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Erez Soref - The Straying Bride

November 22, 2025 | S1 E3 | 28:44

Erez Soref - The Straying Bride
Israel’s relationship with God hits heartbreaking lows of betrayal and exile—yet His love never quits. Through the story of Hosea, Dr. Erez Soref shows how God’s relentless mercy points to the Cross and invites us all back into covenant grace.
#Israel #BrideofChrist #Messiah #Judaism #Christianity #Bible #Study #JewishHistory #JewishTradition #ErezSoref

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| Erez Soref - The Straying Bride | November 22, 2025
  • God has married a people,
  • 00:00:02.659 --> 00:00:04.160
  • My people, israel.
  • 00:00:04.160 --> 00:00:05.962
  • He personally is going to come back
  • 00:00:05.962 --> 00:00:08.832
  • And fetch his bride,
  • 00:00:08.832 --> 00:00:09.966
  • Because he is the bridegroom.
  • 00:00:09.966 --> 00:00:12.168
  • The divine romance is full of pain,
  • 00:00:12.168 --> 00:00:14.471
  • Sorrow, and redemption.
  • 00:00:14.471 --> 00:00:16.106
  • I saw fear in her face.
  • 00:00:16.106 --> 00:00:17.240
  • It just not going to work.
  • 00:00:17.240 --> 00:00:18.341
  • We're going to get a divorce.
  • 00:00:18.341 --> 00:00:19.342
  • He felt the hurt.
  • 00:00:19.342 --> 00:00:20.743
  • He bore the humiliation.
  • 00:00:20.743 --> 00:00:22.212
  • This is how far i'll go.
  • 00:00:22.212 --> 00:00:24.547
  • This is how much i love israel.
  • 00:00:24.547 --> 00:00:28.818
  • I am dr. erez soref.
  • 00:00:29.285 --> 00:00:31.121
  • I was born and raised in the heart of israel,
  • 00:00:31.121 --> 00:00:33.823
  • But i never heard the gospel message
  • 00:00:33.823 --> 00:00:36.326
  • Until on a journey abroad,
  • 00:00:36.326 --> 00:00:38.561
  • My eyes were opened to the jewish messiah.
  • 00:00:38.561 --> 00:00:41.798
  • From that point,
  • 00:00:41.798 --> 00:00:43.199
  • My life has been dedicated
  • 00:00:43.199 --> 00:00:45.168
  • To bringing this gospel back to my people israel,
  • 00:00:45.168 --> 00:00:48.571
  • Equipping them to reach israel
  • 00:00:48.571 --> 00:00:50.907
  • And the world.
  • 00:00:50.907 --> 00:00:52.275
  • Together, as jews and gentiles,
  • 00:00:52.275 --> 00:00:54.744
  • We are one in messiah, one for israel.
  • 00:00:54.744 --> 00:01:14.230
  • Weddings, where rejoicing
  • 00:01:14.797 --> 00:01:16.666
  • Is serious business.
  • 00:01:16.666 --> 00:01:18.434
  • In jewish weddings,
  • 00:01:18.434 --> 00:01:19.769
  • Food and drinks flow freely.
  • 00:01:19.769 --> 00:01:22.138
  • Dancing goes on
  • 00:01:22.138 --> 00:01:23.306
  • To all hours of the night.
  • 00:01:23.306 --> 00:01:25.008
  • It's truly the pinnacle of joy
  • 00:01:25.008 --> 00:01:26.943
  • In jewish society.
  • 00:01:26.943 --> 00:01:28.611
  • It was so fitting for yeshua
  • 00:01:28.611 --> 00:01:30.780
  • To perform his first miracle at a wedding
  • 00:01:30.780 --> 00:01:33.516
  • As a sign to point to god's divine love
  • 00:01:33.516 --> 00:01:37.020
  • For israel.
  • 00:01:37.020 --> 00:01:38.221
  • But in modern jewish weddings,
  • 00:01:38.221 --> 00:01:40.023
  • There's a remarkable tradition.
  • 00:01:40.023 --> 00:01:42.125
  • Once the rabbi announces the man and wife,
  • 00:01:42.125 --> 00:01:45.528
  • The groom stomps on a glass,
  • 00:01:45.528 --> 00:01:47.797
  • A reminder that in the midst of the festivities,
  • 00:01:47.797 --> 00:01:50.967
  • That married life holds both joy and sorrow.
  • 00:01:50.967 --> 00:01:55.104
  • Even in rejoicing, there's a heartbreak.
  • 00:01:55.104 --> 00:01:58.541
  • In the eternal love story unfolding before us,
  • 00:01:58.541 --> 00:02:01.244
  • God has also experienced heartbreak.
  • 00:02:01.244 --> 00:02:03.680
  • The divine romance is full of pain,
  • 00:02:03.680 --> 00:02:06.216
  • Sorrow, and redemption.
  • 00:02:06.216 --> 00:02:08.318
  • We've been asking the question,
  • 00:02:09.052 --> 00:02:11.154
  • Why israel?
  • 00:02:11.154 --> 00:02:12.689
  • Last time, we looked at a covenant
  • 00:02:13.456 --> 00:02:15.458
  • Between god and abraham.
  • 00:02:15.458 --> 00:02:17.393
  • God chose him, blessed him,
  • 00:02:17.393 --> 00:02:19.896
  • And they formed a friendship.
  • 00:02:19.896 --> 00:02:22.031
  • God promised abraham land, material wealth,
  • 00:02:22.031 --> 00:02:25.668
  • And a great nation from his lineage.
  • 00:02:25.668 --> 00:02:27.971
  • In return, god would enter
  • 00:02:27.971 --> 00:02:30.373
  • Into a special covenant relationship
  • 00:02:30.373 --> 00:02:32.842
  • With this nation springing from abraham.
  • 00:02:32.842 --> 00:02:36.246
  • Those blessings could be seen as a dowry,
  • 00:02:36.246 --> 00:02:39.549
  • A bride price paid to abraham.
  • 00:02:39.549 --> 00:02:42.619
  • And the nation that would come from him
  • 00:02:42.619 --> 00:02:44.954
  • Would be god's bride.
  • 00:02:44.954 --> 00:02:47.857
  • God has married a people,
  • 00:02:48.424 --> 00:02:50.426
  • My people, israel.
  • 00:02:50.426 --> 00:02:52.128
  • This covenant is a marriage
  • 00:02:52.128 --> 00:02:54.030
  • Rooted in god's infinite love and faithfulness.
  • 00:02:54.030 --> 00:02:57.333
  • He redeemed his bride from egypt,
  • 00:02:57.333 --> 00:02:59.602
  • Met her in the wilderness,
  • 00:02:59.602 --> 00:03:01.170
  • And brought her home to this land.
  • 00:03:01.170 --> 00:03:05.508
  • This love is an unbreakable bond.
  • 00:03:06.242 --> 00:03:09.012
  • It's forever.
  • 00:03:09.012 --> 00:03:10.380
  • While our vows say, till death do us part,
  • 00:03:10.380 --> 00:03:14.484
  • God gave israel this promise.
