Tying the Knot - A Covenant with God
Hi Friends.
Today I am sharing a recent vision that speaks of the covenant of marriage. Specifically about the marriage between the Lord and his bride, the church. The Lord uses the relationship between a man and a woman to represent how it should be between us and our Lord.
The Vision
The Knot
In the vision, I saw two hands tying a knot. As I thought about the meaning of the vision, the first thing that came to mind was the idea of “tying the knot” in a wedding ceremony.
Years ago, my husband and I were married in the Episcopal Cathedral in Chicago. Because our wedding was small, we were married in the chapel. During the ceremony, the priest took off the long ornate stole that hung around his neck and tied our hands together using it. He declared “What God has joined, let no man put asunder.” And we have been joined ever since.
As I was in prayer this morning, I knew that God wanted me to write about his relationship with us, his bride. From the beginning, his desire was to have an intimate relationship with his people, Israel, but too often they strayed away. The Lord saw that Israel could not be kept from seeking other lovers. She wanted to be like the nations around her, serving false “gods,” rather than the one true God and creator. She had such a continuous “lust” for these “gods,” that the Lord referred to her as a harlot, an adulteress, describing her behavior as “lewd.”
At one time, the nation of Israel was split into two kingdoms: the Northern Kingdom, called Israel, with its capital in Samaria and the Southern Kingdom, called Judah, with its capital in Jerusalem. Both Israel and Judah, the Lord referred to as “Adulterous Sisters.” He called Israel, representing ten of the twelve tribes, “Oholah.” And Judah, representing only two tribes, he called “Oholibah.”
The words used to depict their unfaithfulness as stated in the 23rd chapter of Ezekiel, are extremely strong. By his words, we can feel the intensity of the Lord’s anger towards Israel and Judah for their rejection of him. By reading this passage, we may understand why the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10
“Oholah engaged in prostitution while she was still mine; and she lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians—warriors clothed in blue, governors and commanders, all of them handsome young men, and mounted horsemen. She gave herself as a prostitute to all the elite of the Assyrians and defiled herself with all the idols of everyone she lusted after. Ezekiel 23:5-7
“Therefore I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, the Assyrians, for whom she lusted. They stripped her naked, took away her sons and daughters and killed her with the sword. She became a byword among women, and punishment was inflicted on her.
“Her sister Oholibah saw this, yet in her lust and prostitution she was more depraved than her sister.” Ezekiel 23:9-11
“Then the Babylonians came to her, to the bed of love, and in their lust they defiled her. After she had been defiled by them, she turned away from them in disgust. When she carried on her prostitution openly and exposed her naked body, I turned away from her in disgust, just as I had turned away from her sister.” Ezekiel 23:17-18
“The Lord said to me: ‘Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then confront them with their detestable practices, for they have committed adultery and blood is on their hands. They committed adultery with their idols; they even sacrificed their children, whom they bore to me, as food for them. They have also done this to me: At that same time they defiled my sanctuary and desecrated my Sabbaths. On the very day they sacrificed their children to their idols, they entered my sanctuary and desecrated it. That is what they did in my house.’” Ezekiel 23:36-39
“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Bring a mob against them and give them over to terror and plunder. The mob will stone them and cut them down with their swords; they will kill their sons and daughters and burn down their houses.
“So I will put an end to lewdness in the land, that all women may take warning and not imitate you. You will suffer the penalty for your lewdness and bear the consequences of your sins of idolatry. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.” Ezekiel 23:46-49
Israel and Judah failed to remain faithful to God and his commandments. So he brought discipline to them in the form of hardship and captivity to foreign lands. However, God is faithful and he keeps his promises. After his righteous judgment, he showed his mercy and his great love, by bringing them back to the land and giving them another chance. God’s love is so much greater than we can imagine.
“The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” Psalm 103:8
God’s solution to the waywardness of his people was planned from the very beginning. He sent his Son Jesus to fulfil the Law, and introduce a New Covenant in his blood. The Lord’s sacrificial death made a way for all people, not simply for the Jews alone, but for everyone: every nation, tribe and tongue, to be reconciled to the Father. By his death, we are set free from the penalty of sin, which is hell. No longer are our sins counted against us, for the Lord became sin for us. His shed blood paid the price of sin. One perfect sacrifice, once for all, took care of all sin, for all time. But coming to the Lord for salvation, is an individual decision. We have to repent personally, and accept his gift of salvation personally. But when we do accept his sacrifice for our own sin, we become reconciled to God the Father, and we become the righteousness of Christ. (Messiah)
We acknowledge his lordship over our lives, declaring that we are his, and that he is ours. We enter into a covenant of faith, a relationship like a marriage. And as all marriages are tested, our union with God will also be tested.
