"and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels..." (Isaiah 61:10)
I’m currently engaged to be married. The wedding is on the horizon, a point in the distance that my whole life is moving towards.
It’s strange living between a promise and a reality.
The offer has already been made, and I have accepted - you can tell by the jewel on my finger. Until the wedding day comes around, we are not yet husband and wife, but this promise changes everything.
Because of this promise, I live differently - in a space between the now and not yet. This is a time of preparation, and I rejoice in this in-between time, knowing there will be even greater rejoicing on the other side.
When the wedding day comes around, a bride already understands that she is chosen, she doesn’t need to make herself beautiful to win over the affections of her beloved. So why do brides choose this day, of all days, to adorn themselves?
They clothe themselves in beauty in response to their delight. It is for honour and mutual adoration that the bride and groom outwardly adorn themselves. Likewise, we adorn ourselves with salvation and righteousness, because we adore Jesus. He has already promised himself to us, and delight in him draws out this unexpected response, we can’t help but honour his love in this way. We don’t respond to Jesus by clothing ourselves in sackcloth, for he has given us beauty in return for ashes, a garment of praise instead of despair. And they are his jewels that we wear.
When the servant chooses Rebekah as a wife for Isaac, he adorns her with gold bracelets and jewellery. Rebekah is chosen, and she is adorned with jewels from her beloved.
We too, wear the righteousness of Jesus, he’s clothed us with his salvation. We have a new name and it is his. We are able to wear these garments now, recognising that we are in a time of waiting.
“See! The winter is past;
the rains are over and gone.
Flowers appear on the earth;
the season of singing has come.”
Song of Songs 2: 11-12
We rejoice now, in preparation for even greater rejoicing when the bridegroom returns and makes all things new.
How does adoration for Jesus affect how you live, today?