  • 00:03:14.484 --> 00:03:17.186
  • "he who appoints the sun
  • 00:03:17.186 --> 00:03:18.855
  • "to shine by day,
  • 00:03:18.855 --> 00:03:20.323
  • "who decrees the moon
  • 00:03:20.323 --> 00:03:21.457
  • "and the stars to shine
  • 00:03:21.457 --> 00:03:22.659
  • "by night, who stirs up
  • 00:03:22.659 --> 00:03:24.494
  • "the sea so that its waves roar,
  • 00:03:24.494 --> 00:03:27.463
  • "only if these decrees
  • 00:03:27.463 --> 00:03:28.798
  • "vanish from my sight
  • 00:03:28.798 --> 00:03:30.767
  • "will israel ever cease
  • 00:03:30.767 --> 00:03:32.702
  • "being a nation before me."
  • 00:03:32.702 --> 00:03:34.671
  • Until the sun stops shining, this covenant will endure.
  • 00:03:34.671 --> 00:03:39.742
  • And just like our marriages today
  • 00:03:39.742 --> 00:03:41.744
  • Come with vows of mutual faithfulness,
  • 00:03:41.744 --> 00:03:45.081
  • This divine marriage came with israel's vow
  • 00:03:45.081 --> 00:03:47.850
  • To be faithful to the lord.
  • 00:03:47.850 --> 00:03:50.186
  • But what happens when his bride is not faithful?
  • 00:03:51.187 --> 00:03:54.557
  • Sadly, unfaithfulness and divorce
  • 00:03:54.557 --> 00:03:57.026
  • Are all too common in our world.
  • 00:03:57.026 --> 00:03:59.462
  • Some of you may know how heart-wrenching
  • 00:03:59.462 --> 00:04:02.365
  • And upending divorce
  • 00:04:02.365 --> 00:04:04.300
  • Or even one act of unfaithfulness can be.
  • 00:04:04.300 --> 00:04:07.670
  • In malachi 2, god says he hates divorce.
  • 00:04:07.670 --> 00:04:11.574
  • Why?
  • 00:04:11.574 --> 00:04:12.642
  • Because he knows the damage it does
  • 00:04:12.642 --> 00:04:14.510
  • To families, to children, to our own hearts.
  • 00:04:14.510 --> 00:04:18.047
  • Yeshua said god only permitted divorce
  • 00:04:18.047 --> 00:04:21.351
  • Because of the hardness of our hearts.
  • 00:04:21.351 --> 00:04:23.853
  • This is not to throw condemnation
  • 00:04:23.853 --> 00:04:25.822
  • If you are divorced or have been unfaithful.
  • 00:04:25.822 --> 00:04:28.157
  • But that pain gives a glimpse
  • 00:04:28.157 --> 00:04:30.360
  • Into the pain god himself has experienced
  • 00:04:30.360 --> 00:04:32.862
  • In the relationship with his bride.
  • 00:04:32.862 --> 00:04:36.666
  • Unlike us in our relationships,
  • 00:04:37.400 --> 00:04:39.769
  • God's love is perfect.
  • 00:04:39.769 --> 00:04:41.771
  • God's faithfulness is unwavering.
  • 00:04:41.771 --> 00:04:44.307
  • One reason we may find it hard to relate
  • 00:04:44.307 --> 00:04:47.143
  • To perfect love
  • 00:04:47.143 --> 00:04:48.411
  • Is how flawed our love is,
  • 00:04:48.411 --> 00:04:50.713
  • How faulty our human examples of faithfulness
  • 00:04:50.713 --> 00:04:53.583
  • And selflessness are.
  • 00:04:53.583 --> 00:04:55.685
  • That's why god used israel
  • 00:04:55.685 --> 00:04:57.954
  • In all her failings and unfaithfulness
  • 00:04:57.954 --> 00:05:00.490
  • To showcase his love for the world.
  • 00:05:00.490 --> 00:05:03.659
  • "for god so loved the world
  • 00:05:03.659 --> 00:05:05.661
  • "that he gave his only
  • 00:05:05.661 --> 00:05:06.763
  • "begotten son,
  • 00:05:06.763 --> 00:05:08.030
  • "that whoever believes in him
  • 00:05:08.030 --> 00:05:09.899
  • "should not perish
  • 00:05:09.899 --> 00:05:11.200
  • "but have everlasting life."
  • 00:05:11.200 --> 00:05:13.436
  • We see the selfless and unwavering love of god
  • 00:05:14.404 --> 00:05:17.640
  • Through the showcase of israel.
  • 00:05:17.640 --> 00:05:19.475
  • And this love culminated with the cross.
  • 00:05:19.475 --> 00:05:22.578
  • And it still continues today in your life
  • 00:05:22.578 --> 00:05:25.615
  • And the ongoing story of my people.
  • 00:05:25.615 --> 00:05:28.117
  • God had initiated this relationship
  • 00:05:28.117 --> 00:05:29.852
  • Of covenant love with israel.
  • 00:05:29.852 --> 00:05:31.854
  • But throughout this marriage,
  • 00:05:31.854 --> 00:05:33.523
  • Israel had been persistently unfaithful.
  • 00:05:33.523 --> 00:05:37.693
  • Even seeing god's miracles unfolding before them,
  • 00:05:37.693 --> 00:05:40.730
  • They were still making and worshiping idols.
  • 00:05:40.730 --> 00:05:43.733
  • They formed the golden calf
  • 00:05:43.733 --> 00:05:45.635
  • While god was right in front of them
  • 00:05:45.635 --> 00:05:47.570
  • On the mountain.
  • 00:05:47.570 --> 00:05:49.172
  • We are often not much better.
  • 00:05:49.172 --> 00:05:51.441
  • Followers of yeshua today
  • 00:05:51.441 --> 00:05:53.309
  • Have access to the word at our fingertips,
  • 00:05:53.309 --> 00:05:56.312
  • In our phones, in our homes,
  • 00:05:56.312 --> 00:05:58.014
  • On the television and internet.
  • 00:05:58.014 --> 00:06:00.216
  • His spirit actually lives inside of us.
  • 00:06:00.216 --> 00:06:02.852
  • But like israel,
  • 00:06:02.852 --> 00:06:04.020
  • We often fail to make ourselves aware
  • 00:06:04.020 --> 00:06:06.789
  • To see who is right in front of our faces.
  • 00:06:06.789 --> 00:06:10.193
  • Once israel was living in its own land,
  • 00:06:10.193 --> 00:06:12.728
  • People began to turn completely to other gods.
  • 00:06:12.728 --> 00:06:15.932
  • Under kings like jeroboam and ahab,
  • 00:06:15.932 --> 00:06:18.668
  • Idolatry became the state religion.
  • 00:06:18.668 --> 00:06:21.504
  • Israel became a divided kingdom,
  • 00:06:21.504 --> 00:06:23.773
  • A symbol of broken vows.
  • 00:06:23.773 --> 00:06:25.942
  • Yet god kept forgiving israel
  • 00:06:25.942 --> 00:06:28.978
  • Over and over,
  • 00:06:28.978 --> 00:06:30.279
  • Just as he forgives us over and over.
  • 00:06:30.279 --> 00:06:33.049
  • The prophets call israel an unfaithful wife
  • 00:06:33.916 --> 00:06:37.186
  • And even a prostitute,
  • 00:06:37.186 --> 00:06:39.055
  • Going after other gods
  • 00:06:39.055 --> 00:06:40.857
  • Rather than the lord her husband.
  • 00:06:40.857 --> 00:06:43.125
  • If you read ezekiel,
  • 00:06:43.125 --> 00:06:44.760
  • You will see graphic pictures
  • 00:06:44.760 --> 00:06:46.496
  • Of israel's betrayal and god's continued pursuit.
