Dearest Beloved and Betrothed One of the Heavenly Groom,
Every
question you ever wanted to know the answer to, about genuine faith, the Savior
and who you really are in Messiah is found in the first five books of the Bible. The reason why most people of faith do not
understand their Bibles correctly is because they try to answer almost every
question from the content and context of the New Testament without any real understanding
of its proper relationship to the instructions and revelation given in the
first five books of Moses.
In 2Peter 3:15-17 the taught one addressed this very same problem almost 2,000 years ago. Sadly, not much has changed since then. Most believers are still taught to twist the Pharisee’s (Acts 23:6) words, as recorded in the New Testament (Romans –Hebrews(?)), and they are not taught how to rightly divide the Old Testament Scriptures.
v.15 “and reckon the patience of our Master as deliverance, as also our beloved brother Sha’ul wrote to you, according to the wisdom given to him, v.16 as also in all his letters, speaking in them concerning these matters, in which some are hard to understand, which those who are untaught and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do also the other Scriptures. v.17 You, then, beloved ones, being forewarned, watch, lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the delusion of the lawless,”
Unfortunately, as a direct result of this travesty most believers in the Messiah do not really understand covenant. Regardless of your doctrine the Truth of covenant remains the same. He is the Groom and we are the bride. (Ephesians 5:31-32) In all simplicity think of the most healthy marriage relationship you know about personally and relate this picture to the Messiah and His bride.
Marriage is a covenant relationship that is meant to teach us, via a living illustration, about who our Messiah is and who we are in relationship to Him. This is why a marriage covenant, between one man and one woman, for life, is so despised and reviled by the devil, this world and the flesh.
A healthy marriage is supposed to be the safest place in the world. It is supposed to be a place of exclusionary set-apartness, intimacy and best friend-ship. It is supposed to be a place where there is protection and provision for the bride, body, soul and spirit, and where there is adoration and respect for the groom.
Because most believers do not truly understand the picture of covenant they are easily confused and brainwashed by religious systems that mean well and are sincere, but are truly vanity in disguise.
If you understand that you are the covenant bride of Heaven then you understand that Heaven has obligated itself to protect you and to provide for you. As the bride you do not have to beg and plead for the Groom to protect you or to provide for you. He loves the bride and delights to provide for her and protect her. Now lest anyone accuse me of preaching a false gospel; I am not talking about health, wealth and prosperity, “word of faith”, name it and claim it mumbo-jumbo. I am talking about what any bride of covenant should naturally expect from her groom of covenant.
Most of “Christendom” is so focused on a personal relationship (salvation) with the groom of Heaven that they rarely focus on fellowship (intimacy) with the same Groom. Do you realize you can have a personal relationship with your spouse and not have any real fellowship? Do you realize there are various levels of intimacy in any marriage relationship? Now consider, what are some things any spouse can do to build intimacy in their marriage? What are some things that, that same spouse can do to destroy intimacy in their marriage?
Are you starting to understand why the picture of marriage covenant is so important? As the bride we need to concern ourselves with everything our Groom has told us that He loves and distance ourselves from everything He has told us that He hates. For too long we have listened to the voice of others about what our Groom likes and does not like. Do you know of any spouse that goes to someone else, other than their spouse, to find out what they like or they don’t like, for them to do or not to do, as their spouse?
This is why our Groom told us that He will teach what His preferences are to His bride.
John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Set-apart Spirit, whom the Father shall send in My Name, He shall teach you all, and remind you of all that I said to you.”
John 16:13 “But when He comes, the Spirit of the Truth, He shall guide you into all the truth. For He shall not speak from Himself, but whatever He hears He shall speak, and He shall announce to you what is to come.”
1John 2:20 “And you have an anointing from the Set-apart One, and you know all.”
1John 2:27 “But the anointing which you have received from Him stays in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as the same anointing does teach you concerning all, and is true, and is no falsehood, and even as it has taught you, you stay in Him.”
If you feel you are not experiencing the covenant protection and provision that has been promised to the bride then I would seriously consider fasting and praying for revelation why not, until you receive your answer. Most people have learned Hebrews 13:5-6 as a passage of Scripture promising eternal security. Yes, it can mean that too, but the primary meaning is that the Groom will provide for your temporal need and protect you in this lifetime as well as the life to come.
Hebrews 13:4-7 “Let marriage be respected by all, and the bed be undefiled. But Elohim shall judge those who whore, and adulterers. v.5 Let your way of life be without the love of money, and be satisfied with what you have. For He Himself has said, “I shall never leave you nor forsake you,” .6 so that we boldly say, “יהוה is my helper, I shall not fear what man shall do to me.” v.7 Remember those leading you, who spoke the Word of Elohim to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their belief. v.8 יהושע Messiah is the same yesterday, and today, and forever.”
