By Jeffrey Bushman April 2014
As members of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we have been taught that Christ is a
symbolic husband and the church is His wife.
We teach that at the 2nd coming He will come as the
bridegroom to receive His wife. In the
parable of the 10 virgins (Matt. 25:1-13) we understand that 5 are foolish and
will not be ready for the wedding feast and 5 will be wise and will go into the
feast when the bridegroom comes. The
foolish will not have oil in their lamps that represents the spirit of the Holy
Ghost (D&C 45:56-57) making it impossible for other virgins to share their
oil with them. They need the spirit to
be worthy to enter into the feast. The
reason the Lord gave why the 5 foolish are locked out of the feast is when they
knock Jesus said, “I don’t know you” but in the JST of that verse it reads “ye
know me not” (Inspired Version Matt.
25:11) and they are locked out. Since we
know the Lord knows all of us and if we don’t know him it is because we don’t
put him first in our lives, and focus on other things.
This marriage imagery is used by many of the
prophets in the Old Testament, and if not understood makes it difficult to
understand their message. I will refer
to Ezekiel, Hosea and Isaiah to help show this imagery. Jeremiah and others also use this imagery
many times in their writing. This first paper on marriage will just
be a basis for what will follow in further papers.
Ezekiel 16
2 Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know
her abominations, Ezekiel is to call Jerusalem
to repent because they are rejecting the
Lord.
3 And say, Thus saith
the Lord God unto Jerusalem;
Thy birth and thy
nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite. I will tell you about
your beginnings. You were nothing
special among others, in fact you were a half breed.(Low status person)
4 And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither
wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all. On the day of your
birth no one even cut the umbilical cord, washed you up or cleaned you upon
birth and you were not even clothed.
5 None eye pitied thee,
to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast
out in the open field, to the lothing of thy person, in the day that thou wast
born. No one
cared for you at all, but you were thrown away into a field and let to die.
6 ¶And when I passed by
thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said
unto thee when thou wast in thy blood,
Live. Christ
then said that he came to where you were and saw that you were in your blood
(sin & the natural man) and said live, or I have forgiven you of your sins
and saved her life.
7 I have caused thee to
multiply as the bud of the field, and thou hast increased and waxen great, and thou art come
to excellent ornaments: thy breasts are
fashioned, and thine hair is grown, whereas thou wast naked and bare. Christ takes this
little child and raises her until she has reached adulthood and has covered her
nakedness (atonement means to cover).
8 Now when I passed by
thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time
of love; and I spread my
skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered
into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord God,
and thou becamest mine. Once she has become a young adult, Christ comes and makes a covenant with her and
she becomes His wife. Spread my skirt
over thee is like when Ruth goes to Boaz and because he is a near kinsman it
was his responsibility to marry her because of the death of her 1st
husband who left her no children. She
told him to spread his skirt over her.
Or in other words you are to marry me and take care of the husband
responsibilities.
9 Then washed I thee
with water; yea, I throughly washed away thy blood
from thee, and I anointed thee with oil.
Once they had covenanted with each other, he
then washes away her sins and anoints her with oil. This happens at baptism and confirmation, but
may always give you thoughts of the temple experience.
10 I clothed thee also
with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers’ skin, and I girded thee about
with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk.
Some of these items were used in the Tabernacle
and Temple anciently
12 And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in
thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head. He gives her a crown to show that she is to
rule with him as king and queen and joint heirs with all that the Father has to
give them. (Romans 8:14-18)
13 Thus wast thou decked
with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine
linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and
oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom. Because of their eternal marriage she prospers into a kingdom. All of us can have a kingdom if we remain
faithful to the Lord. (D&C 131:1-4)
Here we will rule over our increase or posterity.
14 And thy renown went forth
among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect
through my comeliness, which I had put
upon thee, saith the Lord God. All that she has is
because of the Lord, and the rest of the world noticed she was different from
them.
15 ¶But thou didst trust
in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy
renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it
was. But she
became proud in her heart and thought she was smarter than the Lord and started
to commit many sins. The foremost was
the sin of Adultery or Idol worship,
putting someone or anything before the
Lord who you had covenanted with to always put first. Idolatry is really just term for spiritual
adultery.