  • 00:06:46.496 --> 00:06:50.199
  • It wasn't just failing at religion,
  • 00:06:50.199 --> 00:06:52.468
  • This was personal.
  • 00:06:52.468 --> 00:06:53.936
  • It was breaking the heart of god,
  • 00:06:53.936 --> 00:06:56.405
  • Trusting in wealth, unholy alliances,
  • 00:06:56.405 --> 00:06:59.175
  • Taking advantage of the poor widow and fatherless,
  • 00:06:59.175 --> 00:07:02.211
  • All the while making a religious show.
  • 00:07:02.211 --> 00:07:04.981
  • Have you ever looked religious
  • 00:07:04.981 --> 00:07:07.383
  • While your relationship with god suffered?
  • 00:07:07.383 --> 00:07:09.919
  • The prophets constantly called out israel cheating,
  • 00:07:09.919 --> 00:07:13.122
  • Lying and sexual immorality.
  • 00:07:13.122 --> 00:07:15.224
  • As unfaithful as they could be,
  • 00:07:15.224 --> 00:07:17.560
  • God continued to be faithful.
  • 00:07:17.560 --> 00:07:20.830
  • God was patient with israel,
  • 00:07:21.430 --> 00:07:23.733
  • Sending prophets to call her to repentance,
  • 00:07:23.733 --> 00:07:26.469
  • Pleading for his bride to return.
  • 00:07:26.469 --> 00:07:28.704
  • In the torah,
  • 00:07:29.071 --> 00:07:30.239
  • If a wife is unfaithful,
  • 00:07:30.239 --> 00:07:31.974
  • The husband could divorce her and send her away.
  • 00:07:31.974 --> 00:07:35.111
  • If adultery could be proven in court,
  • 00:07:35.111 --> 00:07:38.180
  • She could be legally stoned to death.
  • 00:07:38.180 --> 00:07:40.950
  • God had the right to divorce and wipe out israel,
  • 00:07:40.950 --> 00:07:44.554
  • But he didn't.
  • 00:07:44.554 --> 00:07:45.855
  • When pharisees brought yeshua
  • 00:07:46.522 --> 00:07:48.224
  • A woman caught in the act of adultery,
  • 00:07:48.224 --> 00:07:50.693
  • They said, moses commanded us to stone such a woman.
  • 00:07:50.693 --> 00:07:54.697
  • Now, what do you say?
  • 00:07:54.697 --> 00:07:56.699
  • Yeshua echoed god's eternal love for israel
  • 00:07:56.699 --> 00:07:59.869
  • And spoke the words to her.
  • 00:07:59.869 --> 00:08:02.271
  • Neither do i condemn you.
  • 00:08:02.271 --> 00:08:04.006
  • Go and leave your life of sin.
  • 00:08:04.006 --> 00:08:06.709
  • When israel abandoned god,
  • 00:08:06.709 --> 00:08:08.744
  • God did not abandon israel.
  • 00:08:08.744 --> 00:08:11.147
  • When you abandon god,
  • 00:08:11.147 --> 00:08:12.848
  • God does not abandon you.
  • 00:08:12.848 --> 00:08:15.084
  • Even when god sent israel into exile,
  • 00:08:15.084 --> 00:08:17.887
  • It was a way to draw them back to himself.
  • 00:08:17.887 --> 00:08:20.890
  • He went with them into exile,
  • 00:08:20.890 --> 00:08:23.059
  • Into their suffering.
  • 00:08:23.059 --> 00:08:24.594
  • When you suffer the consequences of your sin,
  • 00:08:24.594 --> 00:08:27.663
  • God is still right there with you,
  • 00:08:27.663 --> 00:08:29.832
  • Drawing you back to him.
  • 00:08:29.832 --> 00:08:31.601
  • That's the kind of god he is.
  • 00:08:32.268 --> 00:08:34.804
  • The god that walks in your suffering
  • 00:08:34.804 --> 00:08:36.672
  • To restore relationship,
  • 00:08:36.672 --> 00:08:38.541
  • Who walks into exile to bring reconciliation,
  • 00:08:38.541 --> 00:08:42.578
  • That takes on the sins of the world,
  • 00:08:42.578 --> 00:08:44.814
  • Our stripes on his back.
  • 00:08:44.814 --> 00:08:53.002
  • Our stripes on his back.
  • 00:08:53.002 --> 00:08:58.453
  • At the climax
  • 00:08:58.820 --> 00:08:59.687
  • Of israel's unfaithfulness,
  • 00:08:59.687 --> 00:09:01.656
  • The wheels were already
  • 00:09:01.656 --> 00:09:02.890
  • In motion for a plan
  • 00:09:02.890 --> 00:09:04.359
  • To save the marriage.
  • 00:09:04.359 --> 00:09:05.827
  • Prophet after prophet signaled god's heart
  • 00:09:05.827 --> 00:09:09.631
  • And his plan for reconciliation.
  • 00:09:09.631 --> 00:09:12.133
  • As jeremiah said,
  • 00:09:12.133 --> 00:09:14.035
  • "return faithless people,
  • 00:09:14.602 --> 00:09:16.137
  • "declares the lord,
  • 00:09:16.137 --> 00:09:17.105
  • "for i am your husband.
  • 00:09:17.105 --> 00:09:18.740
  • "i will choose you."
  • 00:09:18.740 --> 00:09:20.408
  • Next, we read in ezekiel.
  • 00:09:20.408 --> 00:09:22.810
  • "you have despised my oath
  • 00:09:23.378 --> 00:09:24.979
  • "by breaking the covenant,
  • 00:09:24.979 --> 00:09:26.648
  • "yet i will remember
  • 00:09:26.648 --> 00:09:28.016
  • "the covenant i made with you
  • 00:09:28.016 --> 00:09:29.851
  • "in the days of your youth
  • 00:09:29.851 --> 00:09:31.452
  • "and i will establish
  • 00:09:31.452 --> 00:09:32.520
  • "an everlasting covenant
  • 00:09:32.520 --> 00:09:34.422
  • "with you."
  • 00:09:34.422 --> 00:09:35.456
  • No story illustrates god's relentless love
  • 00:09:36.357 --> 00:09:39.961
  • Better than the story of hosea.
  • 00:09:39.961 --> 00:09:42.330
  • God commanded the prophet hosea
  • 00:09:42.330 --> 00:09:44.232
  • To marry a prostitute named gomer
  • 00:09:44.232 --> 00:09:47.068
  • As a living parable of god's relationship
  • 00:09:47.068 --> 00:09:49.570
  • With his people.
  • 00:09:49.570 --> 00:09:51.039
  • Gomer was unfaithful to hosea and left him,
  • 00:09:51.039 --> 00:09:54.375
  • Selling herself as a sex slave
  • 00:09:54.375 --> 00:09:56.511
  • To another man.
  • 00:09:56.511 --> 00:09:57.945
  • But god commanded hosea to buy her back from slavery,
  • 00:09:57.945 --> 00:10:01.516
  • Paying a price to redeem her and love her again.
  • 00:10:01.516 --> 00:10:06.020
  • "go, show your love
  • 00:10:06.487 --> 00:10:08.589
  • "to your wife again.
  • 00:10:08.589 --> 00:10:10.258
  • "though she is loved
  • 00:10:10.258 --> 00:10:11.559
  • "by another man
  • 00:10:11.559 --> 00:10:13.094
  • "and is an adulteress.
