WEEK 1 – DAY 4

January 7, 2021

BRIDEGROOM’S LOVE FOR BRIDE

Then Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took her as his wife and slept with her and grew to love her deeply. In this way, Isaac found comfort in the wake of his mother’s death. Genesis 24:67 (VOICE)

The first use of the word “love” in the Bible is the intense love of a father (Abraham) for his son (Isaac) which Abraham set aside because of his reverence and obedient, sacrificial love for his God. This foreshadowed God setting aside His love for His son in order for Jesus to become the sacrifice for our sins. The second use of love is the love of a bridegroom (Isaac) for his bride (Rebekah). This, too, is a foreshadowing.

The New Testament teaches that Jesus is the Bridegroom and we (the church who are eventually citizens of the New Jerusalem) are His bride. Jesus is the pattern for a husband’s love for his wife as we see in Ephesians 5:25, “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.” When asked why His disciples did not fast, Jesus referred to Himself as a bridegroom (Mark 2:18-20). The Apostle Paul expressed this idea of the Messianic Community, the body of believers, being the bride of Christ as well, “For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:2)

The Bible describes many types of love—the love of a parent for children, the love between spouses, the love of dear friends—but Jesus embodies them all to overflowing. Love is given first place, the position of priority, in the list of the Fruit of the Spirit, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).

Lord, help us to pursue demonstrating love today. Love is a noun, but it is also a verb. Help us to use it as a verb: Love your spouse, Love your child, Love your family, Love your neighbor, Love your enemy (Matthew 5:43-48).