Then in the following verses 16-31 The Lord describes her many sins such as
sleeping with anyone who came by and taking the gold and silver he gave her to
make worldly thing and worship them.
Take sacred clothing and give it to the unworthy, take the meat or great
knowledge and just throw it out for the world to mock. (casting pearls before swine) Further she takes the children she had born
for her husband and sacrificed them to false gods. Perhaps her greatest sin was she no longer
remembered what the Lord had done for her when she was polluted in her own
blood.
33 They give gifts to all
whores: but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and hirest them, that they
may come unto thee on every side for thy whoredom.
34 And the contrary is
in thee from other women in thy whoredoms,
whereas none followeth thee to commit whoredoms: and in that thou givest a
reward, and no reward is given unto thee, therefore thou art contrary. Here he says that she
is not even smart, for when a woman choses to be a whore she is paid for her
services and she is so dumb for she pays others to sleep with her.
36 Thus saith the
Lord God; Because thy filthiness was poured out,
and thy nakedness discovered through thy whoredoms with thy lovers, and with
all the idols of thy abominations, and by the blood of
thy children, which thou didst give unto them;
Verses 36-44 The Lord
describes because of her sin he will take those she committed adultery with,
and they will destroy all that she has, all that the Lord gave unto her and
their armies will cause her to suffer for her sins and as a conquered city she
will cease to play the harlot. Then the
anger of the Lord will rest.
45 Thou art thy mother’s daughter, that lotheth her
husband and her children; and thou art the sister
of thy sisters, which lothed their husbands and their children: your mother was an Hittite, and your father an Amorite. Here the Lord reminds
her that she has chosen to go back to the way she was, saying I was wicked
because I was born that way.
46 And thine elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters that dwell at
thy left hand: and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her
daughters.
Verses 46-58 He describes that she has sisters whom he was
married too also (Samaria or the 10 tribes and Sodom who was destroyed for her
wickedness. Ezekiel 23 talks about His
wives one being Aholah and the other Aholibah.
One is Jerusalem or the Kingdom of Judah, the other is Samaria or the
Kingdom of Israel)
59 For thus saith the
Lord God; I will even deal
with thee as thou hast done, which hast despised the oath in breaking the
covenant. This completes the great apostasy and helps
to bring in the dark ages where the gospel light is not available in its
fullness. We call this the SCATTERING as
Israel has forsaken her husband.
Here it is important to know that after a time apart, the Lord
(Hosea 3:1-5) will buy her back from
those she was sold to, (Atonement) and in the latter days she will return to
Him through the GATHERING or repentance or conversion.
60 ¶Nevertheless I will
remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish
unto thee an everlasting covenant. Even though she has
sinned against him, he will remember the covenant he made with her in the days
of her youth and he will, still at a future time, be married to Him again.
61 Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and
be ashamed, when thou shalt
receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger: and I will give them unto
thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant.
62 And I will establish
my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord: Later He will
establish this covenant again and she will accept Him and will get to know Him,
that He is the Lord. (John 17:3 when this happens and you get to know the Lord
you will have eternal life.)
63 That thou mayest
remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more
because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast
done, saith the Lord God.
The Book of Hosea is much like this chapter in Ezekiel. Here Hosea is told that because the House of
Israel has departed from Him and committed whoredoms he is to marry a whore who
is going to have 3 children. He names
each one and they are symbolic of what the Lord is going to do to Israel for
breaking their covenant with Him, later he then tells them that when they
return to Him he will change some of the names to show now how he will bless
them in the last days.
I have chosen to not spend time with Hosea at this time and
instead will finish this up with a chapter from Isaiah. I didn’t want this to be too long. This part will show what the Lord teaches is
going to happen to his wife who has prepared herself for Him at His second
coming.
3
Nephi 22 or Isaiah 54
1 And
then shall that which is written come to pass.