  • 00:10:13.094 --> 00:10:14.829
  • "love her as the lord loves
  • 00:10:14.829 --> 00:10:16.431
  • "the israelites,
  • 00:10:16.431 --> 00:10:17.732
  • "though they turn
  • 00:10:17.732 --> 00:10:19.567
  • "to other gods."
  • 00:10:19.567 --> 00:10:20.902
  • It wasn't just a sermon illustration.
  • 00:10:21.703 --> 00:10:24.939
  • This was real life.
  • 00:10:24.939 --> 00:10:27.241
  • Hosea actually felt real pain and real rejection.
  • 00:10:27.241 --> 00:10:31.379
  • He paid a real cost to redeem his unfaithful bride.
  • 00:10:31.379 --> 00:10:36.017
  • He had to count out the redemption price
  • 00:10:36.017 --> 00:10:39.253
  • For a woman who had betrayed
  • 00:10:39.253 --> 00:10:41.456
  • And embarrassed him.
  • 00:10:41.456 --> 00:10:43.024
  • Not only did she endure the shame
  • 00:10:43.024 --> 00:10:45.259
  • For what she did,
  • 00:10:45.259 --> 00:10:46.594
  • By taking her back, hosea endured the shame.
  • 00:10:46.594 --> 00:10:50.431
  • He bore the humiliation.
  • 00:10:50.431 --> 00:10:52.500
  • He felt the hurt.
  • 00:10:52.500 --> 00:10:54.335
  • He carried the weight of betrayal.
  • 00:10:54.335 --> 00:10:58.539
  • And in hosea's prophetic act,
  • 00:10:59.207 --> 00:11:01.909
  • God was saying,
  • 00:11:01.909 --> 00:11:03.211
  • This is how far i'll go to restore my bride.
  • 00:11:03.211 --> 00:11:07.715
  • This is how much i love israel.
  • 00:11:07.715 --> 00:11:10.585
  • This is how much i love you.
  • 00:11:10.585 --> 00:11:13.454
  • I will bear her shame.
  • 00:11:13.454 --> 00:11:15.656
  • I will endure rejection.
  • 00:11:15.656 --> 00:11:17.859
  • I'll pay the price.
  • 00:11:17.859 --> 00:11:19.527
  • I'll even take up a cross.
  • 00:11:19.527 --> 00:11:23.965
  • God clearly stated.
  • 00:11:24.432 --> 00:11:26.501
  • He was the redeemer calling us back home.
  • 00:11:26.501 --> 00:11:29.837
  • As he says,
  • 00:11:29.837 --> 00:11:30.905
  • "i am now going to allure her.
  • 00:11:31.539 --> 00:11:35.042
  • "i will lead her
  • 00:11:35.042 --> 00:11:36.043
  • "into the wilderness
  • 00:11:36.043 --> 00:11:37.545
  • "and speak tenderly to her.
  • 00:11:37.545 --> 00:11:40.081
  • "she will respond
  • 00:11:40.081 --> 00:11:41.549
  • "as in the days of her youth.
  • 00:11:41.549 --> 00:11:43.484
  • "in that day,
  • 00:11:43.851 --> 00:11:45.219
  • "you will call me my husband.
  • 00:11:45.219 --> 00:11:47.789
  • "i will betroth you
  • 00:11:47.789 --> 00:11:49.924
  • "to me forever."
  • 00:11:49.924 --> 00:11:52.760
  • The bible often refers to god's people
  • 00:11:53.594 --> 00:11:56.898
  • As his sheep.
  • 00:11:56.898 --> 00:11:58.099
  • And like sheep,
  • 00:11:58.099 --> 00:11:59.333
  • We too are prone to wander.
  • 00:11:59.333 --> 00:12:01.869
  • But that's why yeshua came
  • 00:12:01.869 --> 00:12:03.571
  • As the good shepherd,
  • 00:12:03.571 --> 00:12:05.039
  • Whose sheep hear his voice and follow.
  • 00:12:05.039 --> 00:12:08.109
  • And like hosea pursuing his wayward wife,
  • 00:12:08.109 --> 00:12:11.679
  • Yeshua pursues that one little sheep
  • 00:12:11.679 --> 00:12:14.382
  • That runs off from the 99.
  • 00:12:14.382 --> 00:12:16.951
  • Listen to this story of a jewish wife
  • 00:12:16.951 --> 00:12:20.321
  • Who feared that her husband's newfound faith in yeshua
  • 00:12:20.321 --> 00:12:24.225
  • Would destroy their marriage.
  • 00:12:24.225 --> 00:12:26.828
  • But yeshua pursued them both
  • 00:12:26.828 --> 00:12:28.930
  • In their wandering
  • 00:12:28.930 --> 00:12:30.264
  • And brought reconciliation to their marriage
  • 00:12:30.264 --> 00:12:32.900
  • And their relationship with god.
  • 00:12:32.900 --> 00:12:35.269
  • My wife knew i was studying some things.
  • 00:12:35.269 --> 00:12:37.305
  • But when i told her that i became a christian,
  • 00:12:37.305 --> 00:12:40.241
  • I saw fear in her face.
  • 00:12:40.241 --> 00:12:41.475
  • How could you believe in jesus?
  • 00:12:41.475 --> 00:12:43.644
  • How could you do this to this family?
  • 00:12:43.644 --> 00:12:45.580
  • This is not gonna work.
  • 00:12:45.580 --> 00:12:46.647
  • We're gonna get a divorce.
  • 00:12:46.647 --> 00:12:52.587
  • My wife and i,
  • 00:12:52.954 --> 00:12:54.155
  • We had an interesting meeting.
  • 00:12:54.155 --> 00:12:55.189
  • Our moms have been best friends
  • 00:12:55.189 --> 00:12:56.524
  • Since first grade.
  • 00:12:56.524 --> 00:12:57.358
  • And my wife and i
  • 00:12:57.358 --> 00:12:58.593
  • Are only 18 days apart.
  • 00:12:58.593 --> 00:13:00.094
  • Family actually knew each other back in ukraine.
  • 00:13:00.094 --> 00:13:04.098
  • My parents were going to visit her in boston,
  • 00:13:04.098 --> 00:13:06.133
  • That's where she moved to,
  • 00:13:06.133 --> 00:13:07.401
  • And they asked me if i want to come along.
  • 00:13:07.401 --> 00:13:09.537
  • I said, "i don't know, i'm not sure."
  • 00:13:09.537 --> 00:13:10.671
  • And then my mom showed me a picture
  • 00:13:10.671 --> 00:13:11.873
  • And i'm like, "okay, i'm coming."
  • 00:13:11.873 --> 00:13:12.974
  • Something clicked and we fell in love.
  • 00:13:12.974 --> 00:13:14.408
  • And we got married a year and a half later.
  • 00:13:14.408 --> 00:13:17.111
  • In my early 20s, i became a father,
  • 00:13:17.845 --> 00:13:20.414
  • And i realized that something was missing in my life.
  • 00:13:20.414 --> 00:13:23.851
  • I didn't have instruction how to be a good father.
  • 00:13:23.851 --> 00:13:26.854
  • I wanted to be better for my son.
  • 00:13:26.854 --> 00:13:29.390
  • And the first thing that came to my mind
  • 00:13:29.390 --> 00:13:32.360
  • Is to start reading the bible.
  • 00:13:32.360 --> 00:13:34.829
  • And having gone to yeshiva,
  • 00:13:34.829 --> 00:13:37.365
  • I had different versions of the tanakh at home,
  • 00:13:37.365 --> 00:13:40.101
  • And i started reading it.
