Will You Marry Me?Sample

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Remember our fictional characters, Jack the farmer and Diane the young Jewish girl? We left off yesterday talking about their first few steps in the Jewish wedding process and today, we’ll pick back up with the next step. 

So far, Jack and his father have chosen Diane to be Jack’s bride. They’re now at her house presenting her family with the “ketubah” (or binding marriage contract) and talking numbers. How much is she worth? 

Jack must now pay a “bride-price” or “mohar” for his bride. This sounds kind of weird, but it was actually a way to protect the woman in that day. The husband was obligated to provide for her and take care of her, so he would pay her family for her.

If the bridegroom couldn’t afford her, he would work to earn her for himself. For instance, in Genesis 29, Jacob worked 14 long years for his wife Rachel. (Remember, these were real people!) 

In today’s passages, we can see that just as Jack paid his bride-price for Diane, Jesus also paid a price for us. He didn’t purchase us with money, though; He purchased us with His blood. He died a brutal death for us to free us from the dominion of darkness and rescue us from our sin. 

In God’s holy design, blood atones for sin.
 

The first example we see of this is with Adam and Eve. As a result of their sin, they realized that they were naked physically and emotionally, felt shame, and tried to cover themselves with fig leaves. That didn’t do the trick, because only God can cover our sin and shame. 

God killed an animal and made proper coverings for Adam and Eve with the animal skins. Through this first sacrifice in Genesis, He gave us a physical picture of what was to come. God is always giving us visuals we can understand. 

Later in the Old Testament, God’s people would sacrifice a lamb to cover their sin. As we read in Leviticus today, those who are covered by the blood sacrifice are set free from the consequences of their sin. All the many blood sacrifices in the Old Testament foreshadow the ultimate blood sacrifice made by our bridegroom, Christ. 

When Jesus was starting His earthly ministry, John the Baptist called Him “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Jesus came to fulfill the Old Covenant, and His mission was to shed His blood in the ultimate sacrifice on the cross to save us from our sin. 

So, how does this all tie in? Our “bride-price” was paid by Jesus’ blood. He paid with the highest cost: His own life. He wants to cover our shame and cleanse us with His Spirit, and He asks us to receive His gift of eternal life. Just as Jack the farmer in our story wants to purchase Diane as his bride, Jesus already paid the price for us. We only have to accept His invitation. 

Jesus gave His life to save ours. If that isn’t true love, I don’t know what is.