"You are all-beautiful, my beloved"

Jeremiah 31:1-7

At that time, says the LORD,
I will be the God of all the tribes of Israel,
and they shall be my people.
Thus says the LORD:
The people that escaped the sword
have found favor in the desert.
As Israel comes forward to be given his rest,
the LORD appears to him from afar:
With age-old love I have loved you;
so I have kept my mercy toward you.
Again I will restore you, and you shall be rebuilt,
O virgin Israel;
Carrying your festive tambourines,
you shall go forth dancing with the merrymakers.
Again you shall plant vineyards
on the mountains of Samaria;
those who plant them shall enjoy the fruits.
Yes, a day will come when the watchmen
will call out on Mount Ephraim:
“Rise up, let us go to Zion,
to the LORD, our God.”

For thus says the LORD:
Shout with joy for Jacob,
exult at the head of the nations;
proclaim your praise and say:
The LORD has delivered his people,
the remnant of Israel.

"With age-old love I have loved you... O virgin Israel"

Virgin?

This is the Israel who worships in the high places, sacrifices to Baal, and neglects the widow and the orphan.

How can God call this ancient and wicked people, young and pure?

"You are all-beautiful, my beloved, and there is no blemish in you." Song of Songs 4:7

What is this amorous delusion?

The lover is not beloved because they are perfect, but because they are lovely. 

Our power to mar ourselves cannot compare to Christ's ability to restore us. Not only in fact, but in our own eyes.

So that callouses are not rough eyesores, but testaments to our labors. Scars are not testimonies of past pains and failures, but marks of redemption, healing, and identity. (John 21:24-29) All our imperfections are held up and treasured as evidence that we are unique and our value is not in how well we fit a mold.

"You are all-beautiful, my beloved, and there is no blemish in you." Song of Songs 4:7

How does God see this crooked nation of oppression and disloyalty as a beautiful young virgin to be taken as a wife? How does he see our ugliness and cry out: "My beloved!"?

I think he sees the gift in us. That particular beauty we have been bestowed, however hidden and twisted, and he relishes it.

Lord, grant that my love for you may be some small reflection of your love for me.

----------

What is your best memory of your beloved? (spouse, friend, anyone) Maybe it's the moment you saw something in them that moved you to begin to love them.

Perhaps that is their freedom, that is who they are. Do not confuse the shackles of sin and self-doubt they carry with their identity.



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