  • 00:13:40.101 --> 00:13:41.802
  • And then right when i started reading that,
  • 00:13:41.802 --> 00:13:43.905
  • A neighbor of mine gave me a bible.
  • 00:13:43.905 --> 00:13:46.374
  • And i decided i'm going to start reading
  • 00:13:46.374 --> 00:13:48.276
  • That one as well.
  • 00:13:48.276 --> 00:13:49.543
  • And so i opened up to genesis,
  • 00:13:49.543 --> 00:13:52.246
  • And i read, "in the beginning,
  • 00:13:52.246 --> 00:13:54.015
  • "god created the heavens and the earth."
  • 00:13:54.015 --> 00:13:55.616
  • And i'm really confused
  • 00:13:55.616 --> 00:13:56.984
  • Because i just realized i'm reading the same bible
  • 00:13:56.984 --> 00:13:59.086
  • As the tanakh. and i got to the new testament
  • 00:13:59.086 --> 00:14:01.422
  • And figured, oh, here, i'm going to get
  • 00:14:01.422 --> 00:14:02.757
  • To the christian part now.
  • 00:14:02.757 --> 00:14:04.258
  • And i start reading the book of matthew,
  • 00:14:04.258 --> 00:14:06.127
  • And i realize it's another jewish book
  • 00:14:06.127 --> 00:14:07.728
  • By a jewish person for jewish people
  • 00:14:07.728 --> 00:14:09.463
  • About the jewish messiah.
  • 00:14:09.463 --> 00:14:10.965
  • Everything i'm reading is resonating with me.
  • 00:14:10.965 --> 00:14:13.167
  • Who is this jesus person?
  • 00:14:13.167 --> 00:14:14.368
  • Why is he different than when the rabbis
  • 00:14:14.368 --> 00:14:17.271
  • Told me in school that he was just
  • 00:14:17.271 --> 00:14:18.606
  • Some renegade rabbi that started his own religion?
  • 00:14:18.606 --> 00:14:20.808
  • My wife knew i was studying some things,
  • 00:14:20.808 --> 00:14:22.810
  • But when i told her that i became a christian,
  • 00:14:22.810 --> 00:14:25.680
  • I saw fear in her face.
  • 00:14:25.680 --> 00:14:27.014
  • We got into fights.
  • 00:14:27.014 --> 00:14:28.749
  • She basically equated christianity
  • 00:14:28.749 --> 00:14:31.886
  • With anti-semitism.
  • 00:14:31.886 --> 00:14:33.154
  • I remember feeling
  • 00:14:33.154 --> 00:14:36.190
  • This such great confusion in my head,
  • 00:14:36.190 --> 00:14:40.795
  • And anger and all these emotions
  • 00:14:40.795 --> 00:14:43.130
  • Started to come over.
  • 00:14:43.130 --> 00:14:44.298
  • There was a lot of yelling and screaming
  • 00:14:44.298 --> 00:14:45.866
  • Going on in our house.
  • 00:14:45.866 --> 00:14:46.867
  • How can i become an anti-semite?
  • 00:14:46.867 --> 00:14:48.336
  • How could you believe in jesus?
  • 00:14:48.336 --> 00:14:50.638
  • How could you do this to this family?
  • 00:14:50.638 --> 00:14:52.440
  • How can she be married to an anti-semite?
  • 00:14:52.440 --> 00:14:54.375
  • This is not going to work.
  • 00:14:54.375 --> 00:14:55.643
  • We're going to get a divorce.
  • 00:14:55.643 --> 00:14:56.677
  • If i wasn't a believer
  • 00:14:56.677 --> 00:14:57.912
  • At the time, it probably
  • 00:14:57.912 --> 00:14:59.647
  • Would have been easy for me to leave.
  • 00:14:59.647 --> 00:15:01.182
  • Because i was a believer,
  • 00:15:01.182 --> 00:15:02.683
  • The thought of divorce just disappeared as an option.
  • 00:15:02.683 --> 00:15:05.619
  • We wound up splitting up a couple of times,
  • 00:15:05.619 --> 00:15:07.455
  • And it caused way more marriage problems
  • 00:15:07.455 --> 00:15:09.991
  • Than i could have imagined.
  • 00:15:09.991 --> 00:15:11.392
  • That journey lasted probably for around 15 years.
  • 00:15:11.392 --> 00:15:14.628
  • Our marriage was kind of on the rocks,
  • 00:15:14.628 --> 00:15:17.565
  • And we were kind of at a place
  • 00:15:17.565 --> 00:15:19.100
  • Where we're either going to make it work
  • 00:15:19.100 --> 00:15:20.568
  • Or we're not going to make it work.
  • 00:15:20.568 --> 00:15:22.636
  • And in my mind, i'm like thinking,
  • 00:15:22.636 --> 00:15:24.472
  • You know, she's probably going to want to leave me.
  • 00:15:24.472 --> 00:15:25.906
  • And you know, if she does, she does.
  • 00:15:25.906 --> 00:15:27.742
  • I am not going to give this up.
  • 00:15:27.742 --> 00:15:31.312
  • And i came home and i told my wife,
  • 00:15:31.312 --> 00:15:34.582
  • "i'm going to church tomorrow morning."
  • 00:15:34.582 --> 00:15:36.817
  • And just thinking right now, there's going to be a fight'
  • 00:15:36.817 --> 00:15:39.520
  • She's going to say, "you do what you want.
  • 00:15:39.520 --> 00:15:41.055
  • "i'm done with this."
  • 00:15:41.055 --> 00:15:42.523
  • And she looks me in the eye
  • 00:15:42.523 --> 00:15:43.958
  • And she says,
  • 00:15:43.958 --> 00:15:45.393
  • "i'm going with you."
  • 00:15:45.393 --> 00:15:46.527
  • She smiled, she said it with love.
  • 00:15:46.527 --> 00:15:48.896
  • That was such a huge miracle.
  • 00:15:48.896 --> 00:15:50.097
  • We went to church that day,
  • 00:15:50.097 --> 00:15:51.432
  • And the first thing she noticed in the church
  • 00:15:51.432 --> 00:15:53.234
  • That there was a big israeli flag there.
  • 00:15:53.234 --> 00:15:54.935
  • First time in my life,
  • 00:15:54.935 --> 00:15:56.504
  • My two worlds kind of collided.
  • 00:15:57.238 --> 00:15:59.673
  • And at that moment,
  • 00:15:59.673 --> 00:16:02.209
  • Those two worlds were in peace.
  • 00:16:02.209 --> 00:16:05.346
  • And so she was a little bit confused.
  • 00:16:05.346 --> 00:16:07.415
  • But during the service, again,
  • 00:16:07.415 --> 00:16:08.883
  • Our marriage was very rocky at the time.
  • 00:16:08.883 --> 00:16:10.618
  • She held she held my hand next to the pew,
  • 00:16:10.618 --> 00:16:12.953
  • You know, we were holding each other's hand.
  • 00:16:12.953 --> 00:16:14.789
  • And to me, that was the first time
  • 00:16:14.789 --> 00:16:16.457
  • I felt like truly loved and supported by her.
  • 00:16:16.457 --> 00:16:18.626
  • A month and a half or two months later,
  • 00:16:18.626 --> 00:16:20.361
  • She came to faith.
