The Redemption of the bride:

God’s redeeming love for his covenant people

The beautiful allegory of the Redemption of the Bride tells the story of the House of Israel: her covenant betrothal to Jehovah, her adulterous apostasy from that covenant, and her restoration through His tender mercies and compassion upon her.

The tale also reveals much about the characteristics of the Bridegroom: He is long-suffering, faithful, and determined to redeem His people.

By using the symbols of Husband and wife, there is a purposeful and unmistakeable intimacy to the scriptural tale that almost seems too sacred to speak aloud. The Lord, who has chosen the symbols and relates the tale, wants us to take the story personally. He is the Husband; each one of us is the Bride.

Salvation and redemption is an individual affair. Although it is tempting to identify Israel as a nation of people, the scriptural use of the story of the Bride as a singular person invites us to explore our own particular relationship with the Lord. Although the Atonement of Jesus Christ was infinite in its scope, we must still understand that the sacrifice was performed for us personally, and individually.

The title “Bride” applies to both men and women. It is used to denote a special covenant relationship between the individual and God. Israel is an all-inclusive name to indicate God’s covenant family, to which all people are invited to belong.

In this book, “Israel,” “Church” and “Bride” will be used interchangeably. The Lord uses various titles to illustrate the many traits and characteristics of His relationship to His people. Even as He is the Lion of Judah, the Lamb, the Shepherd, the Rock, the Living Water, the Stone of Stumbling, and the Great I AM — He is also our Father, our Elder Brother, and in this study, the Faithful Husband.

The story of Jehovah and His Bride is a promise of hope to every individual who fears that they may have strayed too far from the Lord. Although, like the Bride, we may have traveled a dark road, His atoning grace and mercy can heal and restore us to a newness of purity and hope.

This is God’s love story. It is also our story — each one of us. We are the Bride of Christ, and He is waiting for us.

Our Redemption, should we choose it, is at hand.

THE FEASTS AND FESTIVALS OF THE MESSIAH

I have always had a love and fascination for the ancient holy days and their celebratory worship of God. Not only do they look to the past with gratitude, but they look to the future with hopeful anticipation of salvation through the Messiah. And thus, they have informed my own sense of gratitude for the past: for the gift of love from my Savior, Jesus Christ, who rescued and delivered me into the light of His gospel.

Ezekiel prophesies of a restoration of the feast days during the Millennium (see Ezek. 45-46), and Zechariah specifically names the Feast of Tabernacles as a feast that will be kept and honored by all the nations of the earth during the Millennial reign of Christ (Zech. 14:16).

However, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints may have a unique perspective in recognizing the prophetic nature of the feasts, and their fulfillment, not only in the Atonement of Jesus Christ, but also the restoration of sacred doctrine and keys. Not only did Joseph Smith receive the plates of the Book of Mormon on the Feast of Trumpets, but the appearance of Elijah at the Kirtland Temple corresponded to the Passover promise of his return. The Book of Mormon, itself, reveals a people who honored and kept the ancient feast days, where King Benjamin followed the traditions of the Feast of Tabernacles, and Alma appears to have followed the tradition of teaching his sons during the Passover ritual.

What do the ancient feast days teach us about the foreordained mission of the Savior, Jesus Christ? How can studying the feast days help us to have a greater appreciation for the sacrament — an ordinance that Jesus instituted during a Passover meal?

If the feast days are to be kept during the Millennium, as prophesied, how can we better understand their role in our worship? Can studying them help us to prepare for the Second Coming of the Messiah?

Lastly, as Israelites who were commanded to remember them forever, how can we teach our families about the feast days and help them recognize them as a further witness of God’s great Plan of Salvation?

judah and joseph reunited: the hope for israel

BORN OUT OF ORDER, neither Judah nor Joseph expected to receive the firstborn birthright from Father Jacob (Israel), yet each was endowed with powerful blessings of leadership over their siblings. Judah was given the right of kingship, and promised that the Messiah would come through his loins. Joseph was given the blessings of the birthright, and the charge to save all of Israel, starting with his own eleven brothers.

The fact that both brothers were given leadership responsibilities led to a constant state of friction between Judah and Joseph and their descendants. This friction led to the eventual division of Israel.

The long isolation and separation of the tribes has resulted in a complete disassociation between the tribes of Israel, a breach that must be repaired. The gathering of Israel-all of its tribal members-is essential, and Judah and Joseph must join together for that process to be successful.

The hope of Israel is in the Jewish Messiah, Yeshua, or Jesus Christ. The hope for Israel is that the individual tribes come to themselves, remember their heritage, and unite once again as a covenant family. In that work, Judah and Joseph must heal the breach and lead the way.