Covenant of the Groom and His Bride
by Rebekah Siah
Our God is covenantal. Just like the bond made in a marriage, the covenant He made with us signifies a momentous unity in a relationship that goes beyond the normal everyday connections. What importance does Christ’s union with you have for you as a Christian? Writer Rebekah shares her thoughts on this important aspect of the Christian faith.
A wedding is always a long-waited and most forward-looking event, especially for the groom and his bride. On this special day, a covenant is made where two spirits, two souls, and two flesh are united as one. The wedding is an event that signifies a lifelong journey of two individuals, tied and committed to the promises made. The covenant is a lifelong vow that binds every part of their beings in becoming one.
On a wedding day, the bride is adorned beautifully and embellished with a beautiful white gown as she walks down the aisle to be given to the groom. It is indeed a moment of anticipation with butterflies fluttering in the stomach for both individuals that have come together with joined hearts.
If an earthly wedding is planned, committed, and celebrated so magnificently, how much more a wedding of the church to the King of kings and Lord of lords.
The Wedding Garment
I will surely greatly rejoice in the Lord,
My soul shall be joyful 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 ornaments,
And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
Isaiah 61:10
We, the bride of Jesus Christ, are bought with the heaviest price any groom could ever give. His broken body and the spilling of His blood on the cross have redeemed us and we are clothed with garments of salvation and covered with a robe of righteousness. As a bride beautifies herself with a man-made garment, we are beautified with a garment that is bought with a price so dear and costly. We are joined as one with Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, our Bridegroom.
Jesus talked about a parable of the wedding feast in Matthew 22:1-14 where the emphasis is given to verse 11. This specific verse marks the importance of the wedding garment:
“But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment.”
Matthew 22:11
Evangelist Franklin Joshua gave a great illustration in regard to the robe of righteousness in his live podcast, where he annotated on how a bride is so constantly aware and conscious of the condition of her wedding gown that she makes sure her garment is not stained with dirt. Likewise, the garment that Jesus has clothed us with through faith, can also be defiled if we are not aware of the condition of our hearts in satisfying our flesh (Jude verse 23).
The garment that we now wear, paid by the expensive blood of Jesus, is a covenant in which we are preserved in Christ Jesus. A covenant, whether it is made on earth or with God, is not to be taken lightly. It requires the commitment of a binding love through ups and downs; ‘for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health’.
If we are able to recognise the weighty value of a human covenant, how much more a covenant made with Jesus? If we can entrust ourselves to make a covenant with humans who can easily fail us, how much more should we entrust ourselves to the One who has never failed us? Despite our rocky situations, are we still willing to trust our eternal Bridegroom even when things do not seem right to us? This price of the sacrificial love of Jesus, paid on the cross for His bride is way too costly to be ignored as it is bound with endless love that can never be fully known nor fathomed.
“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
Our consciousness of the expensive garment which we are clothed in lies in the recognition of being betrothed to Christ by His precious blood. Like the bride, who is cautious of not staining her gown till the time comes where she presents herself beautifully before her groom, let us too, present ourselves in such a manner before our Groom who has loved us unconditionally. This recognition ought to be our everyday remembrance that is made through His sacrificial love for us that binds our hearts to His.
Pondering upon this, I believe that His unexplainable lavishing love has no doubt won the hearts of His precious bride.
About the Writer
At the time of the publication of this article, Rebekah Siah is pursuing MA in Postcolonial Literature in UKM due to her reading pleasure. This significant path kickstarts her enthusiasm in understanding humanity through writings as it enables her to dissect the works of worldview and incorporate Kingdom-view into humanities. Besides reading, she enjoys writing, composing, and playing music as platforms to express herself.
Rebekah’s life as a child of God has been an amazing one. As one describes, life is a roller-coaster ride where every sense of emotion comes into place but there is always a reminder of the goodness of the heavenly Father. ‘Every ride of ups and downs in life is so much more beautiful with Jesus than a smooth ride of life without Jesus’.