  • 00:16:20.361 --> 00:16:21.228
  • The first step for me
  • 00:16:21.228 --> 00:16:22.730
  • Was really accepting
  • 00:16:22.730 --> 00:16:25.099
  • Yeshua in my heart
  • 00:16:25.099 --> 00:16:26.734
  • And understanding who he was
  • 00:16:26.734 --> 00:16:29.670
  • And really wasn't taking anything away from me
  • 00:16:29.670 --> 00:16:33.908
  • Being jewish. i was taught the opposite.
  • 00:16:33.908 --> 00:16:36.277
  • The truth was that yeshua loved me
  • 00:16:36.277 --> 00:16:40.347
  • And he was there for me, for my people.
  • 00:16:40.347 --> 00:16:43.384
  • Our family for many years
  • 00:16:43.384 --> 00:16:45.319
  • Was a broken family,
  • 00:16:45.319 --> 00:16:46.854
  • Between the separation, between the fights,
  • 00:16:46.854 --> 00:16:48.856
  • Between the not having any peace at home.
  • 00:16:48.856 --> 00:16:51.592
  • The miracle that's happened in our family
  • 00:16:51.592 --> 00:16:53.627
  • Over the last slightly more than two years
  • 00:16:53.627 --> 00:16:56.797
  • Is a miracle.
  • 00:16:56.797 --> 00:16:58.799
  • It just kind of like,
  • 00:16:58.799 --> 00:17:00.568
  • This weight came off on me
  • 00:17:00.568 --> 00:17:02.036
  • Because i was fighting in my head back and forth.
  • 00:17:02.036 --> 00:17:04.505
  • And i felt that my,
  • 00:17:04.505 --> 00:17:07.241
  • That whole identity that i was looking for
  • 00:17:07.241 --> 00:17:10.411
  • My whole life, this was it.
  • 00:17:10.411 --> 00:17:12.813
  • I don't know how to explain it really,
  • 00:17:12.813 --> 00:17:14.482
  • But just felt more jewish.
  • 00:17:14.482 --> 00:17:16.550
  • For myself, being a believer
  • 00:17:16.550 --> 00:17:19.086
  • And being around other messianic believers
  • 00:17:19.086 --> 00:17:22.089
  • Makes me more proud to be a jew.
  • 00:17:22.089 --> 00:17:28.001
  • Makes me more proud to be a jew.
  • 00:17:28.001 --> 00:17:33.438
  • God had the right
  • 00:17:33.872 --> 00:17:35.206
  • To send israel away.
  • 00:17:35.206 --> 00:17:36.841
  • Instead, he sent the son.
  • 00:17:36.841 --> 00:17:39.744
  • It was after the wedding of cana
  • 00:17:39.744 --> 00:17:41.513
  • That john the baptist declared
  • 00:17:41.513 --> 00:17:43.581
  • That he heard the voice of the bridegroom
  • 00:17:43.581 --> 00:17:45.817
  • And his heart was glad.
  • 00:17:45.817 --> 00:17:47.452
  • He was talking about yeshua,
  • 00:17:48.052 --> 00:17:50.021
  • This son who came to marry israel
  • 00:17:50.021 --> 00:17:52.690
  • To become one with his people.
  • 00:17:52.690 --> 00:17:54.959
  • In messiah, god was reconciling,
  • 00:17:54.959 --> 00:17:57.629
  • Calling his people back to himself,
  • 00:17:57.629 --> 00:18:00.165
  • Renewing this marriage covenant.
  • 00:18:00.165 --> 00:18:02.700
  • And though israel largely did not believe that son,
  • 00:18:02.700 --> 00:18:06.471
  • Like hosea, god would still pay the full price
  • 00:18:06.471 --> 00:18:09.941
  • To redeem his bride.
  • 00:18:09.941 --> 00:18:11.876
  • On the night yeshua was betrayed,
  • 00:18:11.876 --> 00:18:13.878
  • He took a cup of wine and said,
  • 00:18:13.878 --> 00:18:16.281
  • "this cup is the new covenant
  • 00:18:16.915 --> 00:18:18.850
  • "in my blood,
  • 00:18:18.850 --> 00:18:19.851
  • "which is poured out for you."
  • 00:18:19.851 --> 00:18:22.220
  • This was the new covenant promised,
  • 00:18:22.220 --> 00:18:24.556
  • Cut by the shedding of his blood.
  • 00:18:24.556 --> 00:18:27.358
  • The cup smashed at the wedding.
  • 00:18:27.358 --> 00:18:30.128
  • The old covenant depended on israel's obedience.
  • 00:18:30.128 --> 00:18:33.331
  • This new covenant depends on yeshua's perfect obedience.
  • 00:18:33.331 --> 00:18:38.603
  • Today, i'm sitting down with my wife, sisi,
  • 00:18:39.504 --> 00:18:42.440
  • Director of women's ministry at one for israel,
  • 00:18:42.440 --> 00:18:45.944
  • To dive deeper into yeshua's renewed covenant
  • 00:18:45.944 --> 00:18:49.047
  • And how yeshua himself became the bridegroom.
  • 00:18:49.047 --> 00:18:52.817
  • Hi sisi, thank you so much for joining me today.
  • 00:18:52.817 --> 00:18:55.853
  • You've done a lot of research
  • 00:18:55.853 --> 00:18:57.922
  • Into the ancient jewish wedding system
  • 00:18:57.922 --> 00:19:01.626
  • And what we can learn from that
  • 00:19:01.626 --> 00:19:04.996
  • About the reality of yeshua and his bride,
  • 00:19:04.996 --> 00:19:08.132
  • The church.
  • 00:19:08.132 --> 00:19:09.067
  • What is the sacrifice of yeshua?
  • 00:19:09.067 --> 00:19:12.003
  • How does it relate
  • 00:19:12.003 --> 00:19:13.371
  • To the different steps
  • 00:19:13.371 --> 00:19:14.672
  • In an ancient
  • 00:19:14.672 --> 00:19:15.807
  • Jewish wedding system?
  • 00:19:15.807 --> 00:19:17.375
  • So it does speak
  • 00:19:17.375 --> 00:19:18.343
  • About the second step
  • 00:19:18.343 --> 00:19:19.744
  • Of an ancient jewish
  • 00:19:19.744 --> 00:19:20.712
  • Wedding system,
  • 00:19:20.712 --> 00:19:22.247
  • Where the father
  • 00:19:22.247 --> 00:19:23.681
  • Of the groom gives,
  • 00:19:23.681 --> 00:19:26.217
  • Or the groom himself gives the price for the bride.
  • 00:19:26.217 --> 00:19:31.990
  • And when jesus had his last supper
  • 00:19:31.990 --> 00:19:35.393
  • With his disciples,
  • 00:19:35.393 --> 00:19:36.594
  • He took the cup of the wine and he said,
  • 00:19:36.594 --> 00:19:40.698
  • "this is the cup of the new covenant
  • 00:19:40.698 --> 00:19:43.167
  • "by the blood that is shed for you."
  • 00:19:43.167 --> 00:19:45.870
  • So it is strongly related as jesus
  • 00:19:45.870 --> 00:19:49.240
  • Is described as the bridegroom
  • 00:19:49.240 --> 00:19:52.277
  • In the new testament.
  • 00:19:52.277 --> 00:19:54.245
  • And there is a purpose that john says,
  • 00:19:54.245 --> 00:19:59.250
  • When the groom comes,
  • 00:19:59.250 --> 00:20:01.552
  • The friend of the groom has to decrease.