If you are married and your spouse constantly disregarded your preferences of what you like and do not like how intimate of a relationship would you have with your spouse? What if your spouse was constantly unfaithful to you? How close of a relationship do you think you would have then?
As the bride we have a responsibility to our Groom to know everything He likes and does not like according to “His Word” and not according to religious systems and traditions. We have a responsibility to be faithful to Him in all things. This is what creates intimacy in our relationship with Him. This is the heartbeat of every healthy marriage.
Finally, when you come into the covenant relationship of marriage you lose all personal ownership of everything; Period! Your money is no longer yours, your time is no longer yours and everything you possess is no longer yours. Even your very life and body no longer belong to you. (2Corinthians 5:15, 1Corinthians 7:4)
The bride belongs to her Father’s house first and then her Husband’s house second. The bride NEVER belongs to herself over her entire lifetime. Whether she is living in her Father’s house during her betrothal or her husband’s house from the time of the wedding feast, either way, everything the bride has is NEVER hers; it all belongs to her Father or her Groom. The Father and the Groom have both sworn to always provide for and protect the bride of covenant. Everything they have, they have given to us as well. Since they have everything and we have nothing don’t you think this is a wonderful arrangement? I know I sure do!
Religion has taught believers that the tithe and maybe an occasional offering belong to the Groom, but all the rest belongs to the bride to do with as she pleases. Does this accurately reflect the picture of a marriage covenant? Everything we have belongs to the Groom. We are stewards of everything He has blessed us with for the sake of the covenant. (1Corinthinas 4:2)
One day we are going to give an account for everything that the Groom entrusted to us for the sake of the covenant. When I first married my wife Jenn, in March 2009, I explained this concept to her and I gave her the responsibility to manage every dime that comes into our bank account. I realized, if I could trust her to be my wife, I could also trust her with our finances. I have never micromanaged her by constantly inquiring how much financial resources we have in our account or badgered her about any purchases that she made when she went out to the shops. In return she has fully disclosed all of her purchases and voluntarily let me know what our financial position is, if she felt I really needed to know.
Because we understand covenant we have never made a major purchase, since we have been married, without first praying and being in full agreement with one another. We apply this same principle to all of our giving. First, we pray and ask if we should give and then we ask how much we should give. There have been several occasions when the Spirit has spoken to our hearts and told us not to give even though we knew of the need first hand. Believe me when I say, it is much harder to be obedient to the Spirit when He tells us not to give than when He tells us to give. However, because we understand covenant in the picture of marriage we know we do not have any choice, but to obey.
I know many servants who are faithful in every area of their lives and ministry, except the stewardship of their finances. This is why they suffer lack in their finances every month! Servants who understand covenant are never lacking in the Groom’s provision and protection. No ministry of the Groom has to beg for support. The Groom will support it faithfully regardless of any temporal circumstances. “The Scriptures” testify to this reality so many times I am not going to bother to cite any references.
If you are in need of financial provision or some kind of temporal protection the last thing I would counsel you to do is to pray for the provision or the protection needed. Instead, I would counsel you to pray for revelation, of what spiritual truth you need to receive, about how you have transgressed the covenant of betrothal, so that you would not do it again. In addition, I would pray for the blood of the Groom to cover you in mercy until that revelation comes. Even when we have transgressed the covenant, His mercy will still provide for our basic needs.
From personal experience, I can testify to you, that any investment of the Groom’s resources into anything that He says is not blessed of Him will result in the lack of His resources providing for you and protecting you. Especially, when it comes to familial relationships we can be easily tempted to squander the Heavenly stewardship we have been given. We must be very sure not to bless anyone upon whom Heaven’s favor does not rest. This might mean denying our own children or even our spouse some temporal desire of their heart. This might mean having to watch someone we love very dearly suffer temporal discomfort. However, the Groom loves each one more perfectly than you or I ever could. In obedience will you trust in His love and His desire to teach each one of us covenant provision and protection? Will you let Him be Sovereign over every loved one’s life or must you be the sovereign of your loved one’s life in His place?
The Groom loves the bride! He wants to provide for the bride, but He will only provide for the bride according to the covenant He established with her and then according to His mercy. Our Groom is perfect! His love is perfect and He wants to lavish His love upon His bride. Will you honor the covenant of betrothal with all of you heart, all of your soul and all of your might?
http://robertarthurmcduffie.
Isaiah 1:19-20 “If you submit and obey, you shall eat the good of the land; v.20 but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword,” for the mouth of יהוה has spoken.”
Shalom Aleichem,
Robert McDuffie
