“I am a little pencil in God’s hands. He does the thinking. He does the writing. He does everything and sometimes it is really hard because it is a broken pencil and He has to sharpen it a little more.”
The most powerful of human emotions is love. We seek it, long for it and we cannot live without it. It is an overpowering emotion that cannot be measured, defined, proven or even adequately described. Often, the one that is loved is called My Beloved. The Biblical Song of Songs also described the one that is loved as My Beloved. It was written thousands of years ago and is filled with songs of longing, deep desire and declarations of love.
Song of Songs contains a phrase that means, I am his and my beloved is mine. It is an incredibly beautiful phrase that defines our relationship with our Creator God.
Ani Lo V’ Dodi li
“I am His and My Beloved is Mine.“
In 1910, C.H. Spurgeon delivered a sermon at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, London: “It has been well said that if there is a happy verse in the Bible, it is this one—‘My beloved is mine, and I am His: He feeds among the lilies.’ So peaceful, so full of assurance, so bursting with happiness and contentment. . .”’
(Song of Solomon 2:16).
Elul
Jewish wedding bands are often inscribed with Ani Lo V’ Dodi Li (I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine). The words of this verse are also considered an acrostic for Elul, reflecting our very real potential to enjoy a vibrant, intimate relationship with Adonai if we will only turn from sin to repentance and seek Him. Elul is the time when the Jewish people make the attempt to come close to God, to establish that relationship of intimacy, of mutual belonging, of fulfilment of the love that we are to have for God.
A Mystery
Thousands of years ago, God gave the Hebrew people His plan for redemption. It was a message filled with love for the Hebrew people to help them prepare for the coming of the Messiah. It accurately pointed to the future of the Messiah and the great celebration of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. It was intricately woven, like a beautiful tapestry, into the ceremony of the ancient Hebrew wedding.
It was a mystery that was revealed when His Son, Jesus (Yeshua) left Heaven. Approximately two-thousand years ago Jesus was born to Joseph and Mary (both descendants of King David). His DNA held the royal genetics of King David and our Creator God. He was the perfect atonement for our sins.
Simcha
The Hebrew word for the wedding is Simcha; a joyous occasion. The prophet, Jeremiah, described it as, “Thus says the Lord: In this place of which you say, ‘It is a waste without man or beast,’ in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man or inhabitant or beast, there shall be heard again the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voices of those who sing, as they bring thank offerings to the house of the Lord.”’ (Jeremiah 33:10–11)
The Bible – a Love Story
The Bible is a love story, from Genesis to Revelation, of a loving Father who sought the perfect bride for His Son. The pattern can be found in the ceremony of the ancient Hebrew wedding. An example is found in Genesis 24:1-67, the story of Abraham’s search for the perfect bride for Isaac (approximately 3,000+ years ago). Most importantly, it holds the plan for salvation.
The ancient Hebrew bride and groom were often raised in separate homes. Usually, they did not meet until the day they were betrothed. Their first meeting was when the bridegroom, who was sent by his father, left his home and traveled to the home of his future bride. He brought her a very valuable gift (Mohar) that was prepared by his father asa sign of the son’s devotion and love for her. When she accepted his gift, she was sanctified (purified).
At that time, he made her a promise that she would eventually come to live with him in their new home. At that moment, her life changed, and she was no longer alone. She was betrothed to the one who gave her his gift of devotion and love. After the Mohar was accepted, the bridegroom left and returned to his home and began to prepare a new home for her arrival. Now, she lived as a stranger in her home. She was a new person. She was his bride, his beloved and she looked forward to the day she joined him in their new home. “In My Father’s house are many rooms. I go to prepare a place for you. And, if I go to prepare and place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”
(John 14:2-3)