  • 00:20:01.552 --> 00:20:05.823
  • The fact that jesus paid a high price
  • 00:20:05.823 --> 00:20:08.326
  • By his blood is very significant,
  • 00:20:08.326 --> 00:20:11.462
  • And maybe even an example for a wedding
  • 00:20:11.462 --> 00:20:16.034
  • That we have here on earth,
  • 00:20:16.034 --> 00:20:17.402
  • Because i believe that a wedding
  • 00:20:17.402 --> 00:20:19.771
  • Here on earth is actually pointing
  • 00:20:19.771 --> 00:20:22.240
  • To an ultimate wedding that will one day be
  • 00:20:22.240 --> 00:20:25.643
  • When the church is united to yeshua, the messiah.
  • 00:20:25.643 --> 00:20:31.416
  • So he paid the ultimate price
  • 00:20:31.416 --> 00:20:34.519
  • For the bride
  • 00:20:34.519 --> 00:20:35.553
  • And then he said,
  • 00:20:35.987 --> 00:20:37.755
  • I'm going to prepare a place for you.
  • 00:20:37.755 --> 00:20:39.824
  • Right. -he's going back to his father's house.
  • 00:20:39.824 --> 00:20:41.693
  • How does that play out? -right.
  • 00:20:41.693 --> 00:20:43.628
  • So after the groom pays the bride price,
  • 00:20:43.628 --> 00:20:48.099
  • And then there is an engagement ceremony
  • 00:20:48.099 --> 00:20:51.035
  • Between the groom and the bride,
  • 00:20:51.035 --> 00:20:53.037
  • Then it used to be
  • 00:20:53.037 --> 00:20:54.505
  • That the groom would tell his bride,
  • 00:20:54.505 --> 00:20:56.174
  • I am going to prepare a place
  • 00:20:56.174 --> 00:20:58.509
  • And i will come and fetch you
  • 00:20:58.509 --> 00:20:59.911
  • When it is ready.
  • 00:20:59.911 --> 00:21:01.879
  • And that is why jesus purposefully chooses
  • 00:21:01.879 --> 00:21:04.649
  • Those words when he says,
  • 00:21:04.649 --> 00:21:06.351
  • In my father's house, so many mentions,
  • 00:21:06.351 --> 00:21:08.753
  • I am going to prepare a place for you
  • 00:21:08.753 --> 00:21:11.356
  • And i will come back.
  • 00:21:11.356 --> 00:21:12.924
  • Jesus means that he personally is going to come back
  • 00:21:12.924 --> 00:21:16.894
  • And fetch his bride.
  • 00:21:16.894 --> 00:21:18.129
  • Because he is the bridegroom.
  • 00:21:18.129 --> 00:21:19.997
  • Because he is the bridegroom. yes.
  • 00:21:19.997 --> 00:21:22.066
  • Okay.
  • 00:21:22.066 --> 00:21:22.834
  • As it used to be,
  • 00:21:22.834 --> 00:21:23.768
  • As i recall from an ancient
  • 00:21:23.768 --> 00:21:24.869
  • Jewish wedding system,
  • 00:21:24.869 --> 00:21:26.304
  • The bridegroom actually goes back
  • 00:21:26.304 --> 00:21:28.106
  • And he physically builds a home for him and his wife.
  • 00:21:28.106 --> 00:21:33.511
  • Right. -and when the home is ready,
  • 00:21:33.511 --> 00:21:35.580
  • Then he's coming back.
  • 00:21:35.580 --> 00:21:36.614
  • Right. -now, the bride
  • 00:21:36.614 --> 00:21:38.349
  • Didn't really know when he's coming back.
  • 00:21:38.349 --> 00:21:40.818
  • So she didn't know exactly when he would come back.
  • 00:21:40.818 --> 00:21:45.123
  • When jesus left, he said he would prepare a place,
  • 00:21:45.123 --> 00:21:49.694
  • He would come back.
  • 00:21:49.694 --> 00:21:51.229
  • The father of the groom would say
  • 00:21:51.229 --> 00:21:53.865
  • When everything was complete,
  • 00:21:53.865 --> 00:21:56.300
  • He would give the order for the groom
  • 00:21:56.300 --> 00:21:57.902
  • To go fetch the bride.
  • 00:21:57.902 --> 00:21:59.971
  • And he didn't know the time or the hour
  • 00:21:59.971 --> 00:22:02.940
  • When he would come, only the father in heaven.
  • 00:22:02.940 --> 00:22:06.577
  • Why did he say that?
  • 00:22:06.577 --> 00:22:08.446
  • He's actually showing us
  • 00:22:08.446 --> 00:22:10.081
  • And he's deliberately choosing again those words
  • 00:22:10.081 --> 00:22:13.818
  • Because he wants us to look at an ancient jewish system,
  • 00:22:13.818 --> 00:22:17.855
  • Because he is actually completing the six steps
  • 00:22:17.855 --> 00:22:21.793
  • Of an ancient jewish wedding system.
  • 00:22:21.793 --> 00:22:23.795
  • So when he comes back, actually,
  • 00:22:23.795 --> 00:22:26.664
  • There are several things that happen.
  • 00:22:26.664 --> 00:22:28.933
  • He enters the atmosphere and he comes to fetch his bride,
  • 00:22:28.933 --> 00:22:33.438
  • Usually an unknown time,
  • 00:22:33.438 --> 00:22:34.872
  • But usually it used to happen in the night.
  • 00:22:34.872 --> 00:22:37.308
  • This is maybe the picture. -right.
  • 00:22:37.308 --> 00:22:39.510
  • And then he takes her up with him
  • 00:22:39.510 --> 00:22:42.113
  • To his home in heaven.
  • 00:22:42.113 --> 00:22:43.881
  • It says that the church will be taken up to meet...
  • 00:22:43.881 --> 00:22:47.151
  • Right, caught up in the air. -caught up in the air
  • 00:22:47.151 --> 00:22:49.320
  • Where the ceremony is conducted.
  • 00:22:49.320 --> 00:22:52.890
  • That's pretty amazing.
  • 00:22:52.890 --> 00:22:54.025
  • So the bridegroom came
  • 00:22:54.025 --> 00:22:56.227
  • To the bride's house
  • 00:22:56.227 --> 00:22:57.328
  • And she came back with him
  • 00:22:57.328 --> 00:22:59.163
  • And they had the wedding ceremony.
  • 00:22:59.163 --> 00:23:01.332
  • What happens after the big celebration,
  • 00:23:01.332 --> 00:23:03.668
  • The big feast? what happens then?
  • 00:23:03.668 --> 00:23:05.303
  • They finally, the couple settle
  • 00:23:05.303 --> 00:23:07.071
  • In their new home.
  • 00:23:07.071 --> 00:23:08.773
  • And we read in revelation 21 and 22,
  • 00:23:08.773 --> 00:23:13.544
  • We read about the new home of the bride,
  • 00:23:13.544 --> 00:23:16.214
  • Which is the new jerusalem.
  • 00:23:16.214 --> 00:23:18.516
  • This will finally be after the thousand-year reign
  • 00:23:18.516 --> 00:23:22.487
  • Of yeshua on earth.
  • 00:23:22.487 --> 00:23:25.089
  • This will be the eternal home.
  • 00:23:25.089 --> 00:23:27.158
  • This is absolutely fascinating, i think.