Will we choose to be faithful and obedient to God and his Word? Or will we go the way of the world, pursuing the things of the world. Will we be faithful to worship him alone, or will we show unfaithfulness by chasing after other “gods”? Will we be like the world around us and seek to satisfy our lust for money, power, notoriety, passions and pleasures? Will we choose to go our own way and do our own thing, rather than serve God?
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” Matthew 6:24
When we make the quality decision to repent of our sins and follow him, we will be given the Holy Spirit, who will indwell us. He will lead us with truth and help us to conform to his will, the perfect will of God.
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” John 14:15-21
It is imperative that we are faithful to God. But if we do not know his word, and do not know his heart, how can we say that we know him or that we are faithful to him?
How can we please God, if we do not understand his nature?
God wants to have a close relationship with us, as a marriage. He wants his love for us to be reciprocal. He wants us to speak to him as a friend.
“No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” John 15:15
He wants us to share our thoughts, and our troubles, to seek him for his insight and wisdom. He wants us to desire spending time with him, above all else.
We have seen couples who fall in love, and cannot bear to be separated. Each dotes on the other, and gives full attention to him or her. The bride thinks only of how to please her husband. She loves him and shows him the respect that he deserves. If we place the Lord’s will over our own, we will find true peace, joy and contentment.
But not everyone who claims to know the Lord actually does. That is why Jesus said:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” Matthew 7:21-23
The Lord wants his church to realize that unless we are born again and know him personally, He will not recognize us as his own. The door will be shut and we will be left outside. Just as it was for the five foolish virgins, who carried no extra oil in their lamps. Only the wise virgins who had oil to trim their lamps were able to go into the wedding feast. The oil represents the indwelling Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, the Lord does not recognize the virgins as his.
“And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.
“Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’” Matthew 25:6-12
We need the Holy Spirit to indwell us. we do not want to be lulled into complacency by thinking everything is all right and that there is nothing required of us. The Holy Spirit is given when we become born again. Jesus spoke of the “new birth” to a Pharisee named Nicodemus:
Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:3-8
Without the Holy Spirit we cannot worship the Lord as he would desire. The Lord seeks those who will worship him in Spirit and in truth, otherwise it is pure vanity. Jesus declared that the Pharisees worshiped God in vain, for their traditions nullified the word of God.
He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” he need not honor his father. So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:
‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” Matthew 15:3-9
We are not to use God to get what we want. He is not a vending machine that receives a quarter, and dispenses what was purchased. When some people pray to receive something but fail to get what they hoped for, they can quickly lose faith in God and abandon him altogether.
They complain: “I prayed, and God didn’t hear me! I tithed, and never received what I asked for. I needed God and he wasn’t there for me!”
“ But let him ask in faith, without doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that man must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.” James 1:6-8
“You do not have, because you do not ask. And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with the wrong motives, that you may spend what you receive on your own pleasures.” James 4:2-3
The Lord’s ways are not our ways and his thoughts are not our thoughts. In order to ask the Lord, we must know his heart. Our will must be aligned with his. When we surrender to the Lord and allow his Holy Spirit to move through us, we become one with him. Our desires change and our prayers and motives align with his. This is the Lord’s goal for us: to be one with Him and one with each other.
“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” John 17:20-21
This is God’s plan for us, to be united with him in the Spirit. In his covenant with us, very much like the marriage covenant, the two become one.
“For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.” Genesis 2:24
The Lord expresses this as his perfect will, that we would be one in the Spirit with him, and united with each other.
“For in him we live, move and have our being.” Acts 17:28
“Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” Psalm 133:1
I hope that by reading this you may understand the urgency of this message, to get right with God. To become born again and filled with the Holy Spirit. The Lord wants everyone to take warning. Life begins at the point of new birth. Please take the time to pray with me to received the Lord’s salvation and his comforter, helper and guide: the Holy Spirit.
“ When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.“ John 16: 13-15
Please pray with me:
Dear Jesus,
I recognize that you are part of a trinity, a triune God: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. I recognize that you died on the cross for my sins and the sins of the world. I ask that you forgive me and cleanse me with your precious blood, that I would become the righteousness of God. It is only by your blood that my sins are removed as far as the east is from the west, and that you choose to remember them no more. I ask that you fill me with the Holy Spirit, who will help me in my walk with you. I surrender my will to yours and acknowledge that you are Lord over my life, that I am not my own, but that I was bought at a price. Help me to honor you and live my days for your glory. Please write my name in the Book of Life, so that when I die I will have a place with you in heaven, for all eternity. Thank you Jesus for making me a new creation in you, for giving me new life. By my commitment to you, I am born of the Spirit of God and I will honor you, love you, and serve you all the days of my life. Thank you for such a great salvation! Amen!
Please share this post with others that need to know the Lord and receive his free gift of salvation. Be blessed!
