God delights in us just like a young groom marrying his young bride

God disciplines us, because He loves us and wants to correct us.  But after the pain and discipline, God restores us.   He brings back the glory, the joy, the comforts.   He delights in us, just like how a young groom delights in marrying his young bride.   We (the Church) is the bride of Christ, and he loves us very much.  His love endures forever.  Thank you, O Lord, for rejoicing over me in love.  Thanks for your wonderful love. 

Text:  Isaiah 62:1-5  NIV - New International Version

Zion’s New Name

1 For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet,     till her vindication shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch.

2  The nations will see your vindication, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow.

3  You will be a crown of splendor in the Lord’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God. 

4   No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate.  But you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the Lord will take delight in you, and your land will be married.

5   As a young man marries a young woman, so will your Builder marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT: 

[From Our Daily Bread]  Brendan and Katie beamed at each other. Looking at the pure joy on their faces, you would have never guessed the difficult ways so many of their wedding plans had been dramatically altered due to COVID-19 restrictions. Even with only twenty-five family members present, joy and peace radiated from the two as they said their vows because of their love for each other and expressed their gratefulness for God’s love sustaining them.

The image of a bride and groom delighting over each other is the picture the prophet Isaiah painted to describe the type of delight and love God has for His people. In a beautifully poetic description of His promised deliverance, Isaiah reminded his readers that the salvation He offered them reflected the reality of living in a broken world—comfort for the brokenhearted, joy for those who mourn, and provision for the needs of His people (Isaiah 61:1–3). God offered help to His people because, just like a bride and groom celebrate their love for each other, “so will your God rejoice over you” (62:5).

It’s a remarkable truth that God delights in us and wants a relationship with us. Even when we struggle because of the effects of living in a broken world, we have a God who loves us, not begrudgingly, but with a rejoicing, lasting love that “endures forever” (Psalm 136:1). By Lisa M. Samra

[From Commentary]  After prophesying that God would use the Assyrians and the Babylonians to discipline His people for their idolatrous unfaithfulness (Isaiah 1–39), Isaiah comforted the Israelites with the promise that God would restore and bless them once the discipline was complete (chs. 40–66). In chapter 62, God speaks of the vindication and restoration of Jerusalem or Zion. God will personally make a grand spectacle of Jerusalem, so much so that the world “will be blinded by [its] glory” (vv. 2–3 nlt). Instead of being known as an abandoned and forsaken city, Jerusalem will be renowned as “Hephzibah” (v. 4), which the New Living Translation renders as “The City of God’s Delight,” and as “Beulah” (meaning “married”), rendered as “The Bride of God.” God presents Himself as the faithful and loving Builder and Bridegroom who will establish, cherish, and protect His beloved (v. 5). - K. T. Sim

[From me] God disciplines us, but after that He restores us. God brings back the glory.  He delights in us, just like a young groom delight in marrying his young bride.  We (the Church) is the bride of Christ, and he loves us very much.   Thank, O Lord, for rejoicing over me in love.  Thanks for your wonderful love. 

March 17, 2023