went after things that do not profit.”

God, both here, and in Hosea is expressing His love for His people, and because of Christ’s sacrifice, we are now counted as part of God’s people, set apart for His purpose, meant to be holy as He is holy.

But the truth of the matter is, we still sin, we still run aside to other things, in spite of all of God’s faithfulness, and His love and grace being proven again and again, we still think that something else will satisfy us more, or love us better. And the truth of the matter is, nothing can satisfy us other than God, and nothing on this earth was meant to.

We were created for Him, and by Christ’s blood are reconciled to Him, for His glory, and our joy, though we may not realize it.

God wants us to come back to Him, to forsake our sin and return to Him.

Isaiah  55:6-7 ““Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way,  and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”

God counts us as His Beloved Bride. He chose us before this world began to be His alone, to love Him alone, and no matter the stains of our sin He still calls to us, calling us by name, to come back to Him, and find forgiveness, repentance and satisfaction for our souls.

Don’t believe me? Trust Scripture: Isaiah 54:5-8 “For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,  the God of the whole earth he is called.
For the Lord has called you  like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit, like a wife of youth when she is cast off, says your God .For a brief moment I deserted you,  but with great compassion I will gather you. In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,” says the Lord, your Redeemer.”

And again, here in Ephesians 5:25-27: “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.”

Hosea’s story is meant to convey the way God loves us, that is, He loves us as His Bride, His Wife that He set apart for His pleasure and our unmeasurable joy and happiness. And He will complete this purpose, even in spite of our sins, for we were washed in Christ’s blood that we might be reconciled to the Lover of our souls, and that we might die to sin and be His forever (Romans 6).

And if we will forsake our sins and run to our Husband, to God, who called us out of darkness and into His glorious Light (1 Peter 2:9), this is what is promised to us:

Revelation 19:6-8 “Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready, it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.”

Robed in purest white, we will be given to Christ, our Redeemer, the Lamb of God who bought us with His precious blood and rose again to defeat death, so even Death will not end our union to Him, for He loves us with an everlasting love, and nothing will even snatch us out of His hands (Romans 8:38-39).

Rejoice in His divine love for you Christian! And submit yourself in humility to His Word, for He only desires that you become His Bride, pure and blameless, and He has made the Way through His Son, Jesus Christ!

Forsake all of your idols, and whore not after any lovers, for the Husband who chose you out of all, has come to redeem His Bride, and He loves you more than anything else in all of creation. Forsake all of your sins and run into His waiting arms, for with Him is all joy and pleasure, and all blessing (Psalm 36:11).

Drink deeply of His love for you.

Part of Chris’s (Un)Blemished Bride, the Church that He rescued,

--The Scribe