  • 00:23:27.158 --> 00:23:29.160
  • And i think also for our viewers,
  • 00:23:29.160 --> 00:23:31.295
  • This is new material.
  • 00:23:31.295 --> 00:23:32.964
  • And we talk more about it
  • 00:23:32.964 --> 00:23:33.865
  • In some of our online courses
  • 00:23:33.865 --> 00:23:34.999
  • In our seminary.
  • 00:23:34.999 --> 00:23:36.334
  • But it's a lot more than that.
  • 00:23:36.334 --> 00:23:38.069
  • First of all, we've been married,
  • 00:23:38.069 --> 00:23:39.737
  • You and i, for 31 years.
  • 00:23:39.737 --> 00:23:41.839
  • One of our sons got married a little while ago.
  • 00:23:41.839 --> 00:23:44.475
  • And as we're talking,
  • 00:23:44.475 --> 00:23:46.043
  • I'm thinking about the current jewish weddings,
  • 00:23:46.043 --> 00:23:49.580
  • Also as followers of yeshua,
  • 00:23:49.580 --> 00:23:51.148
  • And how we see those steps play out
  • 00:23:51.148 --> 00:23:54.585
  • Looking for the messiah.
  • 00:23:54.585 --> 00:23:57.121
  • So thinking about our son's wedding,
  • 00:23:57.121 --> 00:23:59.123
  • I think one of the most touching,
  • 00:23:59.123 --> 00:24:01.726
  • And i think many people told us that they cried,
  • 00:24:01.726 --> 00:24:04.862
  • Is when actually the bride comes down the aisle
  • 00:24:04.862 --> 00:24:08.900
  • And he saw her.
  • 00:24:08.900 --> 00:24:12.136
  • And he started crying.
  • 00:24:12.637 --> 00:24:14.872
  • And i think this is how yeshua
  • 00:24:14.872 --> 00:24:16.874
  • Views us when he finally will be united to us,
  • 00:24:16.874 --> 00:24:21.078
  • Is his love.
  • 00:24:21.078 --> 00:24:22.413
  • And i think that is an expression
  • 00:24:22.413 --> 00:24:24.448
  • Of the ultimate love,
  • 00:24:24.448 --> 00:24:25.716
  • Agape love of god, towards his people
  • 00:24:25.716 --> 00:24:28.719
  • Is by giving up his life for us.
  • 00:24:28.719 --> 00:24:33.624
  • And i think that's why paul says
  • 00:24:33.624 --> 00:24:36.294
  • In ephesians 5, he says,
  • 00:24:36.294 --> 00:24:38.296
  • "husbands love your wives as yeshua loved his church
  • 00:24:38.296 --> 00:24:44.435
  • "and gave himself up for her."
  • 00:24:44.435 --> 00:24:46.837
  • I think that is the ultimate expression of love
  • 00:24:46.837 --> 00:24:50.942
  • In this world and ever in the worlds to come
  • 00:24:50.942 --> 00:24:54.779
  • Is him dying for his bride.
  • 00:24:54.779 --> 00:25:01.052
  • God's love for you
  • 00:25:01.485 --> 00:25:02.853
  • Is not based on your performance.
  • 00:25:02.853 --> 00:25:05.323
  • It's based on his covenant.
  • 00:25:05.323 --> 00:25:08.159
  • God has remained faithful to israel
  • 00:25:08.159 --> 00:25:10.328
  • Throughout the millennia.
  • 00:25:10.328 --> 00:25:11.862
  • Its very existence today highlights his faithfulness.
  • 00:25:11.862 --> 00:25:16.033
  • If he has remained faithful to israel,
  • 00:25:16.033 --> 00:25:18.703
  • You can be sure
  • 00:25:18.703 --> 00:25:20.371
  • That he will be faithful to you even when you fail.
  • 00:25:20.371 --> 00:25:24.075
  • "if we are faithless,
  • 00:25:24.575 --> 00:25:26.243
  • "he remains faithful,
  • 00:25:26.243 --> 00:25:27.912
  • "for he cannot disown himself."
  • 00:25:27.912 --> 00:25:30.615
  • This marriage cup is offered to you.
  • 00:25:30.615 --> 00:25:33.684
  • Will you drink from the cup that yeshua offers?
  • 00:25:33.684 --> 00:25:37.188
  • Will you respond to his love?
  • 00:25:37.188 --> 00:25:39.790
  • If you have wandered far from him today,
  • 00:25:39.790 --> 00:25:42.660
  • Will you return to his embrace again?
  • 00:25:42.660 --> 00:25:46.731
  • When yeshua performed his first miracle
  • 00:25:47.598 --> 00:25:50.234
  • At a wedding in cana,
  • 00:25:50.234 --> 00:25:51.836
  • He wasn't just solving a wine shortage.
  • 00:25:51.836 --> 00:25:54.405
  • He was announcing a new chapter
  • 00:25:54.405 --> 00:25:56.907
  • In god's marriage covenant with his people.
  • 00:25:56.907 --> 00:26:00.011
  • Israel's story,
  • 00:26:00.378 --> 00:26:01.679
  • With all its failures and restorations,
  • 00:26:01.679 --> 00:26:04.415
  • Shows us that god's love endures forever.
  • 00:26:04.415 --> 00:26:08.653
  • He doesn't give up on his bride.
  • 00:26:08.653 --> 00:26:10.921
  • And the voice of the bridegroom
  • 00:26:10.921 --> 00:26:12.390
  • Still calls out to israel today.
  • 00:26:12.390 --> 00:26:15.459
  • Most of my people today do not yet have faith in yeshua.
  • 00:26:15.459 --> 00:26:19.597
  • Yet, he is dedicated in his faithfulness
  • 00:26:19.597 --> 00:26:22.366
  • Towards them.
  • 00:26:22.366 --> 00:26:23.701
  • Today in this land,
  • 00:26:23.701 --> 00:26:25.069
  • We are seeing a great returning.
  • 00:26:25.069 --> 00:26:27.571
  • An awakening of jewish people
  • 00:26:27.571 --> 00:26:29.440
  • To their proper place.
  • 00:26:29.440 --> 00:26:30.908
  • Repenting, turning back to god,
  • 00:26:30.908 --> 00:26:33.210
  • Putting their faith in the faithful son.
  • 00:26:33.210 --> 00:26:35.913
  • But this covenant doesn't only link god
  • 00:26:36.781 --> 00:26:39.050
  • To a people.
  • 00:26:39.050 --> 00:26:40.217
  • It also links him to a land.
  • 00:26:40.217 --> 00:26:42.687
  • As isaiah says,
  • 00:26:42.687 --> 00:26:44.221
  • "the lord will take delight
  • 00:26:44.221 --> 00:26:45.756
  • "in you
  • 00:26:45.756 --> 00:26:46.624
  • "and your land will be married."
  • 00:26:46.624 --> 00:26:51.395
  • So why does god care so much about the land of israel?
  • 00:26:52.463 --> 00:26:56.167
  • Why is it still important
  • 00:26:56.167 --> 00:26:57.902
  • To this day?
  • 00:26:57.902 --> 00:26:59.203
  • And what does it mean
  • 00:26:59.203 --> 00:27:00.037
  • For your life?
  • 00:27:00.037 --> 00:27:02.239
  • Join me next time
  • 00:27:02.673 --> 00:27:03.974
  • As we continue to ask the question,
  • 00:27:03.974 --> 00:27:06.277
  • Why israel?
  • 00:27:06.277 --> 00:27:06.277