The Husband’s Crown

The Husband’s Crown

You will be a crown of splendor in the LORD’s hand.

Isaiah 62:3

IN WORD The wedding language in the prophetic books is emphatic. Perhaps in a culture far removed from ancient Near Eastern wedding customs, we don’t get the full impact today. But when Isaiah tells Jerusalem that its people will be called Hephzibah and its land Beulah (v. 4), the names are loaded with meaning. Hephzibah means “my delight is in her,” and Beulah means “married.” God makes it clear that He gets excited about intimacy with His people.

Those names come right after a powerful description: “You will be a crown of splendor in the LORD’s hand.” In other words, the King holds His bride proudly. In matters of romantic love, the nature of the beloved usually reveals quite a bit about the heart of the one who loves her. A bride represents a groom’s tastes and pleasures, his deepest desires. The fact that our King calls us His bride is astounding. Those who were made in His image are meant to be a delightful expression of who He is.

What does that mean in real, everyday life? It means that we are soul mates with the One who redeemed us. When Jesus told the disciples in John 14 that He would come for them, He used wedding terms. In the greatest Cinderella story of all time, the King has graciously taken a woman dressed in rags and made her the apple of His eye.

IN DEED If you knew that—if you really felt that in the deepest corners of your heart—how would it change the way you live? Christians who don’t know that God delights in them live as paupers and prisoners, serving God out of obligation rather than out of intimacy. But that kind of lifestyle is not a worthy representation of the marriage of the King.

Live regally—not arrogantly, not excessively, but regally. The prophets call God’s people into intimate union with the King. To live as strangers or menial servants is to spurn the best proposal we’ll ever get. Let your prayers and worship be sweet whispers of a person madly in love. Let the King have you as His crown of splendor.

The courtship that began in the Garden culminates in the wedding feast of the Lamb.

—JOHN ELDREDGE