Isaiah 54

“‘Do not be afraid, for you will not be put to shame; don’t be humiliated for you will not be disgraced. For you will forget the shame of your youth, and you will no longer remember the disgrace of your widowhood. For your husband is your Maker – His name is YHVH of Hosts – and the Holy One of Israel is your redeemer; He is called the God of all the earth. For the Lord has called you like a wife deserted and wounded in spirit, a wife of one’s youth when she is rejected,’ says your God. ‘I deserted you for a brief moment, but I will take you back with great compassion.’”  Isaiah 54:4-7 (HCSB)

It is essential to understand that you are reading a prophecy. God is telling His “Bride” that He will take her back, even before He has sent her away. It is important to understand that because otherwise, God seems wishy-washy, as if He cannot make up His mind or is an emotional wreck.  

So, what is the value of this knowledge? It restores our trust in the Lord. It reminds us that He will “never leave or forsake us,” which is the core of the security of our salvation. Essentially, the Lord tells His “Bride” that while He will put her out for a season, His intention is not to leave her forever. There are times when, because of our personal sins, believers feel distant or even forsaken by God. If you are indeed a believer, even though you are a disobedient believer, the Lord is only intent on your restoration and not your damnation. Repent and approach the Lord. He is our faithful “Husband”.

The idea of “union and communion” lies at the heart of the Old Testament understanding of God’s relationship with his people. The Bible describes this relationship in four terms: Father/Son, Master/Slave, Shepherd/Sheep, and Husband/Wife.  

One of the most charismatic phrases that Paul uses in the New Testament is “in Messiah (Christ) Jesus .”(1 Corinthians 1:2; Eph 1:1; Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:2; 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:1)  Parallel this with another emphasis: “Messiah is ‘in’ the believer .”(Romans 8:10; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 1:27)  Together, these two concepts indicate the closeness of the “marriage” bond between Messiah and His people. Jesus expands this idea even further:

“I pray not only for these, but also for those who believe in Me through their message. May they all be one, as You, Father are in Me and I am in You.  May they also be one in Us, so the World may believe You sent Me.” John 17:20-21 (HCSB)

Jesus desires that just as He is in the Father and the Father is in Him, we should share in that relationship: in the Father and Him.   Furthermore, that is how closely we believers should be with each other: One. Truly, the “Bride of Messiah” (singular) is actually the sum of all believers. As a husband and wife become “one,” so is the relationship of Jesus to His Bride. That means He is completely devoted and intimately concerned with the Church at large and with us as individuals at the same time. He cares for his “Bride” corporately, and He cares for you personally.