(This refers back to 3 Nephi 21 where the Lord
talks about the New Jerusalem, He then explains what is going to happen.) Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and
cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with
child: These are non members who have not made any
marriage covenants(baptism) with the Lord.
They will sing because they will receive the Lord by covenant. for more are the children of the desolate (non-members of Christ’s church) than the children of
the married wife, saith the Lord. There will be more
people join the church at this time than there are members of the church. (the
married wife who have made and kept their covenant with the Lord)
2 Enlarge the place of
thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare
not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; Because of the increase of the size of the Lords family they will
have to add walls and ropes to hold up the sides of the tent (or house) and
strengthen the stakes. That is why we
call them stake centers for they are holding up part of the Lords house.
3 For thou shalt break
forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the
Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited. The Lord’s people
will increase after the wicked are burned that they will inhabit the cities
whose inhabitants have been destroyed.
4 Fear not; for thou
shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to
shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth,
and shalt not remember the reproach of thy
widowhood any more. Here the Lord says don’t worry about the past because of what
you did when I first made a covenant with the house of Israel and you committed
adultery and you suffered for your sins
5 For thy Maker is thine husband;(Christ) the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of
Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be
called.
6 For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in
spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God. When you sinned
against me anciently
8 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a
moment; but with everlasting kindness will I
have mercy on thee, saith
the Lord thy Redeemer. I have always loved you and will extend great mercy to you,
even though for a while I couldn’t because of your refusal to repent. I still love you.
9 For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more
go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor
rebuke thee. This
is all like a big love letter the Lord is reassuring his love for Israel and he
will receive them unto himself in love.
10 For the mountains shall depart,
and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither
shall the covenant of my peace be
removed, saith the Lord that hath
mercy on thee. More of the same
11 ¶O thou afflicted,
tossed with tempest, and not
comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair
colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.
12 And I will make thy
windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant
stones. Here he
seems to be describing what he will build for her, like a heavenly city
14 In righteousness
shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt
not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee. The Lord will dwell
among his family and teach their children himself (Millennium) and they will
not have to worry about their enemies.
15 Behold, they shall
surely gather together, but not by me:
whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake. I am more powerful
than your enemies
16 Behold, I have
created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth
an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. I am in control,
don’t fear anything
17 ¶No weapon that is formed
against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou
shalt condemn. This is the heritage
of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord. Great Love Story.
Below is a short summary of
what I was trying to say.
Church as Wife of Covenant Marriage or Abrahamic Covenant Covenant
Received in Temple
A.
Know the Lord in Marriage Priesthood = Keys of knowledge of God
B.
Seed eternal Seed like sand = Eternal Marriage
C.
Live with Him in Celestial Kingdom Promised Land = Celestial Kingdom
D.
Every Member a Missionary Through
Seed all the Earth Blessed
1.
Promised access for all Christ's children through baptism (House
of Israel)
2. Marriage to the
Lord takes place, and the Lord wants to reveal himself to His wife, and take care of her.
3.
After a time she follows after other lovers and commits
adultery on many different occasions.
4.
Spirit withdraws, she suffers the natural consequences for
her sins.
5.
She repents by seeking help from her husband, who forgives
her as she renews her promise to be faithful. She promises to do her part on helping Him do His work.
6.
Eventually she lusts after the world and totally forsakes the
Lord. Leaves her husband, commits adultery , wants a divorce and is granted one by the Lord.
7. In the midst of
her treachery he comes and buys her back from those who have made her a slave. She
doesn't know it.
8.
She wanders from place to place seeking her own desires. Still immoral, has many children with the peoples of
the world.
9. In last days
she learns that there is much that she has lost and seeks a restitution because of an invitation her
former husband sends to her telling that he has always loved her and is willing to take her
back if she will repent.
10. The new and
everlasting covenant is restored to the earth again, in His own house that will give them a chance
to get to know Him again.
11.
They prepare
themselves for the return of their husband by witnessing that they are willing
to follow the spirit he has sent.
I was hoping you would write about this subject. I actually was here last week looking for something like this and meant to ask you for your insight on the marriage imagery.
ReplyDeleteYay! An answer to my prayers!