Betrothed to the Holy one
“I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me. In righteousness and justice, In lovingkindness and mercy; I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, And you shall know the Lord. Hosea 2:19-20
The concept of betrothal and engagement of marriage are very different though we are more familiar with engagement in today's society.
Engagement is a future tense question, “Will you marry me? ” Contrary to betrothal which is expressed as “I am committed to marrying you.” It is affirmative and two people have entered into a covenantal relationship. On the other hand, engagement has the possibility of being called off without affecting any covenants.
Ancient Jewish culture held betrothal ceremonies as the first public way for both parties to pledge themselves for future union, followed by a betrothal period, and the bride remained in her parents' home. Therefore, when Mary was pregnant with Jesus, it was highly scandalous since she was betrothed to Joseph. As a result, Joseph technically needed to "divorce" her and Mary was considered adultery despite not marrying yet.
As part of the betrothal ceremony, the bridegroom and bride share a cup of wine, signifying the start of a marriage covenant relationship. Therefore, when we partake of Jesus's cup, we are under a new covenant with Jesus and, as such, we are the bride of Christ, waiting for Jesus' return to bring us to the wedding feast.
During the betrothal period, the bride prepares herself for marriage, and one of the biggest responsibilities of the bride's father is to ensure the purity of the bride, as he will watch over her to make sure she is pure for the wedding. In his letter to the Corinthian believers, Paul called himself the father who looked after the purity of the fellow believers.
In Christ, every believer is the bride of Christ; we don't want to defy our purity and commit adultery with the world. In particular, the word "betroth" symbolizes the promise of faithfulness when we receive the Holy Spirit as a seal and down payment for our marriage. As God is committed to being faithful to His bride, we should also remain faithful to Him.
It is a reminder that we are not just common, but we are someone very special, dear, and that we are scared as our bridegroom Jesus will come fetch us to have the ultimate union. Be pure and faithful as we are betrothed to “the Holy and only one ”!
Blessing prayer: Lord, you are our bridegroom and we long to see you on our wedding day. We pray to be your glorious bride without blemishes and spots and to enjoy eternal delight and joy with you. In Jesus’name, Amen
